[spacemanrick]

Hi there I just picked up a manual transmission car and am trying to figure the best way to gear down as you enter a tight turn and stay smooth but also have power when you exit the turn - for example you are making a right turn on a green light. Is it best to slow the car down with the brakes first and then clutch and lower the gear or is it best to just clutch and lower the gear without touching the brakes?

[punkwax]

Depends how fast you're going... :derp:

And gear down before you turn, not during.

[Dragon-88]

Hard brake, heel-toe, downshift, hit apex, power out!

[fliptuner]

Hard brake, heel-toe, downshift, hit apex, power out!

heel-toe the brake/gas to keep the boost up.

[bcuzracecarz]

this is a newbie here guys...but they're correct once you figure out how to heel/toe correctly. Depends how fast you're going, but I'd say if you have time before the intersection approaching, practice rev matching downshifts (youtube it) and then graduate to heel/toe. Hell, approaching every red light practice rev matching...quickly you will learn young padawan

[320icar]

The simplest way to say it is, while turning the only thing your car should be doing is turning. Not hard braking, not acceleration etc. So as you come to a corner (say your right hander at a green). Slow the car down my gearing down and braking etc, and before the turn (depending on speed) you can either 1. Keep the car in gear with the clutch out and just turn, or 2. Shift to second, put the clutch in, coast the corner and apply power/clutch out as you exit the turn

[BrRsn]

best way to gear down is to decrease the gear you are in by 1.

If you are cruising in third, go to second for the corner
if you are cruising in second, go to first for the corner.

so on and so forth. if you have any further questions feel free to PM me for some free private lessons via skype

[swfk]

Practice rev matching downshifting. The heel toe will come really easily right after. Do not change gears mid corner. Remember not to shift into 1st.

[entrax]

Hi there I just picked up a manual transmission car and am trying to figure the best way to gear down as you enter a tight turn and stay smooth but also have power when you exit the turn - for example you are making a right turn on a green light. Is it best to slow the car down with the brakes first and then clutch and lower the gear or is it best to just clutch and lower the gear without touching the brakes?

as a general driving thing, not a noobie to manual thing, you should be using the brakes as normal. just because you can downshift and use engine braking to slow the car down doesn't mean you should.

the usage of brakes should be pretty much 99% identical to automatic cars. I actually can't think of any reason why the brakes would be used differently from automatic to manual on the street (unless hooning)

[supafamous]

Q: I could heel/toe easily in my Miata but it was more difficult in my Protege due to the pedal placement. What do you guys do when the pedals (and your shoe size) just don't work well together?

[Dragon-88]

Q: I could heel/toe easily in my Miata but it was more difficult in my Protege due to the pedal placement. What do you guys do when the pedals (and your shoe size) just don't work well together?

See if there is a pedal spacer available..

Did you know you could rev match an autotragic 10th gen Corolla. I do it all the time.. LOL Probably not great for the tranny, but its a corolla, built to no break.. HAHA

[trollguy]

best way to gear down is to decrease the gear you are in by 1.

If you are cruising in third, go to second for the corner
if you are cruising in second, go to first for the corner.

so on and so forth. if you have any further questions feel free to PM me for some free private lessons via skype

what if i am in neutral before the corner, do i shut off the car for the corner

[gilly]

best way to gear down is to decrease the gear you are in by 1.

If you are cruising in third, go to second for the corner
if you are cruising in second, go to first for the corner.

so on and so forth. if you have any further questions feel free to PM me for some free private lessons via skype


Don't shift to first for traffic light corner. Downshift or leave it in second gear.

[!e.lo_]

Shit quality but....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArSA78GExxo

[TysonK]

"if you are cruising in second, go to first for the corner"

"Shift to second, put the clutch in, coast the corner and apply power/clutch out as you exit the turn"

"the usage of brakes should be pretty much 99% identical to automatic cars. I actually can't think of any reason why the brakes would be used differently from automatic to manual on the street"

OMG the 3 lines above are some of the worst advice I have every seen! Sorry guys... just laughing out loud reading this.

Braking should be completed before the corner, and you should always drive through the corner (never clutch in or coasting). Based on speed perform this in the appropriate gear, which 95% of the time at urban intersections is 2nd gear.

Better yet, take a manual lesson from a reputable driving school; you will learn a lot from a single lesson.

[Traum]

I have only been driving manual cars since 1999, and off the top of my head, I don't think I have really spent any extended amount of time driving any stick shift cars older than 1995 on the street.

