Manual trans first time driver impressions (hatchback sport) (pics)

[geeeek]

Hey guys, I've been mostly a lurker here for the past year. I got the '19 black hatchback sport this past saturday, may 18. Just thought I'd share my quick experience as a complete newcomer to manual transmission cars (but my family's '18 base elantra slapstick mode was totally legit though).

I spent all weekend practicing since I take the 110 south freeway to work on monday lol. So a lot of first gear starts and then some 1-2 shifts to learn the clutch bite point first.



That 1-2 shift.. I live in LA so there's a lot of that happening. I want to be able to match general traffic while avoiding getting rear ended during the 1-2 by those who mash the gas on green lights, so I've gotten into the habit of slowly engaging the clutch as soon as I select 2nd. I don't wait for rpm to drop, instead I let the inertia of the rev hang and flywheel accelerate me with slight throttle to keep rpm from dropping too much during clutch out. A lot of slipping but I feel like it's the only way to have smooth acceleration and also just smooth shifts in general for regular driving. Not sure if that's normal and I've just watched FF too many times.

About downshifting, man it's hard to get the blip right. I can feel the inertia of the flywheel and either it doesn't move at all or I stab the throttle too hard and wait half a second for it to come down. A lot of times I find myself double blipping and taking forever to shift lol. The heavy flywheel sounds awesome in the cabin, I thought I wouldn't like it because it doesn't have that quick whip feeling but it's something I love hearing every time. Also it's super forgiving during my noob shifts.

I love brake hold, I turn it on every time I stop on an incline with a car stuck to my rear bumper. I try to avoid using it for better practice but unfortunately sometimes a car is just right there behind me.

I'm still scared of 6th gear on the freeway because I'm never it in for more than 30 sec and I can't heeltoe let alone downshift quickly enough for potential potato traffic. Still iffy on those situations where I decelerate hard but am still rolling after, I'm confident in going from neutral to second at around 15-20mph but not higher gears at higher speeds.




Most of these things are observations centered around the anti shift triforce that I see complaints about on the forum (rev hang, heavy flywheel, cdv). I have no frame of reference to compare my experience to so I'm pretty much happy to learn how to drive this car, although I'd still like to remove the cdv eventually. If I could have another car I think ideally in my head it would be an rsx type s.

Overall I love driving this car and I keep finding reasons to go out for a drive, I just got back from buying milk 2.5 miles away when there's a liquor store a block away from me.

edit:
Another thing that's great is the increased low end torque, in the elantra I never ever wanted to be below 3k because it felt like pressing a limp gas pedal, but then again I haven't really been able to drive this car more spiritedly because I'm still super focused on shifting right


here's some pics

 

[Zeffy94]

Don’t worry about it man, lots of people can drive a manual but not everyone can drive it well. It takes everyone a different length of time before they get all the techniques and motions down to muscle memory and even after a year of owning mine I still mess up on occasion. Just keep sticking with it - it’ll come eventually!

 

[Marjammer]

I learned at 12...

When you play the game of clutches, you win....or you stall.

 

[LMFK7]

00

Don’t worry about it man, lots of people can drive a manual but not everyone can drive it well. It takes everyone a different length of time before they get all the techniques and motions down to muscle memory and even after a year of owning mine I still mess up on occasion. Just keep sticking with it - it’ll come eventually!

where can one learn how to drive a manual well? I've got the basics down and would now want to learn more.

 

[LMFK7]

Hey guys, I've been mostly a lurker here for the past year. I got the '19 black hatchback sport this past saturday, may 18. Just thought I'd share my quick experience as a complete newcomer to manual transmission cars (but my family's '18 base elantra slapstick mode was totally legit though).

I spent all weekend practicing since I take the 110 south freeway to work on monday lol. So a lot of first gear starts and then some 1-2 shifts to learn the clutch bite point first.



