how do you guys drive stick in traffic?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

been driving stick for many years, and was never "taught" how to drive in traffic.

are you lugging the car in first so that you don't have to clutch out?
are there times where you never fully let the clutch out while in gear?

esp. driving up a hill in slow stop/go traffic. i feel like i'm just slipping the clutch... it usually goes like this.

1. car in front of me moves
2. i'll go forward 5-10 feet (not enough speed/space to fully let the clutch out)
3. car in front of me stops
4. i step the clutch in, brake to hold on hill, still in 1st gear
5. car in front of me moves again
6. roll a foot back due to steep hill, slip clutch and go 10 feet and brake when car in front of me stops

then repeat until i'm finally over the hill. i feel like this is reducing clutch life by thousands of miles every time i go this route.

 

[Mutilator]

If the hill is that steep then throw in some handbrake action to keep from rolling backwards.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Seeing as how it's stop and go traffic anyway, you could wait until the car in front of you is more than 5-10 feet away. Wait until it gets 20+ feet away so you have plenty of room to completely let out the clutch to catch up.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

EDIT: Awesome, double posting timewarp action..

 

[BW86]

as Mutilator said use the handbrake when on steep hills

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: XabanakFanatik
Seeing as how it's stop and go traffic anyway, you could wait until the car in front of you is more than 5-10 feet away. Wait until it gets 20+ feet away so you have plenty of room to completely let out the clutch to catch up.

that's what i would normally do but it's gonna work in this stretch of road.
it's a choke/merge point and if i leave space, the other lane is going to cut in front of me.
i have to basically have to ride the guy in fronts' bumper as best as i can.

 

[thedarkwolf]

I'm a manly man thats how I do it.

I'll just bump the clutch if I just need to move forward a little bit. Usually I just wait till there is enough space to bother like dude above me said.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: Mutilator
If the hill is that steep then throw in some handbrake action to keep from rolling backwards.

handbrake is inefficient in this case because we're not stopped for more than 2 or 3 seconds.
i mean, it's literally stop, then go, then stop, then go with a second or 2 between each interval.
it's a merge point.

i mean, i guess i can keep yanking on the handbrake in sync with the whole clutching process but it's a bit of work and not very efficient.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Mutilator
If the hill is that steep then throw in some handbrake action to keep from rolling backwards.

handbrake is inefficient in this case because we're not stopped for more than 2 or 3 seconds.
i mean, it's literally stop, then go, then stop, then go with a second or 2 between each interval.
it's a merge point.

i mean, i guess i can keep yanking on the handbrake in sync with the whole clutching process but it's a bit of work and not very efficient.

How big is the hill? How long does it usually take to get up it in stop and go traffic?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: XabanakFanatik

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Mutilator
If the hill is that steep then throw in some handbrake action to keep from rolling backwards.

handbrake is inefficient in this case because we're not stopped for more than 2 or 3 seconds.
i mean, it's literally stop, then go, then stop, then go with a second or 2 between each interval.
it's a merge point.

i mean, i guess i can keep yanking on the handbrake in sync with the whole clutching process but it's a bit of work and not very efficient.

How big is the hill? How long does it usually take to get up it in stop and go traffic?

no traffic, 30-45 seconds tops.
traffic, could take 15-20 minutes. yes it's THAT bad during rush hour.

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: XabanakFanatik

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Mutilator
If the hill is that steep then throw in some handbrake action to keep from rolling backwards.

handbrake is inefficient in this case because we're not stopped for more than 2 or 3 seconds.
i mean, it's literally stop, then go, then stop, then go with a second or 2 between each interval.
it's a merge point.

i mean, i guess i can keep yanking on the handbrake in sync with the whole clutching process but it's a bit of work and not very efficient.

How big is the hill? How long does it usually take to get up it in stop and go traffic?

no traffic, 30-45 seconds tops.
traffic, could take 15-20 minutes. yes it's THAT bad during rush hour.

Well, all I got left is that you should man up and get quicker on your feet to avoid rolling back a foot and engage the clutch more quickly to avoid wear and tear. It's going to do much less damage to completely engage it, keep it engaged for 2 seconds, then disengage it than if you slip it for 4 seconds to catch up.

I'm not sure what car you have, but in the few car's I've owned and driven (All manual) I never had a problem rolling back more than a couple inches starting on the steepest hills in my area. In my current car, unless my foot slips or something unexpected, I don't roll back at all.

 

[EightySix Four]

My parking garage is what gets me, it's a very steeply inclined spiral and going to fast the front of my car scrapes and going to slow I start to stall out, it's a nasty balancing act especially coming up from the bottom as there is a gate that sometimes you have to stop and wait for. Sucks.

 

[LTC8K6]

Buy a car that holds the brake on for you on hills.