All I can say in addition to what TysonK has mentioned is:

1) in all of the cars that I have driven -- as in, every single one -- 1st gear has a tranny lockout feature that prevents you from shifting into 1st unless you are going really, really slow. So I'd suggest that unless you think there is an absolute need for it, just take the corner in 2nd if you are already cruising up to the turn in 2nd.

2) Lesson #1 when you are driving stick shift -- never, EVER let the car coast through any meaningful stretch of road, esp when you are making a turn, or travelling through an intersection. When you are 100% certain of what you are doing, there will be rare times when it is OK to put the car into neutral and you can break this rule. But in general, never EVER do this.

The blatantly obvious reason is, when your car is in neutral, you have absolutely no control over acceleration. If you suddenly find a need to GTFO of wherever you are -- eg. container truck barreling down towards you from your blind spot or whatever -- and you are in neutral, you are fxxked. There is just no other way to describe the situation. You cannot power the car (and yourself) out of trouble.

3) The brake usage statement is not nearly as off base as the others. Suffice to say, with a manual tranny, the driver is afforded a lot of extra options and flexibility in how he can control the forward momentum of the vehicle. I subscribe to the school of thought that you shouldn't forceably use your transmission to do the work that your brakes are supposed to do, but lots of opportunities naturally present themselves to allow you to take advantage of engine braking. These situations will not result in excessive transmission wear, and they will help reduce unnecessary wear on your brake pads as well.

[you!]

http://www.kappit.com/img/pics/49828036aahdd.jpg

[jjson]

what if i am in neutral before the corner, do i shut off the car for the corner

Strong user name to post correlation

[hchang]

what if i am in neutral before the corner, do i shut off the car for the corner

No you drop it in reverse

[trollguy]

Strong user name to post correlation

dont understand, what do you mean

No you drop it in reverse

oh that makes more sense.. i guess only shut it off if i was cruising in reverse into a corner.

[320icar]

I have only been driving manual cars since 1999, and off the top of my head, I don't think I have really spent any extended amount of time driving any stick shift cars older than 1995 on the street.

All I can say in addition to what TysonK has mentioned is:

1) in all of the cars that I have driven -- as in, every single one -- 1st gear has a tranny lockout feature that prevents you from shifting into 1st unless you are going really, really slow. So I'd suggest that unless you think there is an absolute need for it, just take the corner in 2nd if you are already cruising up to the turn in 2nd.

2) Lesson #1 when you are driving stick shift -- never, EVER let the car coast through any meaningful stretch of road, esp when you are making a turn, or travelling through an intersection. When you are 100% certain of what you are doing, there will be rare times when it is OK to put the car into neutral and you can break this rule. But in general, never EVER do this.

The blatantly obvious reason is, when your car is in neutral, you have absolutely no control over acceleration. If you suddenly find a need to GTFO of wherever you are -- eg. container truck barreling down towards you from your blind spot or whatever -- and you are in neutral, you are fxxked. There is just no other way to describe the situation. You cannot power the car (and yourself) out of trouble.

3) The brake usage statement is not nearly as off base as the others. Suffice to say, with a manual tranny, the driver is afforded a lot of extra options and flexibility in how he can control the forward momentum of the vehicle. I subscribe to the school of thought that you shouldn't forceably use your transmission to do the work that your brakes are supposed to do, but lots of opportunities naturally present themselves to allow you to take advantage of engine braking. These situations will not result in excessive transmission wear, and they will help reduce unnecessary wear on your brake pads as well.

Who in here is even talking about leaving the car in neutral???

[thumper]

https://youtu.be/-ndly3FCcLA

[tinico]

search youtube and find someone who can show you, it's like asking someone to teach you to ride motorcycle, writing it down doesn't do it or take a course Driver Training | SCCBC.net (http://www.sccbc.net/get-involved-2/driver-training/)

[Traum]

Who in here is even talking about leaving the car in neutral???
Err... apparently, you did? :badpokerface:

The simplest way to say it is, while turning the only thing your car should be doing is turning. Not hard braking, not acceleration etc. So as you come to a corner (say your right hander at a green). Slow the car down my gearing down and braking etc, and before the turn (depending on speed) you can either 1. Keep the car in gear with the clutch out and just turn, or 2. Shift to second, put the clutch in, coast the corner and apply power/clutch out as you exit the turn
Not sure how else I am supposed to interpret the bolded part other than "coasting in neutral"? :badpokerface:

[XplicitLuder]

by coast i thought he meant keep it in 2nd and as you turn dont touch anything. no brakes or gas

[meme405]

by coast i thought he meant keep it in 2nd and as you turn dont touch anything. no brakes or gas

It would have if he hadn't told you to put the clutch in...

