Teamwork wrote:MH86 wrote:I think it's just the sensation of working both feet that I'm getting used to.
On another note, on my drive home, I encountered my worst nightmare situation: uphill traffic jam. I stalled the first time I tried inching up, and then peeled out because I was nervous about stalling again. Wow, that was quite the surprise. At least that didn't turn into an endless chain of stalling. I won't lie, though, that definitely rattled my nerves a bit.
On the next stretch of uphill traffic, I also had to change lanes. I didn't stall or peel out that time, but I did rev to just over 2200 RPM. How bad is that for the clutch? I don't want to fuss over every little thing, but I also don't want to develop bad habits.
The two feet working together aspect does take time getting used to also. I grew up playing guitar/bass and being pretty good with my hands but I could never get behind a drum set and keep a rhythm with my feet and hands. Took some hardcore conditioning I'd say on my part with the car but really you need to be having your limbs working in unison.
Up hill traffic jam? Yeah that's really not desirable. A lot of it really has to do with psyche and approach though aside from actual technique. I feel like if I'm really worrying about whats going on behind me or have time idling at a red light doing nothing that sometimes I would psyche myself out. Keeping a clear head when you can could really benefit you. Just keep in mind what you need to do and not worry about the "bad things" until they actually happen.
Just the other day here I said that I was beginning to get the hang of hill starts, the difference there being that I nearly always got to watch cross-traffic so that the second my light turned green, I was ready to get moving. Yesterday's traffic jam was at an offramp (with no lights) where up this point, the worst I had to do was momentarily (for only a few seconds) balance the clutch and gas to keep steady as traffic started moving. You're definitely right that I shouldn't pay too much attention to traffic behind me - my best driving has been in such cases.
Even though I was frustrated yesterday, I feel like I'm at a point where I need to fine-tune my approach rather than "I give up!" I mean, I got my hill start right the second time traffic stopped and started moving, so I think I am starting to get the hang of it. This weekend, I need to practice some more hill starts, and maybe I'll make a conscious effort to do them slowly, as if I were inching up in traffic. Up until this point, most of my hill starts were of the kind where I was able to move off and accelerate up to 20+ mph.
I really don't want to keep bringing it up and seeming like I'm being sarcastic about it but when you're in traffic crawls you can get away with no gas launches and low rpm "slow" launches. The part that kind of still freaks on me a little is when I'm first in que at a red light and I know there's a ton of people waiting behind me. I like having that buffer of one car in front of me so I can roll out with there que's and not feel like I'm launching too slow.
I take every possible opportunity to no-gas launch. When I'm driving around Queens (where nearly every traffic light is timed with a walk signal countdown) and I'm the lead car at a red light, I start no-gas launching when cross traffic's walk signal only has a few seconds left so that I'm fully off the clutch once my light turns green.
I think the next thing for me personally is trying to be able to launch quicker out of 1st gear. I feel like I really baby into it (for smoothness sake) and then if I want to really go I wind out 1st and 2nd.
You and me both. Although I think I should focus on more consistent smooth launches before I go for speed. Although I've noticed that I can launch quickly and smoothly when I don't overthink it - for example, the other day, I was about to no-gas launch for a left turn at a busy intersection and decided to add some gas to the launch. I was quite surprised at how well I did and that saved me from having to judge additional oncoming traffic headed downhill.
Do you have a gear guide on your jetta though? I have one in my GTI and I honestly sought to attempt to turn it off via vag-com/VCDS but it seems like no such thing would be done. It's kind of funny to me because whenever it actually asks me to down shift- it's literally at a point where the engine is juddering and laboring so badly. It wants me in 6th gear by 40 mph too spinning at 1000-1100 rpms...
That gear guide is awful. Mine also tells me to downshift once the engine is already juddering like crazy. In addition, it frantically wants me to downshift from 2-1 whenever my speed gets under 10 mph, even if I'm about to tap the gas again and be at 10 mph (like when I'm creeping in traffic). In addition, it suggests upshifts at 2000 rpm (sometimes less), which usually way too soon in crazy NY traffic. Basically, I ignore that thing and go by ear/feel/rpm. I must say, though, that I like being able to quickly see what gear I'm in if I've been at steady speed for awhile, although I'm beginning to develop a memory for what gear I'm in without looking.
). When it comes to making adjustments in parallel parking spots on hills though, I'm not comfortable unless I use the handbrake, but I don't think that using the handbrake on hills is a sign of weakness.
