newbie 5 speed driver

[forreal]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

never go into 1st !!!!!!!!!!!!!

you can start in 2nd if you like.. you do it in winter to afford spinning out even.. but never never downshift into 1st you can slow down to like 2km/hr in 2nd and it will not stall ..

okay so no matter what happens, never downshift into first?? its just that some people say yeah you should down shift into first if your going slow enough and some people say no you shouldnt go into first....so even if your doing 2km/h you will be just fine in 2nd gear? its just that it seems like the cars going to stall if i go that slow in second gear.....

if you dont mind i got a few questions if you can please answer

This is what im having the most difficulty with

1. heres an scenario, lets say im in 2nd gear doing 10km/h and the light ahead of me is red so then i think im going to have to come to a complete stop but just as i approach the light, it turns green like right when you get there and your still proably doing like 1km/h wen u get to the light and have to take off again....what would you do in that kind of siquation??

2. starting out in 2nd, is that done the same exact way as starting out in first gear? expect you put it to 2nd gear instead of first?

thanks man

[Kor]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

I guess only the pros can shift into 1st while rolling almost to a stop. I do it all the time and no damage has come to my trans. I even no clutch shift and downshift.

I also shift into 1st sometimes when rolling but almost stopped. But only when going very slow.

[minutezero]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

if you dont mind i got a few questions if you can please answer

This is what im having the most difficulty with

1. heres an scenario, lets say im in 2nd gear doing 10km/h and the light ahead of me is red so then i think im going to have to come to a complete stop but just as i approach the light, it turns green like right when you get there and your still proably doing like 1km/h wen u get to the light and have to take off again....what would you do in that kind of siquation??

I would say if the car is almost stopped go into first. But it's really up to you how you drive because you could put in second as well, it just might a bit slower on the take-off.

2. starting out in 2nd, is that done the same exact way as starting out in first gear? expect you put it to 2nd gear instead of first?

You need to give it a bit more gas once your starting to engage, but it's pretty much the same, try it out and you'll know. It's a little boggy off the start (for me anyways).

[rwhcrwhc]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

Hey guys, haha, i just bought a vr6 and I'm brand new to driving manual as well... I have couple questions on the jetta.
1. Do you guys downshift comming to a stop or leave it on neutral? ( gas wise which is better? )
2. How many kms you guys get on a full tank. I seem to be getting 390-420kms/fill.
3. Do you guys put premium into your jetta (1.8 and vr6 drivers only i guess..)
4. When I start on gear 1 do I norally rev to 1000 rpm then slowly let go of clutch?


haha, seems like stupid questions but I'm just learning. thanks for you time guys...

R.

[forreal]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

1) You should downshift coming to a stop (you should always downshifting instead of throwing it into neutral becuse if you downshift you'll be in the right gear to take off again

2) My 1.8t averages about 600km/fill in city driving

3) I always use preimum fuel, but you could get away with using mid grade in the city and put in preimum if your going on the highway

4) When starting from a complete stop you should normally rev to about 1000-1500rpm, but dont go any higher


Its hard learning manual over the internet but i hope everyones suggestions help man
i really feel your pain

Moving from a dead stop, you push the clutch in all the way, shift to first gear, then slowly start brining up the clutch and as you see your clutch and gas are balanced meaning at the same height from the ground, you blip the gas to about 1000-1500rpm and as your revs are coming down, you slowly let go of the clutch compeletey

[forkdork]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

What? Why would you downshift through every gear when coming to a stop. Let go of the gas if you see you have to stop, and wait untill your rpm gets reasonably low (don't wait untill your lugging the engine) then shift to neutral and use the brakes.

I never rev the engine while starting off, as your foot is coming off the clutch your other is going onto the gas, like synchonized i guess. One is coming off the other is going on.

With 1st gear, I go into it if i'm at like 10kph or so, I imagine it would be worse riding the clutch and going into 2nd.

[minutezero]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

I would have to agree with fork. Neutral is the way to go. All you have to figure is what speed for what gear, so if you're going around 30 in neutral and find you have to start going again, just put it into second (no gas). If you're going around 50, third, etc. You will see what works for your car. I try to keep mine between 2k-3krpm.

[rwhcrwhc]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

awesome thanks boys.

i sometimes neutral it when i'm at 80. But I'm going to start to downshift until 60-50 then neutral to complete stop. it's fun though. I just hate when people honk and high beam me when I stall.. haha..

one thing that sucks is that on a full tank of gas I only get 390-430. Maybe i'm reving too much but 390 seems sucky.

R.

[Khyron]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

There's arguements for both, however downshifting through all the gears, all the time is a bit much to ask. If it's a sure stop (ie, proper stop sign or light I know won't change) I downshift 5-4-3 then coast until the rpms are below 1200 then put the clutch in and brake. If it's a yield or a stop sign I'm going to roll, I'll go to 2nd. If I can take turns/mergouts without touching the brakes, I'm happy.

A few points from memory: It's often illegal to coast in neutral. Especially on hills, because it's dangerous. Driving at any significant speed with the gear shift in neutral and the clutch out is bad for the gearbox. Even more so with an automatic. So if you are going to do it while stopping, keep the clutch to the floor rather than shifting to N and coasting.

Btw - you consume no gas when you're engine braking, as opposed to whatever you consume when idling (coasting). Some say this increases wear on the clutch/engine - I personally believe it actually makes things wear more evenly and so will actually last longer.

Khyron

[forkdork]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

Yeah word to the engine braking on hills.

[forreal]

Re: newbie 5 speed driver

Yo fo,
It's good to hear progress is being made. Shouldn't be long now before you know what gear you should be in when, etc.

I'm pretty green with manuals myself, so I don't know much, but I'll just give you some insight to what I've learned as a newbie driver.

It's almost like riding a bike. You can tell someone all day how to do it, but it will only help so much. Eventually it will just click for you, and stuff like what gear you should be on corners etc. I think the swimming reference is well put. Your feet are pretty much opposing each other. So when the clutch is all the way in, generally your foot is off the gas and vice versa. The mid-point is what takes a bit getting used to.

Anyways enough of my rambling, what I was going to post about was that you'd be surprised how the car won't stall when it's rolling. I remember my first drive home in stop and go traffic and I was sweatin' like mad; everytime I would see the car's brake lights in front of me come on, I would push the clutch in. Take your car around sometime and see how slow you can go with it out though, as a newbie myself, that's what I've learned. It made me a lot less nervous to drive. Correct me if I'm wrong guys, but chances are the car will only stall when going from stopped position, or when you're just about to stop (literally, the car is barely moving). Also when downshifting, you don't need to use the gas to successfully get it into gear. Every day when I turn into my alley, from second, the car is almost stopped, I just clutch in, go to first, let it out slowly and then gas once it's fully engaged.

The hills were super tough for me too, but what I was doing was as soon as I felt the car move I would still kind of be in panic mode to not roll back and let the clutch out too fast. The key is when you do start to feel it moving, then you know you're almost in the clear. Keep the clutch at that point and slowly start to bring it out while increasing the gas (flipper feet). This clicked for me one day when I had to park in a stall that was uphill. The car will still move with the clutch in a bit.

Sounds like you're almost there though, don't give up! Once you get over the anxiety of driving you will have more control over your car then all the people driving autos out there!

i drove around today and experimented

i had it in 2nd gear and completly let go of the gas and i was proably doing like 2-3km/h and it still just kept idiling even though i didnt have my foot on the gas