driving stick properly
 

Well I'm doing ok so far even managed to rev match when downshifting. Still stall at red lights 1 out of 15 times but thats improving. Thing I'm concerned about is going slow, like creepy crawl slow like in bumper to bumper traffic or maneuvering into a parkings space. What I've been doing is just pressing the clutch in half way and tap the gas a bit so its just moving like 2mph or so guess the friction of the clutch is acting like a brake?? Am I doing that wrong I don't want to ruin my clutch. What do u guys to when u need to go super slow?

Accelerate very slowly, then put in the clutch and coast a bit and repeat the process or put the car in neutral while coasting.

you're on the right path. if you have to move at speeds slower than the car will idle in gear, about 6-7 mph or so i tihnk. then ya, it just takes some learning the clutch to contorl your speed. its best not to ride the clutch like that any more than necesary though. its something thats come with time and experience. before you know it it'll be second nature and you wont even think about it.

just remember than every different vehicle you drive has a different clutch, and driving a new vehicle will take some time to get used to, maybe one run through the gears, maybe 2 weeks. just depends on how much different the clutch is and how experienced you are.

Definitely try to minimize the amount of time that the clutch is partially engaged, because that's when the clutch will wear. In traffic, leave a little more space in front of you so you'll have to stop and go less often and will be able to cruise around 7 mph with the clutch fully engaged.

fyi, on the rx8, 7mph is 1000rpm in 2nd gear, which is pretty much exactly where the rx8 idles when it's moving

so, for most 'crawling' traffic, i use 2nd instead of downshifting into 1st

If you let the clutch out suuuuuuuper slow the car will roll forward without giving it any gas. Just learn where that catch-zone is on your clutch, then give it just a little bit of gas to get you rolling, and then put the clutch back in. Basically.... Rev (1.5-2k), ease out the clutch untill you start rolling, push the clutch back in, repeat. Dont worry about over revving a little bit, better to over rev than stall. After a short time this action will get faster and more presice untill your rolling through stop and go like a pro!

Good luck man, and keep at it. The 8 isnt the easiest car to learn stick on, so be pacient.

Agree as well. No need to have to replace that expensive clutch sooner than you have to.

To clarify what I think ZZ is saying here - you can leave the 8 in 2nd gear and not touch the gas pedal, and it will just coast at ~7mph. Combine this w/cquinn's advice of staying off the car in front a bit more, and you can dramatically reduce the use of the clutch.

Prlly best to practice a time or 3 in an empty lot first.

:beerchug:

^thanks for clarifying, that's what i meant lol

I generally do the quick blit of power, with possibly less-than-full-clutch, followed by clutch-down coasting.

This is why some people hate MT.

I used to do the same thing until I was more comfortable with the clutch in whatever car I was driving. It will wear the clutch a bit but also help you learn the catch point. All other advice here is great, you'll be a pro in no time!

other bad habits to avoid: resting your hand on the shifter when driving, sitting at a light with the clutch depressed instead of putting the car in nuetral. resting your foot on the clutch predal instead of the dead pedal.

push hips forward, then pull hips back and repeat... wait, wrong thread...

-Steakboy

No no, that'll still work.... if you're 3rd leg is available for that distance.

Hm, another question. I'm a new 8 driver, and still getting used to the clutch. I've only driven an older car with stick before, and never daily. So I've come across some more issues. I tried to parallel park on a hill yesterday. So the nose of the car was facing downward. I wasn't careful with the clutch, and my car like rolled way down, I was practically touching the car in front of me. If it weren't for the handbrake, I would not have been able to reverse back up. I was so frightened. What do you guys do in situations like this? Any tips for starting/stopping on slopes? I used to be able to hold my old car by halfclutching, but its so hard in the . The clutch pedal is so easy to depress, like there's no feeling to it. Tips?

Use the handbrake when starting on a slope. Wait for the clutch to engage then release the handbrake. This should prevent you from rolling back until you're quick enough with the clutch.

^ That, and lots of practice on flat ground to learn the catch point better. Then some practice on slopes w/o cars around, so you don't have to worry about bumping anyone.

Or, the dissenting opinion that there's absolutely nothing wrong with sitting at a light with the clutch depressed.

Two comments. First, as dmc27 said, with some practice you'll learn to automatically go to where the sweet spot on the clutch is. "halfclutching", as you call it, isn't really about "half"; whether the sweet spot on a clutch is half-way or three-quarters or one-quarters can vary from car to car. You need to learn where YOUR clutch starts to engage.

Second: for parallel parking nose-down on a hill, I would've done all the forward movement part just by clutch-down to use the hill to coast while using the brake to control speed. And again, when the hill is steep enough relative to your skills, there's no shame in using the hand brake. I've been driving stick for 20 years and I still occasionally pull out the handbrake trick on the rare really steep hill.

Slopes are kinda hard at first. I use the handbrake, and when the light turns green, i just give it gas and feather with the clutch until i feel the car wanting to move, then I release the handbrake slowly as I give it more gas. It's all in your foot, and patience.

-Cody

And in case you didn't do it already, I'll correct myself & ZoomZoomH. The 8 pulls @ 7 or 8 mph in 1st gear and @ 12 or 13 mph in 2nd gear.

I think it was already mentioned, but you should be able to just feather the clutch out (ie - slower release of the clutch) in 1st to get the car rolling without touching the gas at all.

My problem is I can't find the sweet spot of the GAS pedal! Accelerating out of 1st I put a some pressure on the gas and the RPMs jump to 3500rpms, and if I give just a little pressure, the car starts shaking and almost stalls. I can't seem to get the hang of 1st gear in this thing.

Sounds like you don't quite have the coordination of the gas and clutch pedals. You need to achieve a balance of the two for a smooth launch.
You need to practice.

The gear ratio in reverse is a the same as second, IIRC. Reversing, therefore, requires a bit more finesse on the pedals to do it smoothly reversing up an incline. No harm using the e-brake, although you probably won't kill anything if you're delicate with the throttle and riding the clutch.

I have to reverse into a garage spot that is up an incline, and it is fairly tight, so I often have to feather the clutch under a bit of throttle if I don't have it quite moving quick enough from the road into the garage.

Yup, what Darkbrew said. This one's entirely a matter of practice. Especially considering there's a couple ways to launch.