Fearful Newbie

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stephenchowster
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Fearful Newbie

Post by stephenchowster »

Hi,

I've searched for the longest time for some info on how to drive standard and I have to say this forum has the most helpful info... Anyways, I'm a total newbie at driving standard and I hope you guys won't mind answering some of my questions now and in the future :oops:

I guess I'll share my first experience...

So I recently bought an Acura TL Dynamic (MT) with very little experience of driving stick (Stupid of me I know, but it's so beautiful and the MT package comes with summer performance tires)... Anyways I did have some practice on my bro's '95 Civic, but it clearly wasn't enough. I kept stalling my lovely new car, and when I actually do a "successful" launch, it kinda rattles probably because I'm shy on the gas. Also my shifts from 1 to 2 is jerky and my bro tells me it's because I'm letting go of the clutch too fast. At the end of it all my car felt a bit warm when i stepped out... I feel like I totally traumatized my new car!

So my questions mainly revolve on what can damage the transmission and what I can do to minimize it...

1) Does stalling wear out the transmission if it's done too many times?

2) What is the most damaging thing that a newbie most commonly does to his car and how can you avoid it?

3) Any general tips on how to practice without hurting the car?

I think I'll leave my TL to rest in the garage and get absolutely comfortable with MT by practicing on my bro's Civic first before I even touch my car again... As you may have noticed I'm totally paranoid about hurting the car, so any advice will be much appreciated.
Kyromoto
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Post by Kyromoto »

as far as most thing a newb does to damage the car id say is glazing the clutch... this happens when you let the clutch slip far to long on any gear before engaging it. this reduces the life of your clutch tremendously.

as far as advice id say find where the friction point is really slowly and right as the car rattles (near stall) put clutch back in and do it uintil you feel comfortable with the clutch.

well good luck bro. I been there in your shoes before so everyone one of us here knows what its like to learn this gracefull art
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee (slush Box) 1989 Ford Escort 5MT (my elanor) Future STI owner FTW!
screenname
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Re: Fearful Newbie

Post by screenname »

Welcome to the site!
stephenchowster wrote:I've searched for the longest time for some info on how to drive standard and I have to say this forum has the most helpful info... Anyways, I'm a total newbie at driving standard and I hope you guys won't mind answering some of my questions now and in the future :oops:
You've definitely come to the right place. Most of our members are very willing to help a fellow standard shifter, so you can lay your worries to rest.
stephenchowster wrote:1) Does stalling wear out the transmission if it's done too many times?
No, not really. It's not the greatest thing in the world for the clutch and transmission to have to endure, but it won't wear it out like you think it will. No worries there... just try not to do it too much in such a short time.
stephenchowster wrote:2) What is the most damaging thing that a newbie most commonly does to his car and how can you avoid it?
This is debatable. Newbies tend to give it lots of gas and release the clutch slowly, which will burn up the clutch in no time. Also, don't keep your foot on the clutch when driving. That'll put a small amount of pressure on the clutch pedal, and the clutch will slip very slightly. This'll also lead to premature clutch wear.
stephenchowster wrote:3) Any general tips on how to practice without hurting the car?
Modern transmissions are designed to take a beating, so you can safely learn how to drive stick without damaging the car. I've taught 4 people how to drive stick with my Civic (which in turn had 2 people before me that learned how to drive a stick with the car), and it's still fine. As long as you're not trying to destroy the car, it should be fine. Just remember - no dumping the clutch, and no riding it (keeping your foot on the clutch when the car is in motion).
stephenchowster wrote:I think I'll leave my TL to rest in the garage and get absolutely comfortable with MT by practicing on my bro's Civic first before I even touch my car again... As you may have noticed I'm totally paranoid about hurting the car, so any advice will be much appreciated.
Don't worry about your car - it'll take a LOT more than that to permanently damage it. Feel free to ask any questions you have.
Young Twig
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Re: Fearful Newbie

Post by Young Twig »

stephenchowster wrote:2) What is the most damaging thing that a newbie most commonly does to his car and how can you avoid it?
Crashing the car. :P
chrono
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Post by chrono »

Welcome!

