1st time driving stick-corvette-paranoid!

Synchros shot? Weird noises while shifting? Not sure what needs to be replaced?
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Corvette21
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1st time driving stick-corvette-paranoid!

Post by Corvette21 »

Hey guys.. First let me start off by saying I love this site! Im so glad i stumbled upon it. Im 18 years old and up until last month, Ive never driven a standard transmission car. My dad went out and bout a 2000 Corvette (52,000 miles) stand tranny. He had absolutely no problem with me learning to drive stick on his corvette so that id be able to take it out whenever i want to. So the first day he gets the car, he takes me driving. I had the biggest problem launching-it was the roughest thing ever, the car just nearly stalled and jerked time after time again. We practiced for about 4 days, then all of the sudden, I somehow got it down perfectly (or so I think). Smooth starts, no jerking, complete opposite of what I was doing. So my dad for 3 more days went out with me just to make sure I had it ok (which I did) and then I was off on my own on streets with no hills (and no main, highly traffic filled road). Im not ready for hills yet, i havent even practiced. The other day, I had a scare. I dont know if Im launching correctly--I feel that either Im burning the clutch or just paranoid. This is how I launch (please tell me if this sounds right) I slowly let of the clutch about half way, give it gas, less than 1500rpm, probably like 2 seconds, the car catches and slowly starts moving, then it probably takes 2 more seconds for me to completely release the clutch, just so I can get a smooth start. The other day I go to start, and something felt off. When I released the clutch and gave it gas, I felt some sort of a "chattering" in the clutch pedal. It wasnt as smooth letting off, I can just feel it I dont know how to explain it. That made me paranoid in itself. Then, on my next start, I felt the chatter again, but this time, I smelt a hot heavy smell (dont know if it was the clutch or just engine heat or something). this made me sooo paranoid, after the chattering in the pedal i was already thinking im ruining the clutch, then the smell
Corvette21
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Re: 1st time driving stick-corvette-paranoid!

Post by Corvette21 »

i immediately turned around, went home, and put it in the garage. there was no remaining smell or anything. Am I doing something wrong? Am I ruining the clutch. I dont want to have to call my dad aat work one day and tell him that hes going to have to have a $2000 clutch repair. What can I do to test if the clutch is bad? I havent taken the car out since just because im so paranoid.. Help please!
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Re: 1st time driving stick-corvette-paranoid!

Post by LHOswald »

your technique sounds right. was it hot or humid or raining out that day? usually in hot or muggy weather clutches tend to act up quite a bit. if not, you might have just given it a little bit to much gas on one launch and burnt a little off the clutch disk. nothing major, don't worry about it. although on a corvette, you should have enough low end torque to launch under 1000 rpm once you get good with it. just keep it in mind down the road. don't try doing anything new on a public road or something.

im sure THC or rope pusher will comment further
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Re: 1st time driving stick-corvette-paranoid!

Post by theholycow »

Your dad is incredibly cool! I'm jealous.

A clutch on a Corvette shouldn't be $2000. It should be far less labor than a common economy car (because the Corvette is RWD) though the parts might be a little more.

I would recommend practicing no-gas launching, especially in that torque beast of a car. Go to a parking lot and practice launching using only your clutch foot, leave the gas pedal alone. Do it very slow-and-steady at first, and as you get good at it try to increase the speed but still keep your foot movement smooth. This will train your left foot and get you familiar with the clutch without any distractions.

When I was learning, my biggest problem was stalling. I eventually realized that once the car started moving I assumed I was done and dumped the rest of the clutch instead of pausing or slowing my clutch foot and then smoothly continuing.

The chattering might mean you were just a little too rough and almost stalled. The smell might just mean that you're putting extra wear on it because you're learning. OTOH, maybe not. Has your dad driven it since then, and if so has he mentioned the clutch?
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Corvette21
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Re: 1st time driving stick-corvette-paranoid!

Post by Corvette21 »

hey thanks guys.. my dad has driven it since, hasnt said anything. question about the no gas method though...

how exactly does this work, release the clutch slow enough that it catches then what? when i first started driving, i did this to find the catch point, but all that happened was the rpm dropped to about 400 then nearly stalled. and how long is too long to be on the clutch on a launch?
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Re: 1st time driving stick-corvette-paranoid!

Post by Draklen »

with no-gas launches, it generally takes a while compared to regular launch (5-10 second compared to 1-3 seconds for regular launch). It depends on the car low end torque and the weight it's trying to push.

just start slipping the clutch and pause. once the car is moving and the RPMs have come back up to idle speeds start releasing the clutch the rest of the way.
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Re: 1st time driving stick-corvette-paranoid!

Post by theholycow »

The purpose of the no-gas launch is just to go from stopped to idling in 1st gear with your foot off the clutch. It's a great practice exercise to get a better feel and better control; and I use it daily by planning ahead, so it's fully engaged when I can go (the car in front of me goes or the light turns green), then I can slam the go-pedal down like I was driving an automatic.

The Corvette should no-gas launch pretty quickly, once you're good at it - maybe 2 seconds from the time it starts rolling to the time your foot comes off the clutch. I'll have to time my own no-gas launches some day.

As for how long is acceptable while learning, however long it takes you to no-gas launch the first time should be fine.
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Re: 1st time driving stick-corvette-paranoid!

Post by Evicatos »

This is going to sound weird, but I think your issue may be not enough gas on launches. I know when I first started driving my car I was paranoid about revving too high on launches. I was used to a high revving civic manual and managed to chirp the tires on my very first launch out of the dealer lot on my test drive. After that I tended to go to the other extreme and be very timid about the gas until I got the hang of what was a good rpm to launch at. I would imagine that with the power available in a corvette that problem is magnified a thousandfold.

My advice to you would be: go find a wide open space where there's no danger of really hitting anything if you launch the car in a "spirited" fashion. Instead of letting the clutch out and adding a bit of gas as you do so, try this: keep the clutch down and get on the gas a bit, probably aim for an rpm range a bit above what you would consider "comfortable". Let the clutch out smoothly, but do it fast since you don't want to burn it. Basically do this over and over again varying the rpms higher and lower until you can consistently get a smooth launch, even if it's a faster launch than you might be comfortable with. Once you've got an idea of what kind of rpms give you what speed launches, practice the whole "see saw" motion you've been trying to do again. Let the clutch out and gradually give it gas at the same time. By this point you should have a much better "feel" for what rpm you can get smooth and safe launches at.

Also: in before Roman telling you to rev the piss out of the engine and dump the clutch.
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