YACT: N00b trying to drive stick shift

[LongCoolMother]

Okay, i admit it, im a complete beginner and Im trying to learn to drive a manual transmission car. Its my brother's s2000 and I have a few simple questions I was hoping to have answered.

When i usually drive in my 2002 accord (which is auto transmission), i sometimes slow down very slow (5 mph or less) when im making right on reds, moving around corners, squeezing around tight turns in parking lots etc. etc.

in a manual car such as the s2000, say I was driving at 25 mph in 2nd gear and i need to slow down significantly to carefully make a sharp right turn on a red light. Can i just brake (without pushing in the clutch) and drive normally? PArt of me tells me i will run into trouble if i do this because while i dont stop completely at the turn, it seems like i would be moving very very slowly and the engine may stall!

or should i shift to first gear before reaching the corner and just drive normally like i described above? This seems difficult because i dont want to shift to first until im moving pretty slowly, which will be close to the turn and i dont want to be fumbling with the gearbox a nd shifting right before the turn.

or should i push in the clutch, slow down, shift into first while the clutch is still in, make the turn, then gas and clutch while i leave the turn? (i think this is the correct way)

i guess im just confused about how to drive the car slowly. Im concerned about when the engine may stall when Im moving too slowly. Do i push the clutch in when i want to move very slowly and only let out the clutch and gas it when i want to go (even if its a tiny bit?) at what speed will the engine sputter and stall?

 

[DaWhim]

YAGT?

 

[LongCoolMother]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
YAGT?

sorry to disappoint you, DaWhim. Typo

 

[ucdbiendog]

u can leave it in gear. down shifting is actually a way of slowing the car down, called compression braking. but for what your saying, i would just put the clutch in, brake, and then put the car in proper gear when you want to accelerate. typically you dont want to let the engine go below its idle RPM when braking with the car in gear. god luck, youll get the hang of it with practice. stick shift is wayy more fun to drive

 

[Kelvrick]

Dunno how the S2000 is with its gearing, but generally I don't use first unless its from a stop, always 2nd when moving. Dunno if that'll work in a higher-revver like an s2000.

 

[herkulease]

1. WTF is your brother doing letting you learn on a s2000.

2. Yes it can stall if you slow down too much. Best way is put it in neutral, brake to slow down make turn, the shift into 2nd or whatever it is based on speed to continue moving.

since you're not experience its best not to shift down to slow down. use the breaks cheaper to replace. again refer back to #1.

maybe some edits to come, i gotta read what you wrote a few more times to understand the rest of it.

 

[Frosty3799]

Oh lordy - the S2000 clutch is probably very touchy, and not the best manual car to learn on.

As far as what you are talking about: as long as you have the clutch in on a manual tranny car, you will not stall.

When turning right on red, and still rolling at 5mph with that car, what I would do is push in the clutch and the brake while slowing down and leave the car in 2nd gear. As soon as I were ready to make the turn and accel again, simply let off the clutch slowly, while applying proper pressure to the gase pedal, and take off.

If it feels like the car is revving too low when letting off the clutch and applying the gas, or sounds like it is puttering and might stall, then push the clutch back in, shift down to a lower gear, and try again

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

1st gear should be fine for 5mph driving although depending on how you are with the gas pedal you might want to be in second. Give it a try and see what happens, if you stall once or twice it's not too big of a deal as long as you learn from it.

Watch your brother drive too, that can help a lot.