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On driving stick
anonywho
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I just started driving stick about 3 days ago, I got it down, but is there anyway that I could get the car to go faster from a stop, it takes quite a while to pick up speed from 1st to 2nd.
anonywho on
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when you get a better feel for where your peak horsepower is at what rpm in what gear you'll be able to make it accelerate a little bit faster, and as your touch improves you will be able to accelerate a little bit faster, but you are mechanically bound by the gears
B.net: Kusanku
For instance, the first thought in my head was a simple, "Give it more gas." Don't let it bog when you lay off the clutch. This seems obvious, but ya never know.
How long do you keep it in 1st? Do you shift to 2nd at the first available RPM, or do you keep it in 1st up to the red line?
Peak horsepower, as noted above, is also a concern. Many times this will come close to the red line.
this. Clutch settings are going to be a little different on every car, so you just have to back your foot off the clutch till you almost kill the engine. Eventually it becomes second nature and your car stops rolling and you get a better off the line start.
Just practice. Two weeks and you'll be an expert. : )
Give rev.
Slowly lift clutch until car 'bites' (you'll feel it just on the verge of trying to fight the emergency brake).
Give a bit more rev.
Release emergency brake and simultaneously release clutch in a smooth motion.
The wheels should spin a little bit, just a short squeel, then as the car starts to move, give it all the gas it can get.
When the rev counter gets near the red, clutch down fast, shift into second, and then clutch up reasonably quick. If you can do this fast enough you won't need to lift your foot of the gas, although initially you should lift off the gas briefly while depressing the clutch otherwise you'll over-rev the engine and make a horrible noise. It takes a bit of practice to find the balance of the car, initially you'll probably wheel spin at the start and then nosedive when you try to shift up into second.
If it's a front wheel drive car, the first few times you do this, you'll just spin the wheels out a lot and take ages to even start moving (or you'll stall). If it's a rear wheel drive car, you'll probably do likewise, although there's also the added risk that the rear end will spin out and you'll end up on the other side of the road/the sidewalk facing the wrong way. Recommend practicing this on an abandoned airfield.
to answer some of the previous questions,
When I start in 1st, the car moves but really slow, then I shift to second at around 3500 sometimes even lower.
The car doesn't bog down or anything it just starts off really slow then it picks up speed, I know it could do better than that but I don't know how.
I don't know what peak horsepower is, I'm a car noob.
and for Szechuanosaurus, that's not something you do everytime is it?
What are you driving anyway?
God no, you'd go through tires fast as shit. Doing what he says often gives you a nice burn out.
But like we said, you just gotta get the feel for your car, then you'll be able to time the clutch and gas right so you can get it to accelerate as fast as you can.
B.net: Kusanku
it's a 2001 sentra se
Now, I'm not really a gearhead. Can someone expand on what each of these means? My understanding is that torque is what gives your acceleration some -- for lack of better term --- "oomf." Peak HP equates into this somehow too, but I'm not entirely sure how. So by that logic, you should accelerate faster in that RPM range.
This would explain why it's slow to accelerate between 1st and 2nd, because you're shifting to 2nd before the engine is providing the maximum torque and therefore acceleration. Dunno how to speed up the acceleration before you get to that RPM range, though.
In day to day driving most people will most likely not even get close to the capability of their cars because even in something like an '01 Altima SE by the time he hits third gear, if he's winding out his engine, he will be breaking most highway speed limits.
Also remember your acceleration in comparison to an automatic vehicle (which is most vehicles on the road) will be usually appear slower since an automatic converts some horsepower into torque. This is most noticeable from a stop. Even the crappiest minivans usually launch from 1st faster than my car does. Unless you need to accelerate fast, just let people pass you, you're saving gas.
I don't even know what that's supposed to mean, but automatics shift a whole lot faster (machine > you) and are pretty good with the whole clutch/gas timing thing (computers > you) That is how automatics appear have a little extra pop over manuals
B.net: Kusanku
sort of, but not really.
Automatics usually have a slightly higher top end speed, and they can take off easier in first gear, which is why a lot of drag racers prefer them. With the exception of push button automatics though, stock tuning on a family car, or even a sportier car (mustang v6 for example) won't shift faster than a person can. A person who knows how to drive a stick well can usually shift within half a second, and know when to shift for optimum performance. A computer is going to shift for optimum comfort, usually at a lower rpm to avoid the "jerk", and at a longer rate of switch, around .75 seconds. That's why people that tune or race automatics use a shift kit, to reconfigure the shift points to make it more like manual shifting.
Hi, I'm your clutch. I'm in pain. Please stop hurting me.
To the OP, just drive it. You'll get better with time, and then if you decide to start wasting money on cars, you'll be able to get the most out of them. Eventually though, you'll learn that cars are fun, but costly little bastards.
To the person who said automatics have more power, I whole-heartedly disagree. Especially if the torque converter is setup for conservative driving.
or is that not what you're saying?
You could, and it can be bad for the clutch (worst case, you have more grip than power, clutch slips, you are still mashing the throttle wondering what the burning smell is and why you aren't moving), but if anything it would be bad for your tires and result in a worse launch than a properly controlled one. At the end of the day it's a delicate operation when done well, but one that becomes second nature with practice.
Eating up some clutch is going to happen when you are new to it. That's a given. But quickly getting to the point when you hardly use any should be your goal. Like engine braking for example. Every beginner does it right? Coming up to a stop...in 4th gear. Little bit of brakes. Then clutch in, down to 3rd, then slowly easing off the clutch making the car slow down without using the brakes. Magic. Horrendous on the clutch though. The goal should be to get good down shifts so you are only using the clutch for a split second. Same stop, 4th gear, clutch in, blip the throttle to get the revs up for a smooth down shift to 3rd. Put it in 3rd. Done properly there will be no lurching THEN you can let the engine help you slow down along with the brakes.