That 1-2 shift.. I live in LA so there's a lot of that happening. I want to be able to match general traffic while avoiding getting rear ended during the 1-2 by those who mash the gas on green lights, so I've gotten into the habit of slowly engaging the clutch as soon as I select 2nd. I don't wait for rpm to drop, instead I let the inertia of the rev hang and flywheel accelerate me with slight throttle to keep rpm from dropping too much during clutch out. A lot of slipping but I feel like it's the only way to have smooth acceleration and also just smooth shifts in general for regular driving. Not sure if that's normal and I've just watched FF too many times.

the more i see civic hatchbacks the more i think that it is a beautiful car. Which makes me a proud owner of one too! Driving my car, knowing it looks good, like yours, makes me feel good! I just wish i can see how the car looks like from the outside while i drive it haha.

 

[GlowKitty]

00


where can one learn how to drive a manual well? I've got the basics down and would now want to learn more.

The way I learned more advanced techniques was just youtube tutorials and just, practicing a bunch. Still working on getting my heel toe's perfect every time but they are getting much more smooth.

 

[LMFK7]

The way I learned more advanced techniques was just youtube tutorials and just, practicing a bunch. Still working on getting my heel toe's perfect every time but they are getting much more smooth.

You know, glad you mentioned heel toe cause i cannot get it down. its just too hard for me. i know its not a must to learn but it sure is a good feeling once learned. Can you please share how you do this with the big space between the brake and gas.

 

[Gotch]

Not sure why you are trying to heel/toe before even getting the basics down pat. There really is no reason for it during normal driving. Same thing with trying to rev match which is what I think you are trying to do with heel/toe. I would concentrate on clutch engagement, shift points, etc first and then start the more advanced stuff. And slipping the clutch going into 2nd under power is going to kill your clutch in no time, especially since it is not broken in yet. Give yourself more space for cars in front of you and you’ll find yourself shifting less.

 

[JMT]

Good looking car. It sounds like you are overthinking the mechanics of shifting gears. Just focus on getting from 1st to 2nd . Drive your car a little extra on your days off the next few weeks. You will be fine.

 

[repeet]

I started driving manual transmissions in 1972, and I've never healed and toed. I've never figured out why you would have to. Yes, a small amount of slipping the clutch is necessary for every gear change unless you are very, very good, or just plain lucky. (And the rev hang works against you by being inconsistent.)

Some irresponsible individuals can, while stopped on an incline, "balance" the weight of the car against the amount of clutch slippage. Lots of clutch wear in those couple of minutes. The clutch delay valve is hardware induced clutch slippage.

So slipping the clutch is a normal needed component to driving a manual smoothly. The trick is to keep that amount of time to a minimum, and that takes practice. Time. Relax you'll get good at it soon.

In the 40's and 50's, everybody, men and woman, learned to drive manual transmissions. In a few weeks you'll find that your thinking less and less about your shifting. That clutch pedal is the lever that allows you to modulate and unleash your engine's power according to your wishes.

So keep at it. Driving in L.A. traffic can be trying at times, especially if your learning. But we're all rooting for you.

 

[JMT]

I love brake hold, I turn it on every time I stop on an incline with a car stuck to my rear bumper. I try to avoid using it for better practice but unfortunately sometimes a car is just right there behind me.

Your Civic has Hill Start Assist. So there is no need to use that brake hold. Switching into the first on hills may require the slightest touch once you reach the bite point.
Your car will not roll into the vehicle behind you. In a few weeks you will not care who is behind you.

 

[geeeek]

Don’t worry about it man, lots of people can drive a manual but not everyone can drive it well. It takes everyone a different length of time before they get all the techniques and motions down to muscle memory and even after a year of owning mine I still mess up on occasion. Just keep sticking with it - it’ll come eventually!

Thanks for the kind words, every day is practice day. I love driving at night because I can focus on actually driving and not worrying about traffic.

I learned at 12...

When you play the game of clutches, you win....or you stall.

There is no torque converter.

