Low speed driving woes

[theholycow]

I would probably have been in neutral until it was almost time to accelerate again, then I would have chosen the appropriate gear (your description of your road speed sounds like 2nd in most cars), slipped the clutch if necessary or dumped it if rev-matched just right, and continued on my way.

[Squint]

I am trying to think back to what happened. I wasn't at a complete standstill, just moving very slow. My left foot pushed the clutch in all the way. Shifted down. When I let go I noticed the revs went up. I might have tapped the acceleration by accident before but I am not completely sure. Nothing happened like I said it just surprised me.

Forgetting about that story for now, what would have you done in a similar situation?

Well, speed bumps and slow downs similar to that can be slightly tricky. Typically, you want to take them in 2nd gear. Basically, 1st gear exists for starting from a stop and/or if you're going less than 5 mph. In your first example, going uphill super slowly, I think I would have done 1 of 2 things. First (and more probably), I probably would have shifted to 1st to make sure I didn't stall if you were going slower than 5mph. Secondly, if you were worried about stalling since it was uphill, just completely stop and wait for the van/truck/whatever to move out of your way. That causes an uphill hill-start to happen, but better to be safe than sorry, right?

In my car, to make 2nd gear go up to 3-4k RPM, I would have to be going probably 30 mph. So my bet was that you might have touched the gas pedal while you were shifting. The revs could have stayed put for just a second, depending on how long you had been driving/Air condition/etc, and caused it also.

Anyway, welcome

[TimYH]

Thanks for the advice all. I would like to think I am getting better at specifically these situations. Lately when I stall it is because I find myself pressing the brakes but I haven't engaged the clutch fully or shifted to neutral. I need to just build up the habit of pressing the clutch and the brake when I am in low speeds like this.

[theholycow]

Lately when I stall it is because I find myself pressing the brakes but I haven't engaged the clutch fully

Disengaged. When you shove the clutch pedal to the floor, you are using the clutch release system to disengage the clutch.



When you disengage the clutch it is no longer squeezed between the flywheel and pressure plate and cannot transmit power. When you take your foot off the clutch pedal, springs force it to engage and then it can transmit power.

[Gerard]

WELCOME!

and congrats on the new car, I purchased my 1st manual car this time last year.
What a coincidence lol.

the Ford ST is a great car.

[TimYH]

When you disengage the clutch it is no longer squeezed between the flywheel and pressure plate and cannot transmit power. When you take your foot off the clutch pedal, springs force it to engage and then it can transmit power.

Woops! Apologize my mis-use of terminology. I remember reading that part in the popular mechanics article on how manual's work. Keep getting the concept flipped around. Thanks for the clarification.