I think screenname summed it up very neatly.
Search the forum for answers to your questions, and if you want to ask something very specific, feel free to ask and somebody will be sure to answer in no time.
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Prodigal Son
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Re: Fearful Newbie

Post by Prodigal Son »

stephenchowster wrote:1) Does stalling wear out the transmission if it's done too many times?
Yes, but 'too many times' is a really big number. Over reving in the attempt to prevent stalling is probably more harmful. But as others have said, transmissions are tough and you won't hurt your car by learning on it, as long as you treat it with respect.
stephenchowster wrote:2) What is the most damaging thing that a newbie most commonly does to his car and how can you avoid it?


At some point you will find out, quite by accident, that you can hold your car on a hill by holding the clutch half way out. This seems very easy and natural and the car will give no immediate indication that anything is wrong. However, if you keep doing this, you will burn up your clutch very quickly. I don't know if this is the most frequent problem, but it is probably the most deceptive trap.
stephenchowster wrote:3) Any general tips on how to practice without hurting the car?
Go to a parking lot and practice no-gas starts. That means: With the engine warned up and running at idle, gently let out the clutch until the car starts moving. Continue to gently let out the clutch until is it all the way out and the car is travelling at a walking pace. Then clutch in and repeat until you can do it smoothly every time.

This will teach you how to handle the clutch. From the catch point (the point where the clutch and the flywheel begin to hook up and the car begins to move) to fully engaged should take no more than a second of two, but you have to be very smooth through the second or the car will buck and stall. If it is taking you longer to get off the clutch, don't compensate by jerking your foot off. Just keep practicing being smooth and the speed will come.

Once you have mastered that, you have mastered the only real mechanical skill involved in driving manual: engaging the clutch. With that under your belt, learning the rest of it -- how to change gears and how to modulate the gas -- will come pretty easily. Driving standard is really all about learning the clutch, learning how it feels, and how the car reacts as the clutch is engaged. Once you get that down, the rest is easy.

And, while you should not be worrying about hurting the car (you are only likely to hurt it more by being afraid of it) you can take comfort in the fact that the no-gas launch is very easy on the car.
Just some guy on the Internet. Heed with care.
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jomotopia
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Post by jomotopia »

welcome to the site and driving stick :D

+1 for what everybody else said. stalling isn't gonna kill the car.

here are the things that IMO are the worst for the car:

burning up the clutch like people have said, slipping it too much at too high revs.

grinding gears. this happens if you try to shift into gear without having the clutch fully disengaged. the most common way i think it happens to noobs is when they're trying to upshift and let the clutch out before they are fully engaged to the next gear. you will get a nasty grinding sound and probably the stick will kick back to neutral. doing this a few times isn't gonna kill the car but you definitely want to try to avoid it.

downshifting into too low a gear for the current speed. this can force the engine past redline and is pretty much the worst mistake you can make.

good luck and don't worry you will get the hang of it and your car will be fine. check out the terms and faq 2.0 in this forum for some general stuff and feel free to ask any specific questions you have and plenty of ppl can help you out :D
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JackBauer
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Post by JackBauer »

the only thing that will take a beating is the clutch- you sound like you have an idea of what you are doing- seeing as you've had practice before and you drove the car to your home from the lot. I think you and your car will be just fine.
stephenchowster
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Thankyou!

Post by stephenchowster »

Thanks everyone for the great advice and reassurance. After last night, I was afraid to get into the driver seat of my new car again, but after reading the posts I'm ready for another day of learning.

I'm sure I'll have more questions after today...

Thanks again!
Last edited by stephenchowster on Sun Jul 09, 2006 2:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jomotopia
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Post by jomotopia »

dumping the clutch is just letting your foot off it and letting it slam up on its own
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Sypher
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Post by Sypher »

Welcome to the site!

I wouldnt worry about killing your car. Many of us were/are completely new to stick when we bought our first stick car. And I have not heard of a single case about soemone killing their car while learning.
jomotopia wrote:dumping the clutch is just letting your foot off it and letting it slam up on its own
Actually, that's more like "popping" the clutch. Dumping it would jsut be lifting the clutch real quick with no pauses anywhere.

and I think stalling would actually casue more damage to the engine and mounts more than it would the tranny or the clutch.
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