Anyway...back to starts...if you want to practice without melting your clutch; from a stop on a flat bit of road let the engine idle. Put it in first, then slowly and smoothly let the clutch out without adding throttle until you get the car rolling without bogging down. When you feel that point in the clutch travel when the car starts moving remember it then start adding throttle and releasing the clutch faster. You will get it. Just remember to be smooth.
I take that partially back, I do engine break when it's very slippery out. But other than that, and not very much, I never bother with it.
Apparently it's illegal to drive your car in neutral at any time for safety reasons (I've still yet to figure out why). I engine break pretty much all the time but sometimes I just let it drift in neutral when I know I'll be taking a while to slow down.
Because you have no ability to accelerate away from a hazard.
I don't understand why people think driving in neutral is OK. Ever. Just don't fucking do it. What's wrong with the five gears you are given?
In a perfect world no foul. I like to down shift coming up to a stop mostly for safety. Like if I need to make last minute maneuvers and such, I like to know that if I need the power, it's there. I'm sure it has saved me from being hit at least a couple of times. I like to have that second or two ready to use rather than spend it fumbling for a gear. If you down shift properly you don't hurt the clutch and you can use the engine in conjunction with the brakes to help you slow down.
I think in Europe you'd probably fail a drivers test if you coast not in gear up to a stop from a decent distance using only the brakes.
You certainly would in the UK.
I do it when there are no other cars around me and there's nothing that is going to become a hazard that I need to accelerate away from. It would take me about half a second to get back into gear anyways so I don't see the problem.
That I know for sure...my English father drilled it into my head BEFORE I even started driving. I knew what would make me fail a UK drivers test before I took my Pennsylvania, USA drivers test.
Brown'd for total shit. The whole point of hazards is that some of them you can't see, like when an child darts onto the road. Half a second is the difference between speeding away and having a death on your hands.
There is no reason to wilfully place your car's engine outside of your control. Ever.
You'd fail in every Province and Territory of Canada as well. Downshifting also saves your brakes from wear. It's essentially free stopping energy if done properly (though there is some wear and tear on your transmission/engine). I use compression as my primary stopping method, whether I'm stopping a 30,000lb fire truck or my 5,000lb SUV.
There are usually no children darting around at 2 in the morning on the Great Highway or at the Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza approach so I'll take my chances. Do you always drive with your hands at 10 and 2 o'clock? Look over your shoulder when making a right-hand turn across a bike lane? Or even follow posted speed limits at all times? I take an incredibly small calculated risk at some times as a matter of convenience.
It disturbs me that you offer these things as optional.
And the answer is yes to all of them, except speeding, where I may break the limit on British motorways to ensure a safe overtaking manoeuvre.
I do.
Well...not the speeding. I don't speed for the love of speeding. I will speed a bit (5 - 10 mph over) when I know I can. Not legally of course, but safely.
I guess it's really just habit for me though at this point. I have a very good example for why looking over your shoulder is a good idea. Just a couple of weeks ago I was down in Florida visiting family. My little sister was driving. She looked in her mirror, started changing lanes, side swiped a Corvette. Had she looked over her shoulder there would have been no accident, but as such, she didn't. Scrapes on both cars, a couple of hours of annoyance dealing with Miami Beach cops and a repair bill. Could have all been avoided by taking half a second to turn her head.
I guess we're just different here in the U.S. then. Nobody drives with their hands at 10 and 2 and driving the speed limit in California is actually more dangerous than driving 10-15mph over because you won't be keeping up with traffic.
edit: Also, the over-the-shoulder thing with bike lanes was a new thing they were pushing on drivers in CA when I was getting my license. We were actually required to turn our head all the way around and look directly out the back of the car to see if a bike was behind us. I fully support looking over your shoulder to see the blind spot but looking directly behind seemed more dangerous than anything for me because then you had absolutely no awareness of what was in front of you.
It means automatics use a Torque Converter. The automatic develops more torque on launch which makes it accelerate faster. A stock automatic transmission in your average consumer car will shift smoothly and not faster than a manual transmission.
I'm not saying that an automatic is going to beat your car in a race. I'm saying it's easy for them to accelerate without much drama and automatic drivers will get ahead of manual drivers if the manual driver isn't very aggressive.
I tend to not get on my car too hard when taking off from a stoplight so people will usually pass me. Part of that is also that my car has a small inline 4 engine which develops very little torque at low RPM. Automatic versions of my car launch much better from a stop. It might seem to the inexperienced driver that my car is actually slower until I punch the gas hard and pass all the automatics.
So the solution to accelerating faster in a manual is NOT to launch the car at 4000 RPM. Launching at 4000 RPM from every stop sign will result in much embarrassment as you constantly chirp the tires. That is retarded and you will wear your clutch faster than necessary. Spin the engine up higher in first and second at higher throttle if you would like to get going faster quicker.
Okay so I found that point at the clutch where it moves but itself, after I'm at the point and giving gas, could I just take my foot off the clutch quick?
Are you talking about starting from a stop and launching into first or changing from first to second to third, etc?
I slip the clutch slightly when taking off from a stop to smooth things out. I slowly let the clutch out while giving the car a little throttle. The car will bog some but that doesn't matter much. If you let the clutch out very quickly it tends to jerk the car and not be very comfortable.
When shifting when shifting between gears, you can push the clutch in quickly, let off the gas, change the gear and then let out the clutch quickly but smoothly then once it is reengaged, apply throttle.