So getting better with Manual but I keep wanting to let go of the clutch fast..

So basically im driving manual alot better and dont stall anymore..

1. On hills I always press the brake hold on BUT when its time to go and switch in to 1st gear..I let go of the clutch and apply some gas but it feel/hear the engine "thudding" to get moving and then it goes.. (maybe im not giving enough gas?)

2. When im on flat roads I ALWAYS want to let go of the clutch hella fast because im think if i let do fast I can apply gas faster and go faster ...faster. But its never a clean gear change..always jerks forward then back some times heavy sometimes lightly but never unnoticeable how i would like it. How do you guys let go of the clutch super fast after changing gears?

3. When you are letting your leg off the clutch slowly...is it ok to press the gas while still letting go? liek from 0 - 1 or 5th - 2nd gear for example?

Thank you!

As we say in the welding industry, it's all about the seat time. The more you drive the more you can get a feel for your clutch. But the only time you want to let off the clutch quickly is if you want to go fast...that being said you shouldn't be attempting that yet if your still having trouble shifting "normally". No need to beat on your clucth until your fully capable of taking off and shifting "normally". Jerking alot is a good way to wear the clutch and motor mounts. Just keep practicing slowly pushing the clutch in and out with gas and get that down first. Then let her RIP tater chip!

@goldKing,

1. When you feel the car shaking like that you are stalling and all you need to do is give it a bit more gas or depress the clutch all the way in. This is a skill that takes some people a lifetime to master.

2. It's called 'dumping' the clutch and it's not particularly healthy for the clutch system and assembly as the flywheel and disc can go through pre-mature wear and tear.

3. This plays into 1. as it's more finesse and skill to smoothly engage the RPM's and not cause headaches and/or nauseous experiences for the passenger. Maybe this is why people love to row their own gears because it's a never ending journey to perfectly shift... either way it's fun as hell no matter how you spin it~

At this stage, try for smoothness not speed. This will cause less stress and damage to your drivetrain and make you a better driver in the long run. As others have said, the speed will come. I always started my kids off in a level parking lot and had them learn to get moving from a stop in first gear without using any throttle. This will teach you how to engage the clutch smoothly and slowly. You can even shift into second and then back down to first with no throttle too. Once you have this mastered, you can add a little throttle to the routine, and finally hill starts. Practice, practice, practice, preferably in a low or no traffic area.

goldKing said:

So basically im driving manual alot better and dont stall anymore..

1. On hills I always press the brake hold on BUT when its time to go and switch in to 1st gear..I let go of the clutch and apply some gas but it feel/hear the engine "thudding" to get moving and then it goes.. (maybe im not giving enough gas?)

2. When im on flat roads I ALWAYS want to let go of the clutch hella fast because im think if i let do fast I can apply gas faster and go faster ...faster. But its never a clean gear change..always jerks forward then back some times heavy sometimes lightly but never unnoticeable how i would like it. How do you guys let go of the clutch super fast after changing gears?

3. When you are letting your leg off the clutch slowly...is it ok to press the gas while still letting go? liek from 0 - 1 or 5th - 2nd gear for example?

Thank you!

Click to expand...

I teach stick shift driving in two hour segments. I can take a new stick shift driver and have him or her driving on the highway within that two hours...so here is some free advice....never, ever try to take off from a dead stop in anything other than first gear. You will destroy the clutch disc lining.
The first thing I have a new driver do is learn the shift pattern and shift without looking at the shift lever. Then I have them do a dry run, shifting through the gears, beginning in first, gas pedal off, clutch in, shift, release clutch, apply gas...through all 6 gears before even starting the motor. Next I have them start the car, pull the ebrake, and slowly release clutch till the "feel" the engagement, then push the clutch back in. I want them to get accustomed to where the clutch engages before we head out onto the roadway.

Once I am comfortable they can do that, and understand the engagement height, I have them release the ebrake and gently take off. Most of them at this point have achieved the takeoff procedure, although a few are still a bit quick on the clutch releas once they feel it engage. My instructions include, if the car jumps and jerks, push the clutch back in, and try it again. Once we are on the street (the area I use at Texas Motor Speedway has very little traffic unless there are major activities going on.) I have them stop in various locations and take off again as we go around the outer perimeter of TMS. There are a few elevations on this route and after I feel comfortable they can manipulate the clutch and accelerator, I have them stop and take off on those elevated areas. Most get it with relatively few attempts. On my Focus Si, the hill hold feature would allow you to release the brake and it would be at least 3 seconds before the car rolled backwards. Most could finally take off without rolling back.

Once comfortable with their start, stop, and shifting techniques, We head out to another perimeter road that carries some traffic, but not heavy. We practice pulling onto the highway and accelerating briskly, pretending there is traffic coming and we do not want to impede traffic and have someone flip us off. It is about 6 miles around this particular perimeter road and we have several opportunities to stop and go again. I also teach them down shifting when slowing to make a turn, or slowing in traffic and finding it necessary to shift down to the correct gear to continue with traffic flow.

