Quote:
Originally Posted by magillagorilla
Great thread.
I'm in the process of learning to drive a manual trying to make my mind up between step and stick on my 335i order. Unfortunately, Seattle's hills make a stick more of an issue that it otherwise would be. Had a series of stalls on a hill yesterday afternoon that was brutally embarrassing and seemed to last forever. I can still remember the look on the woman's face who was sitting in a different car waiting for me to get up the hill. UGH!
While hill starts and regular driving are getting manageable at this point, I seriously have not been able to get the car in reverse without stalling it. Fear I guess is that I'm going to go flying backwards if I give the car too much gas. I can't modulate the speed properly so I react by not giving the car enough gas, resulting in a stall.
I take it that what I should be doing is only partially letting go of the clutch?
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noooo... no one cares if you stall or not, no one knows what you're doing, they're not watching you. forget them. the entire world to you is gas pedal, road, and stick...
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdink
Ok... So i just got back from my lunch break, which i spent driving around instead of eating and came up with the following observations about driving my new 335 6MT
When I do a slow start if i do not feather the clutch until about 3000 RPM then I get a jerky like motion. If i start faster and keep an adding preasure to the gas at an increasing rate I do not have to feather as much and it is much more smooth. Using this second type of start I reach a much higher RPM and probably eat up a lot more gas.
Downshifting is very jerky if i do not rev match (the RPM falls off very quickly). In order to get a smooth downshift I can either
a) 1. Press in the clutch 2. rev engine 3. downshift 4. Depress Cluch
or
b) 1. Press in the cluch 2. shift into neutral 3. rev engine 4. shift into the lower gear 5. depress clutch.
Option a is faster, but is there any benefit do doing option b? (i guess option c would be to do the double clutch, but that seems unnecessary per previous posts)
Another observation is when I come to a stop. Typically i find myself shifting into neutral, holding in the cluch all the way and breaking. I find it to be the smoothest way to come to a stop. Downshifting at low speeds with rev matching while coming to a stop seems counter productive (since you arn't trying to speed up). Also, if suddenly the light turns green before i come to a complete stop, or have just stopped, I shift from neutral into second to start.
Does anyone have a good technique for driving at low speeds? I realized last night when I let my friend drive my car (he drives a m3 so i trusted him) that sitting in the passanger seat is scary as heck, and i can't even imagine what it is like if a) you havent driven with someone before and b) don't trust a cars handling...esp in rainy washington  I guess feathering is a must, but whats a good way to avoid jerky movements in downshifting without rev matching? |
sounds like you ditch the clutch too early. patience grasshopper
Quote:
Originally Posted by BK
EVERYONE. Those who say they fully release their clutch when backing out of a parking space are either lying or have 400 foot driveways. 
Interesting thread. I rev match on downshifts, but don't double-clutch. I'm not convinced there is any benefit to it. |
LOL i just came back from lunch, and while backing up i wanted to try not riding the clutch. it was 0.5 seconds then i had to go back to the clutch again hahaha
Quote:
Originally Posted by checuervo
About the engine braking issue, I remember listening to an episode of CarTalk a few years back, where they compared relying on engine braking versus relying on just the brakes. They basically concluded that both were equally good/bad for the car as a whole. So a mix seems the best bet.
I assume when people say "don't rely on engine braking, use your brakes" that you don't suggest pressing the clutch the entire time you brake... right?
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brake = to stop car
engine = to make it go