So I've been driving my GS for about 2 weeks now and would like to know how to engine brake properly. I never learned it before, plus I was always driving AT. Right now I just use my brakes to stop like normal, which isn't bad or anything but I'd just like to learn how to engine brake.

And do you guys have to hold the clutch point "longer" when starting in 1st? I can't seem to get a quick "clutch out, gas in" without the car shuddering or worse, bucking. Maybe I'm still not getting the clutch point right?

Thanks!

 

lance; first off, it takes time to learn how to drive any new car, especially when you are sued to a a/t; kudos to you for buying the 6sp as it is a much better car than the a/t and will be much more enjoyable driving car;
actually, it is bad to use only your brakes to slow the 8 down (in my opinion) b/c it wears them down and heats them up unecessarily, especially if you are driving quite fast; when you are ref'ing to, is using the engine compression and gearing to slow the car down, which is the correct way to drive a standard car;
in a parking lot, try this; get up to speed in 3rd or 4th and gear back to 3rd; when coming off the clutch, just do it a little slower than normal and soon you will ge the feel for it and you will see the revs kick up and the car will begin to slow; keep foot on the gas (lightly) and then move into 2nd, again taking foot off clutch slowly; this is how you should slow the car, tho it takes a little more planning when doing so; normally, ill gear down to 2nd before going to neutral and then applying brake; very seldom will i go into first tho its ok to do as long as you are going very slowly by that point;
as for first gear, you are right you do need to come off it easy if your car does not have enough revs; i think youll find if you rev it a bit higher, you will find the bucking or shuddering will not happen; keep in mind the shift from 1-2 in any car is the roughest and you need to never jam the stick down into 2; rev it high, clutch down, come outta 1st, hold for a split sec, and nicely into 2nd; this will make a nice solid shift for you; let me know how you make out;
michael

 

Try to keep ur rpm under 4000 for the first 1000 km. The hard part is because this car has low torque so in order to launch it fast we have to revi up to 4000. So just drive ur car a bit slow now if u want to break in properly. Dont worry u will get use to it in few more weeks. U just need more time. U can try hold the clutch and revi more than 2000 at stop light then release the clutch and launch it up to 4000 then quickly change to second gear. U ll feel a bit faster.

 

You don't really want to "engine brake" the car . . . You may want to down shift if you intend to be travelling more slowly (e.g. a very long off ramp or coming out of a corner) or want to accelerate quickly. For stopping quickly for lights and stuff in the city just use the brakes, that's what they are for and they are much cheaper to replace than a clutch. Also if you don't rev match well it is harder on the clutch and transmission etc. There is actually less braking load on a manual transmission car, with the clutch in you don't have the engine and transmission still trying to push you forward while you are stopping like in an automatic (very noticeable on snow). Contrary to the above statement the brakes are made to take the heat and to get them really hot you will have to take the car to a track and they will still perform exceptionally with little wear . . . Never shift this car into 1st gear unless you are at a complete stop, it may go into first if you are just rolling slowly but at that point you can easily take off in 2nd and it will be much easier on the transmission. The double head bob thing will go away with time, my clutch was really "grabby" when I was breaking the car in and I was trying to keep the RPMs very low at the same time so there was no torque. I found it a bit hard to drive at first and I have driven manual transmission cars for MANY cars for years. Give it some time, the car is like fine wine and gets much better when it is broken in a bit and you will naturally become more familiar with it. Enjoy . . .

 

Thanks for all the replies!

Ya I'm a newbie for MT and am just building up my confidence. Everytime I can successfully roll and make a left turn I'm happy, haha....though I've had my share of missed shifts and shudder/stalls. Sometimes I stall even though I thought I did things right, only to find out I'm in 3rd gear and not 1st :p

I just hope I'm breaking the car in properly sort of speak. I always worry I'll make mistakes and ruin the car in some way. Like learning anything else you'd like to get some feedback, a progress report sort of speak, but driving MT only you know how you are doing. And I know that coming off the clutch quickly is important to save clutch, but I don't know what's "quick". Is coming off the clutch easy at a dead stop normal clutch wear and tear?

Anyways you can bet I'll keep practicing. Maybe one of these days someone in the GTA can give me a lesson in person, haha

 

From a dead stop there is always going to be some slippage, but almost none when shifting up though the other gears if you do it right. If you don't do it right, first you can feel the slippage and in extreme cases will smell it, not good. It's all about giving the right amount of gas while releasing the clutch and it should only take a second or two. Find a big empty parking lot late at night and practise taking off, smooth without raising the RPMS too much is good . . . Also let the car break in a bit because it is not optimal at first. The clutch in my winter car is original with 250K Km on it so they can last a very long time in normal use if you treat them right.

 

Brakes are for stoping, the engine is for going!

I will downshift if im coming up on a corner or need to slow down but not to a stop but i ALWAYS use the brakes to slow the car down....its a lot of stress on the trany, clutch and motor to use the car to slow down.

The brakes in this car are HUGE and are very well suited to stoping the car from a variety of speeds, Id much ratehr change my brake pads every year than a clutch, or worse...a motor/trany