The final session is going out onto a US highway and driving 7 miles north to a small town called Justin, and drive through some of their city streets with several stop signs and some cross traffic, as well as a couple of traffic lights. Once that is over, they are pretty confident in their ability to drive the stick without too many issues.

Like anything else though, you can learn a new trick, but if you fail to practice it, you can lose the essence of what you learned. I admire anyone who is willing to buy a stick shift car and learn to drive it, either on their own, or with help from family members, or friends. I have had several students contact me after the instruction and tell me they purchased their first stick shift car. Many of my clients are adults, some into their 40s or so. There are various reasons they want to learn though. One young attorney, 33 years old and single, advised his girlfriend had just purchased a new Corvette with stick shift, and he wanted to be ready if she ever invited him to drive it. He also purchased a BMW for himself with stick so that he could continue practicing...

Sorry for the long diatribe, but thought this might help anyone who is thinking about learning to drive a stick shift...

Agh, not what I wanted to hear that I’m wearing down my clutch and motor mounts every time I have jerky shifts. I still get them sometimes... good news I’m getting a lot better at getting smooth or almost smooth shifts more often than not now. A lot of the times my 1st gear starts are a bit rocky and I haven’t figured out if after I’m rolling I need more gas and then less clutch or what. Other times I can get up to speed smoothly.

But yeah like everyone else said.. practice makes perfect. As the seat time increases I feel more comfortable shifting and knowing it will be smooth. I did notice that a lot of manual tutorial videos are focused on getting started, and rightfully so, but what never seems to be explained in depth is changing gears. Like how long are you supposed to keep the clutch after choosing gears, do you pause at the bite point and add gas or add gas then release, etc.

Zeffy94 said:

Agh, not what I wanted to hear that I’m wearing down my clutch and motor mounts every time I have jerky shifts. I still get them sometimes... good news I’m getting a lot better at getting smooth or almost smooth shifts more often than not now. A lot of the times my 1st gear starts are a bit rocky and I haven’t figured out if after I’m rolling I need more gas and then less clutch or what. Other times I can get up to speed smoothly.

But yeah like everyone else said.. practice makes perfect. As the seat time increases I feel more comfortable shifting and knowing it will be smooth. I did notice that a lot of manual tutorial videos are focused on getting started, and rightfully so, but what never seems to be explained in depth is changing gears. Like how long are you supposed to keep the clutch after choosing gears, do you pause at the bite point and add gas or add gas then release, etc.

Click to expand...

Ha, echoing my thoughts exactly there. So far I've had better luck with starting smoothly when I give it a bit more gas, or just come off the clutch more slowly (or both). I'm still a little inconsistent too, but focusing on that has helped me improve.

Zeffy94 said:

Agh, not what I wanted to hear that I’m wearing down my clutch and motor mounts every time I have jerky shifts. I still get them sometimes... good news I’m getting a lot better at getting smooth or almost smooth shifts more often than not now. A lot of the times my 1st gear starts are a bit rocky and I haven’t figured out if after I’m rolling I need more gas and then less clutch or what. Other times I can get up to speed smoothly.

But yeah like everyone else said.. practice makes perfect. As the seat time increases I feel more comfortable shifting and knowing it will be smooth. I did notice that a lot of manual tutorial videos are focused on getting started, and rightfully so, but what never seems to be explained in depth is changing gears. Like how long are you supposed to keep the clutch after choosing gears, do you pause at the bite point and add gas or add gas then release, etc.

Click to expand...

How long you stay in a particular gear largely depends on traffic and terrain. If you are in stop and go traffic you may not need to shift from first, or only need to shift to send before stopping again. That is a real issue for a lot of folks learning to drive stick, knowing exactly when to shift. Most people go by engine RPM sound. We seldom look at the tach to determine when to shift, but we can hear when the engine revs reach a higher pitch. I suggest once you get moving in first gear, go ahead and shift early to second, get up a bit mores speed and shift again to 3rd... Once the car is moving, you really don't have to be that gentle with clutch release when changing gears. But, always back off the gas pedal before pushing the clutch in to shift, make the shift, then immediately release the clutch and go back to the gas pedal. Do not ride the clutch..by that I mean do not keep your foot on it just in case you need to shift. Go ahead and place it on the dead pedal (assuming you have one). Riding the clutch, or resting your foot or shoe on it will also eventually lead to clutch disc issues.

OzCop said:

...never, ever try to take off from a dead stop in anything other than first gear. You will destroy the clutch disc lining.

Click to expand...

I think the exception would be on ice/snow when there is far less friction, so starting in 2nd reduces wheel spin on a slick surface, though that probably doesn't come up much in toasty Texas. I find it very handy and doesn't feel hard on the vehicle as opposed to doing it on pavement (I've only done it in error on pavement a handful of times, feels awful).

Very well could be the clutch delay valve giving you grief. I'm convinced that's my issue but too busy at the moment to remove it. I like the idea of a clutch delay valve but it interferes too much preventing smooth fast shifting. It's also possible that I just suck but I've never had so hard a time getting smooth fast shifts from a car and I believe this is the first car I've had with a CDV...I think.

