Manual Transmissions: Who is the worst MT driver you know?

[Tylanner]

i can only go in reverse

 

[ArchCenturion]

I have stickshift V6 03 Explorer, and i have trouble hearing the engine at a stop, so i stall sometimes unless im driving barefoot.

BTW I have heard that driving barefoot is illegal is this T/F?

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: miri

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: miri
me, ive had 4 manual transmission cars and I still dont shift smoothly all the time

What do you mean by "shift smoothly"? I engage the clutch quickly when shifting gears and it's definitely not a "smooth" transition, but it's good for clutch longevity.

when I have the A/C on I have to shift differently or it jerks, when the A/C is off I can shift smoothly, but with the air conditioner on I have to adjust my shift points or have a jerky shift

Ya, same here. My clutch is like a light switch, the catch point is like an inch or two from the floor. On a 4-banger, turning the AC on raises my launch throttle significantly. Since I have to be so damn precise, I can even tell that it acts differently when the car isnt warm.

End result - only way to be sure I'm not going to lug the bastard when launching is to overcompensate a bit, since the revs drop like a rock as soon as I let the clutch off from the floorboard. Must seem pretty funny from the outside....they hear a vroom vroom, but see the car smoothly creep ahead. I could probably refine my technique to the point where I can launch it perfectly under any conditions, but that would require a lot of lugging, stalling, and tire screeching in the process.

Other than that, I'd like to think I'm pretty damn good. Always rev-match, shift quickly. Its hard enough to drive my car smooth, so I don't even bother...I just have at it...I bought the MT to have fun with it after all.

 

[Baked]

*hands over man card*

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DougK62
It's not the WORST practice, but it peeves me when people are stopped (like waiting for a light) and they have the clutch pedal depressed the entire time.

You have something against people who drive properly?

ZV

LOL - you're kidding, right? I would figure that a "car guy" like yourself would know that this isn't a good practice.

 

[maximus maximus]

I love driving stick shitfts.
I think I am pretty good at shifting gears, especially if I have driven the car for at least a week (take some time to get used to the nature of the car).

I have seen my manager drive the car... its a new car and has a 50k warranty, so she really does not care. Once I drove with her to a nearby restaurant in her car, I nearly had tears in my eyes by the time we reached the restaurant.

Man... she sure does NOT know how to drive a stick shift.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DougK62
It's not the WORST practice, but it peeves me when people are stopped (like waiting for a light) and they have the clutch pedal depressed the entire time.

You have something against people who drive properly?

ZV

LOL - you're kidding, right? I would figure that a "car guy" like yourself would know that this isn't a good practice.

It's the only proper practice. My last clutch lasted 150,000 miles and that's how I drive.

First of all, it's not legal to have the car in traffic and out of gear. Second of all, the amount of wear that it places on the throw-out bearing and pressure plate is insignificant. Both pieces are replaced in a proper clutch job, and neither is worn enough by holding the clutch down to shorten their service live to less than that of the clutch. Thirdly, if your clutch pedal is fully depressed, there is no meaningful wear on the clutch disc itself.

The idea that you should not hold the clutch down at a stop while in gear is a myth perpetrated by wanna-be mechanics and pseudo-gearheads who lack a proper knowledge of the manner in which the mechanical pieces of an automobile function.

ZV

 

[Blazin Trav]

That I know of? Probably my mom.

 

[NatePo717]

Me! I can't get the damn car to go! Manual FTL.

 

[Kaido]

A friend of mine. Ignores the sweet spot when coming out of a stop; the car lurches after every stoplight or stop sign. No desire to change either, oh well.

A little OT, but has anyone test drive one of those new variable automatics that shift 100% smoothly? I think it's a Nissan commercial where the girl is putting on her lipstick and waits for the car to jump when it shifts, but it never comes.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DougK62
It's not the WORST practice, but it peeves me when people are stopped (like waiting for a light) and they have the clutch pedal depressed the entire time.

You have something against people who drive properly?

ZV

That's not proper, but I do it sometimes. The problem is two-fold. One is the wear and tear on the assembly, two is the fact that if someone hits you from behind, your foot will likely fly off the clutch, and you'll lurch forward, possibly causing more problems.

The "wear" on the assembly is irrelevant as those pieces, even with that wear, have a service life longer than the clutch disc and are always replaced during a clutch job. I have never, in my life, seen or heard of a throw-out bearing failing before the clutch for this reason. (I've seen T/O bearings fail from not having been lubricated properly, and I've seen them fail because they were installed improperly, and I've seen them fail because they were defective or because they weren't changed during the last clutch job, but I've never seen or heard of one failing because of holding the clutch in during a stop.) Saying you shouldn't hold the clutch in because it wears the clutch assembly is logically the same as saying that you shouldn't drive the car because it wears the wheel bearings, or that you shouldn't start the engine because it wears the piston rings, or that you shouldn't shift because it wears the synchronizers, or that you shouldn't use the headlights because it wears the bulbs, or that you shouldn't steer because it wears the tie rods, etc...

