***OFFICIAL*** Ignorance Elimination Thread

[KingNothing]

I've noticed that certain questions are asked over. And over. And over. Let's put a stop to that, get a sticky for this thread, and start educating people on the things they want to know. I'll start.

Horsepower vs. Torque

Horsepower is a number that comes out the ass-end of a formula involving torque. At a given RPM your engine will be producing a certain torque, and by extension, a certain horsepower. Given a gear ratio, the horsepower number indicates how fast you are going and the torque number indicates how long it will take you to go faster. Larger engines generally have more torque "down low" (meaning at a lower RPM) which means you can accelerate from a standstill or low speed faster. If you want to know more visit howstuffworks.com and read about it.

How to drive a manual transmission

1. Right foot on brake.
2. Push clutch in with left foot.
3. Put car in 1st.
4. In one smooth movement, take your foot off the brake and start applying the gas. As you push the gas in more, you should be pushing the clutch in less.

Notes:
[*] Get in the $(@#*$ car and do it. Reading 50 posts on this topic will not make you a better driver. You will know when you are doing it wrong because the car will shudder and/or you will grind the gears. Practice does indeed make perfect.
[*] Some people (myself included) use the e-brake instead of the regular brake to prevent roll-back on a hill. In this situation your left foot is on the clutch, your right foot on the gas, and your right hand on the e-brake. Release the e-brake slowly as you do the clutch/gas dance and you're good to go.
[*] Riding the clutch means holding the clutch right at the engagement point in order to hold the car in place on a hill. This is bad and will wear out your clutch. Brakes are for holding the car in place.

At what RPM should I keep my car to get the best gas mileage?

If you are just cruising, keep the car in the highest gear that will not lug the engine.
If you are accelerating, downshifting to put the RPMs at wherever your engine makes the most torque will be most efficient.

Hills in Omaha

Yes, there are in fact hills in Omaha. There's even a skiing facility. It's called Nebraski.

 

[DrPizza]

wow, by the tone of this thread, you sound like you're flaming a lot of people and declaring yourself an expert in these matters.... nonetheless:

Some people (myself included) use the e-brake instead of the regular brake to prevent roll-back on a hill. In this situation your left foot is on the clutch, your right foot on the gas, and your right hand on the e-brake. Release the e-brake slowly as you do the clutch/gas dance and you're good to go.

If you were good, you wouldn't need the e-brake... I never use one on inclines to prevent roll-back. Nor have I ever had to replace a clutch... If you were good, you'd be fast enough to have it in gear before you rolled a noticeable amount.

 

[KingNothing]

I'm not claiming to be an expert. If someone wants to correct what I've said, I'll edit. You'll notice in the part of my post that you quoted I said "some people". It's an alternative method that I find to be easier.

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
wow, by the tone of this thread, you sound like you're flaming a lot of people and declaring yourself an expert in these matters.... nonetheless:

Some people (myself included) use the e-brake instead of the regular brake to prevent roll-back on a hill. In this situation your left foot is on the clutch, your right foot on the gas, and your right hand on the e-brake. Release the e-brake slowly as you do the clutch/gas dance and you're good to go.

If you were good, you wouldn't need the e-brake... I never use one on inclines to prevent roll-back. Nor have I ever had to replace a clutch... If you were good, you'd be fast enough to have it in gear before you rolled a noticeable amount.

Yeah, I gotta agree, sounds like someone needs to forget about that e-brake and learn to roll off of that clutch a little faster.

 

[notfred]

There are hills in Omaha?
A stick shift driver's worst nitemare

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
wow, by the tone of this thread, you sound like you're flaming a lot of people and declaring yourself an expert in these matters.... nonetheless:

Some people (myself included) use the e-brake instead of the regular brake to prevent roll-back on a hill. In this situation your left foot is on the clutch, your right foot on the gas, and your right hand on the e-brake. Release the e-brake slowly as you do the clutch/gas dance and you're good to go.

If you were good, you wouldn't need the e-brake... I never use one on inclines to prevent roll-back. Nor have I ever had to replace a clutch... If you were good, you'd be fast enough to have it in gear before you rolled a noticeable amount.

BINGO......same here, learn how to drive NOOB!!!!!!!!!!