What's up everyone, I'm new to driving a manual, and was wondering if you guys could chip in on the proper do's and don'ts of driving stick shift.


I'm not going to attempt traffic for a few more weeks. My question is, would bumper to bumper traffic consist of pressing/depressing the clutch. Is that what "riding the clutch" means?

One friend told me that adding gas while using the clutch will be the main reason why I burn out my clutch faster. But when I let the clutch go at the grab point it does move forward a little, so a little gas and I can move smoothly.

I guess I'm worried about killing my clutch too fast. I know it's expected for a new manual driver so any tips on lengthening the life of my clutch would be appreciated. :-)

 

My suggestion to you.

Rent a 2 wheel drive manual car with insurance and learn with that. learning a all wheel drive manual is harder than 2wd.

 

Wow! I think your best bet is to find a nice flat parking lot,and get a "feel" for the clutch.
Try letting it out without giving any gas,and try to get the car rolling that way.
Once you can do that with regularity,do it some more!!

"Riding" the clutch is when you keep your foot on the clutch as you coast in gear.
Pressing the clutch in and out is not necessarily a bad thing,you need to do that no matter what.

"Slipping" the clutch sounds like what your friend is talking about.That is when you hold a consistent rpm and slowly release the clutch pedal while trying to get the car rolling.
This will usually give you a nice burning smell,not good for clutch life!!

Just keep practicing,it will become second nature after a while,as a side note,learning to drive manual in an AWD car is probably the hardest way to learn,seeing as you're operating five driveshafts!!

Have fun,see you at the Autocross in July!!

 

Put it like this. I stopped in by my dads house one day, he wanted my car moved. So I gave him my keys and he stalled out 7 times. He taught me to drive manual in a 2wd car. When I got in the subaru back in 06, it was another world.

 

Yeah like 2.5 DOCH said i would first find an all flat surface parking lot and get the feel for the clutch " the sweet spot". when i first started driving manual 1st gear was the hardest to learn. If u have enough confidence getting out of 1st gear easily, then attacking a hill is the next step. good luck man

 

wow i didn't realize i made it harder for myself by getting a suby/AWD

 

Cool, I did that too... When I bought my subaru many moons ago, I didn't know how to drive stick, I even had to arrange to have the car delivered to my house, because I couldn't drive it so sad....

Anyway, just practice a lot and get used to where the clutch pickup point is... Don't ride the clutch or drive with your foot resting on the clutch pedal ( believe me, I've seen the end product of that disaster. ) and don't worry about slipping the clutch... just keep it in moderation and your car will be okay... I remember teaching leila to drive stick and it was a jerky mess because she would release the clutch too fast because everyone told her not to slip it... You do need to slip it a little to smoothly accelerate from stops, just don't over do it.

ha ha, I crack me up...

 

This is the best way to learn it (slowly letting the clutch out to learn where it grabs). This is how I was taught, and how I taught my last girlfriend. It makes it much faster to learn rather than having someone say "give it gas and let out the clutch....no not like that."

Once you know where the clutch engages and you can get the car going smoothly, you can apply the same principle to starting on a slope. Some people will tell you to hold the car with the e-brake, but I've always found that more difficult as then you have 3 limbs to coordinate instead of 2.

Also, if you stall in traffic just turn your hazards on and let everyone go around you. If you let them sit behind you, you may feel pressured and be less likely to be able to get the car going. I had to do this in the middle of San Francisco

Best of luck to you in your learning. Don't let the fact that AWD is difficult to learn on deter you. It may seem difficult to some, but once you understand where the clutch grabs, it's not hard.

 

**Let someone else back it out the garage if its in one **

 

two good threads to read:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=587096
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...98#post6545898

 

i drove teh 08 so i dont know how different it is from the 09 but teh spring "kicks" near teh friciton point like the 05s

to find that use reverse its easier to feel for me

when going into first its eaiser if it go to secnond then to first

reverse is tricking i go two to one all the way to the right double pump the clutch and the go to reverse

i have an 03 so they may have gotten better

 

try practicing in an empty parking lot at night.

 

oh and have a HIIC member go with hyou to give you some tips

 

My friend used this excuse " I was learning stick" when a cop stopped him in a parking lot. And yea he knew damned well how to drive stick and yes the cop bought it. hehe

 

hahahaha i can teach you to drive stick. i taught 2 chicks how in less then 20 mins. where they won't stall on there own.....


the same concept for a fwd is not the same when driving a awd... it's a little different.