As for lurching forward, I don't know what kind of car you've been driving, but it must be idling at 2,000 RPM if dropping the clutch at idle doesn't immediately puke the engine. If you are hit from behind and your foot slips off the clutch, the engine will die immediately and will therefore provide additional braking force resisting being pushed forward. If you have the car out of gear and you are hit from behind, you will be launched by the guy who hit you and will travel forward (without the resistance of the stalled engine) into the car in front of you at a much greater velocity.

Both of your problems are myths. Pure and simple.

ZV

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Kaido
A friend of mine. Ignores the sweet spot when coming out of a stop; the car lurches after every stoplight or stop sign. No desire to change either, oh well.

A little OT, but has anyone test drive one of those new variable automatics that shift 100% smoothly? I think it's a Nissan commercial where the girl is putting on her lipstick and waits for the car to jump when it shifts, but it never comes.

That's the CVT, continously variable transmission.

 

[newParadigm]

Me a week after i got my 5speed Mazda626. Seriosuly though, i got a friend with a Saturn Sedan from like forever ago, and she's still not that good. Speaking of my car, i get it back friday...SOOO happy, had to put a new engine in though.

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DougK62
It's not the WORST practice, but it peeves me when people are stopped (like waiting for a light) and they have the clutch pedal depressed the entire time.

You have something against people who drive properly?

ZV

That's not proper, but I do it sometimes. The problem is two-fold. One is the wear and tear on the assembly, two is the fact that if someone hits you from behind, your foot will likely fly off the clutch, and you'll lurch forward, possibly causing more problems.

The "wear" on the assembly is irrelevant as those pieces, even with that wear, have a service life longer than the clutch disc and are always replaced during a clutch job. I have never, in my life, seen or heard of a throw-out bearing failing before the clutch for this reason. (I've seen T/O bearings fail from not having been lubricated properly, and I've seen them fail because they were installed improperly, and I've seen them fail because they were defective or because they weren't changed during the last clutch job, but I've never seen or heard of one failing because of holding the clutch in during a stop.)

As for lurching forward, I don't know what kind of car you've been driving, but it must be idling at 2,000 RPM if dropping the clutch at idle doesn't immediately puke the engine. If you are hit from behind and your foot slips off the clutch, the engine will die immediately and will therefore provide additional braking force resisting being pushed forward. If you have the car out of gear and you are hit from behind, you will be launched by the guy who hit you and will travel forward (without the resistance of the stalled engine) into the car in front of you at a much greater velocity.

Both of your problems are myths. Pure and simple.

ZV

Though you are taught to put car in Neutral in driving school (at least I was) at a stop.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DougK62
It's not the WORST practice, but it peeves me when people are stopped (like waiting for a light) and they have the clutch pedal depressed the entire time.

You have something against people who drive properly?

ZV

LOL - you're kidding, right? I would figure that a "car guy" like yourself would know that this isn't a good practice.

It's the only proper practice. My last clutch lasted 150,000 miles and that's how I drive.

First of all, it's not legal to have the cat in traffic and out of gear. Second of all, the amount of wear that it places on the throw-out bearing and pressure plate is insignificant. Both pieces are replaced in a proper clutch job, and neither is worn enough by holding the clutch down to shorten their service live to less than that of the clutch. Thirdly, if your clutch pedal is fully depressed, there is no meaningful wear on the clutch disc itself.

The idea that you should not hold the clutch down at a stop while in gear is a myth perpetrated by wanna-be mechanics and pseudo-gearheads who lack a proper knowledge of the manner in which the mechanical pieces of an automobile function.

ZV

Wait, wait...I don't understand. What else would you do at a light? Put it in neutral?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: newParadigm

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DougK62
It's not the WORST practice, but it peeves me when people are stopped (like waiting for a light) and they have the clutch pedal depressed the entire time.

You have something against people who drive properly?

ZV

That's not proper, but I do it sometimes. The problem is two-fold. One is the wear and tear on the assembly, two is the fact that if someone hits you from behind, your foot will likely fly off the clutch, and you'll lurch forward, possibly causing more problems.

The "wear" on the assembly is irrelevant as those pieces, even with that wear, have a service life longer than the clutch disc and are always replaced during a clutch job. I have never, in my life, seen or heard of a throw-out bearing failing before the clutch for this reason. (I've seen T/O bearings fail from not having been lubricated properly, and I've seen them fail because they were installed improperly, and I've seen them fail because they were defective or because they weren't changed during the last clutch job, but I've never seen or heard of one failing because of holding the clutch in during a stop.)

As for lurching forward, I don't know what kind of car you've been driving, but it must be idling at 2,000 RPM if dropping the clutch at idle doesn't immediately puke the engine. If you are hit from behind and your foot slips off the clutch, the engine will die immediately and will therefore provide additional braking force resisting being pushed forward. If you have the car out of gear and you are hit from behind, you will be launched by the guy who hit you and will travel forward (without the resistance of the stalled engine) into the car in front of you at a much greater velocity.

Both of your problems are myths. Pure and simple.

ZV

Though you are taught to put car in Neutral in driving school (at least I was) at a stop.