 

[brblx]

honestly, if your route to work involves going up a hill that takes twenty minutes, i'd just find a different route to work, manual or not.

when i'm in traffic i generally do what these other guys have mentioned. wait longer and leave bigger gaps, that way i can just roll in first with the clutch out for a fairly decent amount of time.

but there are time when i never fully engage the clutch. if i'm just moving forward a car length or two, i might let the clutch out halfway, quickly give it a bit or throttle, and release both pedals. trying to fully engage the clutch would result in jerkiness and unneeded braking in those situations. as long as you're not revving the engine and slipping the clutch for extended periods of time, you should be fine. my jetta's got 120k on the original clutch and is still going strong.

 

[evident]

there are hills in NJ?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Buy a car that holds the brake on for you on hills.

then i won't get to let all the automatic driving ricers how cool i am in my 5 speed accord.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: evident
there are hills in NJ?

I280, west orange.

not the hill i'm currently talking about, but i used to drive on that one all the time.

 

[Savij]

I wait for a little space to open up then I keep the car at idle in first and try to avoid catching up to the guy in front of me.

 

[Possessed Freak]

I keep the thing moving at all costs. I have only been driving stick for a year, but when it comes to stop-go traffic I just let my car keep moving as much as possible. If that means I burn some of my clutch, so be it.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I don't know what you mean by the parking brake being "inefficient." That is clearly the appropriate way to handle situations like what you're describing unless you have a car like a modern 3-series BMW, which is equipped with a hill-holder feature.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Mutilator
If the hill is that steep then throw in some handbrake action to keep from rolling backwards.

handbrake is inefficient in this case because we're not stopped for more than 2 or 3 seconds.
i mean, it's literally stop, then go, then stop, then go with a second or 2 between each interval.
it's a merge point.

i mean, i guess i can keep yanking on the handbrake in sync with the whole clutching process but it's a bit of work and not very efficient.

on a steep hill in that situation, id keep the clutch at the friction point and try to stay moving forward. usually ill just put the clutch and brake on, then let out the clutch a bit to catch the truck as i put the foot on the gas pedal. ive never really analyzed how i do it, ive just always done it. i did roll back into a car that was tailgating me once, he was literally 3" behind my bumper. when i let off the brake, i tapped his hood with my bumper (i drive a stock dodge with a manual trans, his car was a lowered ricer). the cop told the guy he was at fault for not giving me room to maneuver, based on his own version of what happened. he fought it, i didnt have to pay at all. balancing a vehicle on a hill with a stick shift is an art form.

 

[TehMac]

Keep the gas on while engaging the clutch? Sure you run the risk of burning your clutch, and can be kinda tricky, but it's what I do.

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: XabanakFanatik

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: XabanakFanatik

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Mutilator
If the hill is that steep then throw in some handbrake action to keep from rolling backwards.

handbrake is inefficient in this case because we're not stopped for more than 2 or 3 seconds.
i mean, it's literally stop, then go, then stop, then go with a second or 2 between each interval.
it's a merge point.

i mean, i guess i can keep yanking on the handbrake in sync with the whole clutching process but it's a bit of work and not very efficient.

How big is the hill? How long does it usually take to get up it in stop and go traffic?

no traffic, 30-45 seconds tops.
traffic, could take 15-20 minutes. yes it's THAT bad during rush hour.

Well, all I got left is that you should man up and get quicker on your feet to avoid rolling back a foot and engage the clutch more quickly to avoid wear and tear. It's going to do much less damage to completely engage it, keep it engaged for 2 seconds, then disengage it than if you slip it for 4 seconds to catch up.

I'm not sure what car you have, but in the few car's I've owned and driven (All manual) I never had a problem rolling back more than a couple inches starting on the steepest hills in my area. In my current car, unless my foot slips or something unexpected, I don't roll back at all.

The only car I have trouble with serious rollback is on my mom's VW Beetle. The clutch engages so late compared to the other cars I drive that I find myself rolling back 2 - 3x more than usual.

In general though, I try to avoid seriously hilly roads with bad traffic. If I get caught in that situation, I try to leave enough space in front of me to get all the way into first before I have to hit the brakes again. OP, is there any other route you can take? Driving like that in a manual or automatic every day would drive me nuts.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

If traffic is going 5MPH on average, I'll just let it idle in 1st. (torque FTW!)

 

[Spicedaddy]

roll a foot back due to steep hill, slip clutch and go 10 feet and brake when car in front of me stops

That's pretty much the only way, LOL. And yes, it'll wear your clutch faster, not much you can do except get an automatic.

And using the e-brake will stop you from rolling back, but it's just as bad for the clutch since it'll be slipping while the brake is engaged, and you'd be wearing the rear brakes also.

Usually the problem is not the car in front, it's the idiot behind you (with an automatic) that stops 3 inches from your bumper...