slllygrl10

I will be trading my auto 8 for a 6speed soon. I'm finally getting the hang of starting on 1st gear and not stalling. Im kinda confuse when I turn because Im not sure if I should stay 2nd thru out the turn or stay 2nd and downshift to 1st. When making a U-turn do I keep it on 1st or 2nd? When is the good time to downshift when the rpm is 3-4k? When parking, do I down shift to 2nd and 1st or put it on neutral as i turn to the parking space?

LiL BenNy

in the 8 i rarely will go to 1st inless its a complete stop.. bc it has like a locking device so you cant put it in 1st at certain speed.. i downshift according to mph.... like if im in 5th ill clutch in at ~45mph and put in 4th gear then feather it out so ill end up doing 40 in 4th gear ect for other gears.. i dont think going into 1st is neccessary unless the car is puttering like its dying in 2nd gear then i would go to 1st... but then again im not very experienced in driving stick..

slllygrl10

When I shift to 2nd do I have to feather the clutch cuz sometimes I let go too quick and the rear goes sideways a bit or maybe its the back tires...

kellybrf

iTrader: (2)

you dont have to feather it, just be patient and practice. for a newbie id recommend upshifting at 3k or so. try that for a month or two, then you can start to play with higher rev shifting. id downshift very conservatively, maybe 2-3k as youre slowing down. when i approach a parking space im usually in second. first really is only for standing starts.

PoLaK

iTrader: (1)

come up to jersey some time next week I'll teach you how to drive stick... NO REALLY i'll teach you to drive a stick, take you in my car into a parking lot or something.

monte

I also own an auto 8 .. and i want to spend a bit of money on it with a few mods and made it fast .. but not without owning a manual!

How are you trading it in for a manual? What type of price are you paying?

I've been looking into this for a while and want to do this as well!

PLEASE GIVE ME SOME INFO!!

As for polak, i'll take you up on that offer I already know how to drive pretty well ... don't stall or anything or grind .. just not certain when to downshift / the feeling of when and a few of the "jolts" when shifting ..

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

I'm in Gaithersburg. If you need a ride-along tutor, let me know when and where.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

you know what you should do karyl?

get a POS MANUAL honda for $2000

LEARN how to drive a stick, destroy a clutch or 2 while at it, and THEN get the 6 speed :p

alex

For simple turns and when stopped at a light, what I do is just to get the car moving in 1st gear then shift to 2nd quickly. I figure there's no need to rev high in 1st gear during turns and not racing.

I'd say, when I'm tired, I shift around 4-5k (really low) and shift to 2nd for the duration of the turn.

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

That is pretty pessimistic.

I learned how to drive clutch on the test drive of my first manual transmission car - a brand new 1987 Honda Accord LXi hatch. Talk about under the gun.
I later traded that car after 6 years and over 100,000 miles on the original clutch.

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

A good exercise, BTW, is to practice getting the car rolling on a flat surface in first gear with the clutch only. Just practice letting it out smoothly and gradually so that the car gets moving without any shudder without using the gas pedal.
When you get good at that, try starting the car in second gear (using the gas pedal) from a stop without getting the tach over or under 2500 RPM.
If you get good at this, try it in 3rd and holding the tach at exactly 3000 RPM.

Mikelikes2drive

thats exactly how i learned how to drive a manual. it helps with clutch control, and really gets you familiar with the catch point on your clutch. spent like an hour in a parking lot with my dad at a local community college.

JM1FE

• DO NOT use the engine to slow down. That's what brakes are for.
• DO use the engine to MAINTAIN a speed, for example when going downhill/through mountains. Keep it in a lower gear and let the engine hold it back. Don't ride the brakes.
• Learn this: http://www.shortshifter.com/techniques2.htm

When approaching a curve:

1. Brake first as you approach.
2. Then downshift, rev-matching as you do so (don't use the engine/clutch as a brake)
3. Enter the curve in the gear you should be in, accelerate through it.