Really? I've never heard this and I've been driving stick for years...

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: newParadigm
Though you are taught to put car in Neutral in driving school (at least I was) at a stop.

Driver's ed is a joke in this country. I wouldn't trust it to teach people how to check the air in their tires. You might as well cite The Onion for a scholarly source as cite driver's ed as an authority on how to drive.

The classes are a legal "feel-good" solution for the state that really don't teach any proper driving habits. My driver's ed instructor didn't even know how to set his mirrors properly. He instructed me to set them all to see the same area behind the car (when the side mirrors should be positioned to show the blind spots instead). I ignored everything they said.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Wait, wait...I don't understand. What else would you do at a light? Put it in neutral?

Yup, there are people out there who actually put it in neutral. They're the automotive equivalent of the people who belive that Bill Gates will send them money for forwarding E-mails.

ZV

 

[lokiju]

My brother was pretty bad considering his first car was a v6 camaro with manual and over the 5 or so years he had it he never because smooth at shifting.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: DougK62
It's not the WORST practice, but it peeves me when people are stopped (like waiting for a light) and they have the clutch pedal depressed the entire time.

You have something against people who drive properly?

ZV

LOL - you're kidding, right? I would figure that a "car guy" like yourself would know that this isn't a good practice.

It's the only proper practice. My last clutch lasted 150,000 miles and that's how I drive.

First of all, it's not legal to have the cat in traffic and out of gear. Second of all, the amount of wear that it places on the throw-out bearing and pressure plate is insignificant. Both pieces are replaced in a proper clutch job, and neither is worn enough by holding the clutch down to shorten their service live to less than that of the clutch. Thirdly, if your clutch pedal is fully depressed, there is no meaningful wear on the clutch disc itself.

The idea that you should not hold the clutch down at a stop while in gear is a myth perpetrated by wanna-be mechanics and pseudo-gearheads who lack a proper knowledge of the manner in which the mechanical pieces of an automobile function.

ZV

QFT...

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Kaido
Wait, wait...I don't understand. What else would you do at a light? Put it in neutral?

Yup, there are people out there who actually put it in neutral. They're the automotive equivalent of the people who belive that Bill Gates will send them money for forwarding E-mails.

ZV

Wow, you'd get slaughtered on Connecticut. If you're not rolling as soon as the light turns green, you get honked at. You'd get honked at 3 times in the time that it took you to engage first gear from neutral at a light, lol.

 

[SketchMaster]

My brother.

He thought his little Neon was a race car and loved to slam it through the gears. Oddly, my sister was great at shifting and she drove our truck that had the WORST clutch ever.

Edit: My driving instructor was a truck driver, he always had me put it in gear at stops.

 

[bigfil]

granny shifting and not double clutching like you should
your lucky that 100 shot of nos didnt blow the welds off the intake

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
The "wear" on the assembly is irrelevant as those pieces, even with that wear, have a service life longer than the clutch disc and are always replaced during a clutch job. I have never, in my life, seen or heard of a throw-out bearing failing before the clutch for this reason. (I've seen T/O bearings fail from not having been lubricated properly, and I've seen them fail because they were installed improperly, and I've seen them fail because they were defective or because they weren't changed during the last clutch job, but I've never seen or heard of one failing because of holding the clutch in during a stop.) Saying you shouldn't hold the clutch in because it wears the clutch assembly is logically the same as saying that you shouldn't drive the car because it wears the wheel bearings, or that you shouldn't start the engine because it wears the piston rings, or that you shouldn't shift because it wears the synchronizers, or that you shouldn't use the headlights because it wears the bulbs, or that you shouldn't steer because it wears the tie rods, etc...

As for lurching forward, I don't know what kind of car you've been driving, but it must be idling at 2,000 RPM if dropping the clutch at idle doesn't immediately puke the engine. If you are hit from behind and your foot slips off the clutch, the engine will die immediately and will therefore provide additional braking force resisting being pushed forward. If you have the car out of gear and you are hit from behind, you will be launched by the guy who hit you and will travel forward (without the resistance of the stalled engine) into the car in front of you at a much greater velocity.

Both of your problems are myths. Pure and simple.

ZV

I have been pwned. You are the car god.

See, at least I admit when I'm wrong!

 

[mitaiwan82]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Kaido
Wait, wait...I don't understand. What else would you do at a light? Put it in neutral?

Yup, there are people out there who actually put it in neutral. They're the automotive equivalent of the people who belive that Bill Gates will send them money for forwarding E-mails.

ZV

Wow, you'd get slaughtered on Connecticut. If you're not rolling as soon as the light turns green, you get honked at. You'd get honked at 3 times in the time that it took you to engage first gear from neutral at a light, lol.

I take my car out of gear on long stop...never cared to have the clutch depressed for 2-3 minutes. I just watch the lights of the perpendicular traffic to anticipate when my light will turn green. Am I really lazy? I know my Miata has a fairly light clutch, so I know how much more I would dread holding down the clutch on a Mustang GT like Zenmervolt's.