Once you develop the muscle memory of getting to the clutch biting point, you'll be able to shift smoothly. Practice starting from a complete stop without using the gas. Focus on being able to quickly but smoothly get to that engagement point. You can rev the engine up to accelerate quicker from a start but I don't recommend doing this until you develop the muscle memory of getting to the biting point. Once the car is in motion you shouldn't really need to apply throttle when up shifting. There are certain situations where you will. For example, if the revs fall too quickly. Not at all a problem for this car IMO.

When shifting gears, smoothly get off the accelerator while clutching in at the same time. If you clutch in too quickly or too early before getting off throttle, you'll see the RPMs shoot up. You want to be almost completely off the throttle once you start to clutch in.
Once the clutch pedal is ALL the way on the floor, make your gear change.
Try to quickly but smoothly get to the biting point, slowly releasing the clutch pedal from the biting point until the clutch is fully engaged. This isn't one solid motion, for me its almost two. Holding it at the biting point may also be necessary to get a smooth gear change.
Then smoothly get back on the throttle.

The key to shifting smooth is being smooth with your inputs, go figure. Abrupt inputs won't help you (like dumping the clutch, slamming the gear lever into the next gear, etc).

People who blame the CDV just need more practice... sorry.

I will add a few points:

Once the car is moving, you SHOULD let out the clutch quickly, but not early. Letting out early before your shift is completed means a gear grind of your own making. Feathering the clutch (letting out too slowly) will cause unnecessary wear. What you should do to achieve a smooth shift is time your shift so that you let the clutch out quickly with the engine at the right RPM as it falls. It will be almost seamless and you won't put any wear on the clutch.

Don't worry about a little jerkiness now and then. It's just a fact of life and it will get better as you get used to it.

Agree with Lust that to blame the CDV is a cop out. It does not affect normal street driving in any significant way.

OzCop is right in that resting your foot on the clutch pedal when you're not using it causes issues. It puts unnecessary wear on the throwout bearing. Put your foot on the floor or the dead pedal.

Gansan said:

I will add a few points:

Once the car is moving, you SHOULD let out the clutch quickly, but not early. Letting out early before your shift is completed means a gear grind of your own making. Feathering the clutch (letting out too slowly) will cause unnecessary wear. What you should do to achieve a smooth shift is time your shift so that you let the clutch out quickly with the engine at the right RPM as it falls. It will be almost seamless and you won't put any wear on the clutch.

Don't worry about a little jerkiness now and then. It's just a fact of life and it will get better as you get used to it.

Agree with Lust that to blame the CDV is a cop out. It does not affect normal street driving in any significant way.

OzCop is right in that resting your foot on the clutch pedal when you're not using it causes issues. It puts unnecessary wear on the throwout bearing. Put your foot on the floor or the dead pedal.

Click to expand...

I clutch out quickly in cars that don't have rev hang. In Hondas, I feel like I do have to feather the clutch a bit to get a smooth shift because of the slight rev hang. Maybe I've been doing something wrong this whole time? Lol

Lust said:

People who blame the CDV just need more practice... sorry.

Click to expand...

Possible that you are right but my greif comes at the end of the shift (after I let the clutch out fully after shifting). It's a smooth clutch-to-throttle transition until I'm fully on the gas and then it's like a .5 to 1 second hesitation and then normal power. That feels like a CDV to me. The hesitation issue is only evident on fast shifts which is more evidence leading me to pointing at the CDV.

Gansan said:

Agree with Lust that to blame the CDV is a cop out. It does not affect normal street driving in any significant way.

Click to expand...

I agree that in normal driving the CDV has little impact. Different story when trying to shift fast/aggressively.

Lust said:

Once you develop the muscle memory of getting to the clutch biting point, you'll be able to shift smoothly. Practice starting from a complete stop without using the gas. Focus on being able to quickly but smoothly get to that engagement point. You can rev the engine up to accelerate quicker from a start but I don't recommend doing this until you develop the muscle memory of getting to the biting point. Once the car is in motion you shouldn't really need to apply throttle when up shifting. There are certain situations where you will. For example, if the revs fall too quickly. Not at all a problem for this car IMO.

When shifting gears, smoothly get off the accelerator while clutching in at the same time. If you clutch in too quickly or too early before getting off throttle, you'll see the RPMs shoot up. You want to be almost completely off the throttle once you start to clutch in.
Once the clutch pedal is ALL the way on the floor, make your gear change.
Try to quickly but smoothly get to the biting point, slowly releasing the clutch pedal from the biting point until the clutch is fully engaged. This isn't one solid motion, for me its almost two. Holding it at the biting point may also be necessary to get a smooth gear change.
Then smoothly get back on the throttle.

The key to shifting smooth is being smooth with your inputs, go figure. Abrupt inputs won't help you (like dumping the clutch, slamming the gear lever into the next gear, etc).

People who blame the CDV just need more practice... sorry.

Click to expand...

Good advice...once you learn these techniques, it all becomes second nature...you do it without even thinking about it...