It clearly says clutch out only as you exit the turn, which is completely incorrect, and in a driving test would result in a failure.

[a00755836]

as a beginner, i dont think you should learn the heel/toe or rev match method just yet. you should just downshift into the next lower gear or two if low rpms, and release the clutch slowly. then turn. its safer to do that way.

it might wear the clutch/synchros a little bit but at least your not learning heel/toe or rev match which may cause an accident during main roads.

[ncrx]

1) in all of the cars that I have driven -- as in, every single one -- 1st gear has a tranny lockout feature that prevents you from shifting into 1st unless you are going really, really slow. So I'd suggest that unless you think there is an absolute need for it, just take the corner in 2nd if you are already cruising up to the turn in 2nd.

This isn't entirely true, 1st typically lacks syncromesh. A proper double down into 1st can get you into gear, takes practice, even harder if you have a heavy ass race clutch. The issue is handling the the excess torque and wheel spin in first, but less of an issue in a turbo awd car which can benefit from the extra revs to keep you into boost.

I regularly double down into 1, it feels as seamless as shifting from 3-2. I would not recommend this for someone still learning to rev match and heel/toe.

As mentioned before, complete your braking before the corner with wheel straight and your downshift. You should be in gear, not coasting as mentioned. Look ahead through the corner, turn in looking ahead, and feed on throttle smoothly. The more throttle you apply the less steering lock you should be applying, meaning unwind the wheel.

[snowball]

As others have said, for a newbie, the majority of cars do not need to be put into first gear when already in motion... you can easily go 5km/h in second gear no problem, exceptions of course above but that's more for advanced driving.

True that you should never coast with the clutch in at any time, you need power on demand to get out of emergency situations.

Also true that all your braking should be all done before you start turning a corner at all... unless we're talking about throwing a car into a corner while braking for some oversteer on purpose... :D

[spacemanrick]

Hi everyone,

Glad to read all the great discussion from my forum question! Yesterday I went for a drive and yes I geared down fully before entering the corner and the turn was much smoother with much more control. This was much better than trying to change the gears in the middle of the turn as I had done the previous day. By the way my car has auto rev matching so I did not have to to do this myself. Thanks for all the help everone!

[E-SPEC]

If you could some how contact this guy, he would know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO7I5Tgs9vE

[320icar]

by coast i thought he meant keep it in 2nd and as you turn dont touch anything. no brakes or gas

At least someone here understands me #emo

[mickz]

Err... apparently, you did? :badpokerface:


Not sure how else I am supposed to interpret the bolded part other than "coasting in neutral"? :badpokerface:

by coast i thought he meant keep it in 2nd and as you turn dont touch anything. no brakes or gas

Leading up to the turn he said clutch in, coast the turn and apply power/clutch out. As I'm picturing this in my head, the gear lever is in 2nd but he's got his foot stepping on the clutch pedal the entire time until after he makes the turn.

[AzNightmare]

If you could some how contact this guy, he would know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO7I5Tgs9vE

What car was the guy (with the dashcam) driving?
YouTube username is: Wobuffet. Is it the same guy as RS's Wobuffet??

[corollagtSr5]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nzcRZCcikwM

[E-SPEC]

What car was the guy (with the dashcam) driving?
YouTube username is: Wobuffet. Is it the same guy as RS's Wobuffet??
I don't recall.

[SupraTTturbo2jz]

I think you should get get comfortable driving the manual first, for a month. I drove around after work for a hour or two to get the hang of smoothing the shifts and the feel of the car. Its now been a year and I am a much better manual driver, but I still think I still need some experience. Honestly you learn some tricks here and there every few days or weeks of driving, and recently I just started learning and getting better at heel toe but, its not necessary imo. Going for right turns, I tend to downshift into third or second gear, depending on the speed you're approaching the corners at.

Highway off ramps leading to turns, I just go to fourth or third. That should be enough power to exit, unless you're going really slow, then go into second. Takes time but you'll eventually get the hang of it. Its really fun and nerve racking at the beginning stage but it just comes as natural as typing on the keyboard after a while bro. Don't rush it.

[Peter_M5]

no e-brake turns mentioned....strange

[snowball]

I think the RPM range you're in is more important than the actual gear. All cars have different gear ratios, if you can keep your car in the 2-3k range when in corners you should be okay. If you're just cruising down the street significantly lower.