MrMethane

Yes, to put further emphasis on this point, I learned how to drive standard pretty much on my own without anyone to give me advice. At first I used to shift to neutral and just use my brakes to stop but I quickly wore out my brake pads. Someone told me I should slow down with my engine so I wouldn't wear the brakes out so quickly. I knew you were suppossed to downshift to slow down and I thought that meant letting the clutch out in a lower gear to slow the car.

I didn't realize this isn't what your supposed to do. Having gotten into the habit of driving that way I quickly wore out the clutch on my eclipse and had to replace it at 40,000 miles. After that I started relying on my brakes more and rev matching during downshifts so that I put less strain on the clutch. If I need to I just leave it in whatever gear I'm in and brake really hard. Having replaced both the brakes and clutch in my old car I can say I'd much rather replace the brakes. Having your clutch die on you sucks and is not cheap to fix.

FLybOi drE

haha werd....besides, downshifting to slow down kills my gasmileage...i freaken commute 40miles a day...YOU KNOW HOW OFTEN I HAVE TO FILL UP!? but oh well, i love my 8 =)

Dinhx8

my advice is to keep practicing, and as mentioned above, try to get comfy starting from first. Once you get that, you'll find the 'other gears' will come nearly naturally.

Just remember, not to rush anything. Most stalls come from pressure and a tendency to just feel like you gotta let the clutch out. I learned on on an 86 Integra, and a lesson my brother told me that helped, was, try to get the tach to 2000, or 2500. When you start out, the goal is to never let the tach drop below 2000 or 2500. I.e., add enough gas, in conjuntion with clutch release so that the tach stays "level". don't worry about how long it takes to get the car moving, just get the balance. That will get you in the habit of practicing the nice balance between clutch release and gas. Once you get that balance down, it starts to flow naturally from there and you can have more fun with it and concentrate on doin that quickly.

slllygrl10

Okwas going 50 then I suddenly had to made a right turn I was on 4th then put it to neutral and pushed on brakes a bit then put it to 2nd as I was turning. Is this right?

slllygrl10

Im off wednesday and thursday this week.

Dinhx8

its hard to say whats 'right or wrong' w/0 being in the car with ya- did it feel right? did the car jerk? it all really depends on the turn. Again, just drive the car as you would in A/T...i.e., in an auto, you'd hit the brakes, and accelerate coming out of the turn. Do the same here when turning, tap the brakes as you approach the curve, insert clutch and grab stick, and accelerate out of the turn. Depending on how hard the curve, and how much you want to gun it out of the turn, will determine your gear you downshift to. Second is a great exit corner gear imo, but again, it all depends on each situation.

Just remember though, when cornering hard, shifting "in" the actual curve often will kick out your rear end a bit. I.e., what skip barber always says is "know your gear when you enter the curve". if you are in it then choose to downshift while already coming out of it (while 'accelerating') , your tail will waggle a bit, depending on speed of course...So always try to know what gear you want to be your exit gear as you approach the curve, so you can worry about accelerating out of it, as oppsoed to shifting "in it".

hotpot

Here's what I would do in an emergency turn.
1. Check rear view mirror. Take care that no car is right on your rear end.
2. Right turn signal
3. Brake
4. Depress clutch
5. Shift to 2nd
6. Give it some gas
7. Slowly release clutch
8. Turn and apply more gas.

RX8rider

On the topic of driving stick, it seems like my 1-2 shifts are sometimes not as smooth as I imagine they could be. Do you think that this might be due to revs dropping quickly with clutch in, shifting into 2? Am I shifting too slowly or am I releasing the clutch to quickly? Thoughts.....

hotpot

Yeah try releasing the clutch more slowly while applying a bit more gas. The 8 can be jerky at slow speed if you don't apply enough gas.

RX-GR8

and you wonder why you have tranny problems.

guy321

What you should do in this situation is go to nuetral, then brake AND rev the gas at the same time , then clutch and shift, then release the clutch.. it should all be able to be done before you enter the turn, or just as you start the turn.

JeRKy 8 Owner

I disagree with what I'm reading here about engine braking. I've always done it with all manual cars I've driven in (was even taught to drive this way), and everyone I know that owns a manual does the same. More importantly, never had any problems in other cars. I'm not going to start an argument about it though since this isn't the thread to do it on.