Not sure why you are trying to heel/toe before even getting the basics down pat. There really is no reason for it during normal driving. Same thing with trying to rev match which is what I think you are trying to do with heel/toe. I would concentrate on clutch engagement, shift points, etc first and then start the more advanced stuff. And slipping the clutch going into 2nd under power is going to kill your clutch in no time, especially since it is not broken in yet. Give yourself more space for cars in front of you and you’ll find yourself shifting less.

right now I shift out of neutral if I would lug the engine staying in the same gear after sudden slows. I try to stay in one gear as long as possible but most of the time I can't. Believe me I would cruise at a constant speed if I could, and I already keep a pretty large buffer space in front so I have time to recover from a potential mistake. I don't think I will do heel toe any time soon but I feel like it would be useful to know because of the constant slows -> go's.


You're right about the 2nd gear, I was using the extra throttle as a crutch for bad timing on all my shifts. I think I was too focused on smoothness only because my first 2 days of driving were pretty jerky. My brain must have finally processed the bite point into muscle memory, today I was killing the timing compared to yesterday. Hope my clutch survives the driver break in period

 

[geeeek]

Good looking car. It sounds like you are overthinking the mechanics of shifting gears. Just focus on getting from 1st to 2nd . Drive your car a little extra on your days off the next few weeks. You will be fine.

thanks, and don't worry haha, when I'm driving I'm feeling the car. I'm not worried about shift points or anything, I don't usually watch the tach. Biggest issue is using the shifter right now because I'm afraid of going in the wrong gear and I do it slowly. I do the cupped fingers and palm thing, so much better after I realized the center spring is my friend

I started driving manual transmissions in 1972, and I've never healed and toed. I've never figured out why you would have to. Yes, a small amount of slipping the clutch is necessary for every gear change unless you are very, very good, or just plain lucky. (And the rev hang works against you by being inconsistent.)

Some irresponsible individuals can, while stopped on an incline, "balance" the weight of the car against the amount of clutch slippage. Lots of clutch wear in those couple of minutes. The clutch delay valve is hardware induced clutch slippage.

So slipping the clutch is a normal needed component to driving a manual smoothly. The trick is to keep that amount of time to a minimum, and that takes practice. Time. Relax you'll get good at it soon.

In the 40's and 50's, everybody, men and woman, learned to drive manual transmissions. In a few weeks you'll find that your thinking less and less about your shifting. That clutch pedal is the lever that allows you to modulate and unleash your engine's power according to your wishes.

So keep at it. Driving in L.A. traffic can be trying at times, especially if your learning. But were all rooting for you.

Thanks for your kind words. As of now feels like the clutch controls me lol, but yeah I'm figuring things out by the day (day 5 now!). Also I'm in no rush to try and heel toe, but knowing that it's a thing, there were a few situations where I wished I knew how to brake and downshift at the same time

 

[Gotch]

I was commenting on your downshift and blipping the throttle... it not necessary to blip the throttle to raise rpm. Let’s say you are in 4th and have to slow. When your rpm gets down to about 2000 or so, foot off the gas, press the clutch in, shift to 3rd, let clutch out and then foot on the gas or coast if you still need to slow. If you get down to 2000 again, do the same thing going into 2nd. Don’t shift into first unless you are stopped. If you do this you will be in gear and ready to speed up when traffic clears. No need for blips or slips. Above all it takes practice practice practice. Try and find somewhere without traffic and go up and down in speed, running through the gears accelerating and decelerating. You’ll get better each day just try to avoid slipping the clutch too much. Also check out some YouTube videos, they can help.

 

[geeeek]

I was commenting on your downshift and blipping the throttle... it not necessary to blip the throttle to raise rpm. Let’s say you are in 4th and have to slow. When your rpm gets down to about 2000 or so, foot off the gas, press the clutch in, shift to 3rd, let clutch out and then foot on the gas or coast if you still need to slow. If you get down to 2000 again, do the same thing going into 2nd. Don’t shift into first unless you are stopped. If you do this you will be in gear and ready to speed up when traffic clears. No need for blips or slips. Above all it takes practice practice practice. Try and find somewhere without traffic and go up and down in speed, running through the gears accelerating and decelerating. You’ll get better each day just try to avoid slipping the clutch too much. Also check out some YouTube videos, they can help.

Oh I see what you mean I never tried this because I was afraid of the car bucking at all, I had a misshift to 6k on monday that scared me to death lol (used 5 finger death grip on shifter at the time). Have to try this at night soon.

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