Hi all,

I finally bought some recycled rubber tire car supports, drove up them yesterday. But I had to use like 3,000rpm with the clutch half out. Of course I smelled burned up clutch. WHICH Is VERY bad.

I'm trying to decide if I should ever use this ramps again, or should I just use jack stands etc...

How should one normally drive up on ramps with manual transmission? With automatic transmission I had no issues as I would use the brake / gas in order not to drive off the other side

I'm afraid with the clutch out all the way and pressing the gas I could possibly drive off the other side.

Any input would be great.

Thanks,

 

You sound like you are fairly new to driving a manual. Maybe I'm wrong though. You may need to just get used to using the clutch and gas in 1st gear. I would say you would only need about 2000 rpm to get up the ramps, just use the clutch to control your speed up the ramps rather than the gas.

 

I agree.
Make it quick not fast. Don't ride the clutch for too long.
Might need a little gas depending on the slope of the surface your on and of coarse the ramps as well.

You'll get it.

 

just don't drive over the ramp

 

With the car in gear, engine speed at 3000 rpm and clutch half out, you won't have many tries of this kind before your clutch is burned out. I suggest you to avoid this at all costs...
It seems to me as well that you are pretty new to the use of a manual transmission, to use an euphemism...

An exercise that you should do to improve your sensitivity with clutch and gas usage should be as following: first, with your car on a flat road, engine at idle, gearbox in 1st gear and clutch fully pressed down, start lifting your foot very slowly from the clutch pedal and at a certain point (very soon, it won't take long)you will feel the car start to move forward very slowly, inch by inch. Only when you feel this, start to give a bit of gas, just let's say 200 rpm (you can't really say how many rpms...it must be enough to avoid stalling the car and no more than that, because any more rpm than really needed you use, it will impact the clutch and in worst case scenario, if you do something stupid, burn it...basically you need to "feel" how much gas you should give...), while at the same time keep on lifting your foot from the clutch pedal in a progressive way, not abruptly, and again give a bit more gas, keep on doing this until your left foot is off the clutch (NEVER, EVER RIDE A CLUTCH !) and simply, you are moving forward. All of this should definitely be a VERY quick process, taking only a FEW seconds (again, the more time you keep the clutch pedal down and apply gas, the worse effects will be on the clutch) as your priority is to: 1) don't damage/burn the clutch 2) avoid stalling 3) be as smooth as possible, as nobody appreciates a car that lurches forward like a bull at a bullfighting event, it makes a driver look like a total fool...
Then try to do the same on an uphill road: to add to the equation you will have the force of gravity pushing you back; the steepest the road, the quicker your car will go back. So to master this, you will have to do as above but more quickly and the amount of gas you will have to give will be a bit more (as you have to beat the force of gravity that is pushing your car backward) than if you were on a flat road. When I say a bit more, I don't mean a lot more, just enough for you not to go back, not to simply sit still, but instead to move forward...again is impossible to quantify how many rpms...you need to feel it...
The final objective for you to be able to use your car effectively (=smoothly without damaging any component...) when related to the problem you have described in your original post, I would say you can call yourself proficient when on any uphill road you are able to stay still without the use of the brakes or the parking brake, but instead by balancing clutch and gas to stay right where you are (this is just a skill that will help you in tackling any ramp...do not do it for fun, because as I said above, the bottomline is that if you depress the clutch to any level and press the gas pedal, you use up your clutch...). When you can do this, it means you reached the maximum sensitivity/skill about clutch pedal usage in conjunction with the gas pedal and your problem as far as moving uphill at very low speeds and at any angle is fully solved as you now are able to control your car perfectly.

One last suggestion: if you can afford it, I would suggest you to practice this skill and any other basic skill concerning the use of a gearbox (like shifting up, shifting down, downshifting + throttle blipping, etc. etc.) with some sort of a beater, as using a beautiful Mustang GT as a guinea pig I think it's not the best idea...don't you think ?

Good luck and do not burn any clutch, ok ?

 

Thanks for the tips all,

I am very new learned about 5 years ago on a '94 Civic (but since it wasn't my car I only drove it every so often... my dad showed me the standing still start without gas. But I haven't tried it in this car. I guess back to the drawing board).

Yea I know it's very bad with the clutch smell, and I did feel like a moron

On the plus side I have never heard the griding sound since the day I learned! And I can tell you driving manual is a blast. I feel like I have much more control over the car. And I knew I just had to buy a Mustang with it!

Thanks Legion681 for the huge write up, I will try some of your tips!

 

My pleasure, Ben !!!

I drove stick for 20 years with all sorts of cars (my Mustang GT is my 1st car with auto, after I owned thru the years 7 cars with stick) and let me tell you: when you fully master this "art", it's gonna be a real blast indeed !!!

If you need any tip/advice, I will be glad to help you out, ok ?

Good luck and enjoy your Mustang !

 

Legion681 thank you as well, it has been a long time for me as well, i believe the last time i drove stick was about 8yrs ago so your tips helped me out as well , i am sure it will come back to me just have to get use to it . after all been driving auto for a long time now...

 

Hmm. I learned how to drive standard 2 weeks ago. Here's how I start, is it bad?

1: Clutch all the way in
2. A bit of gas
3. Clutch out about halfway, to where it 'kicks' and I start inching forward
4. Gradually take out clutch.

I would theres about 3 seconds between clutch halfway out, to clutch all the way out. Is this bad?


Also, when stopping. I'll put the clutch all the way in and brake, shifting down in the process.

Is this called riding the clutch? Or is riding the clutch when you have clutch in partway *and* gas?

 

I'm fairly good at driving manual but more practice is required. If I'm coming up to a stop, I don't bother downshifting as I've been told brakes are a lot cheaper to replace when compared to the syncro's in the tranny.

Riding the clutch is when your in rush hour traffic say, where you drive along with the clutch half-out and using the gas. I had no idea how slow I could go in the rush hour traffic before stalling, in 1st gear.

When I drive as the clutch is coming out I'm giving it a little gas at the same time to make the transition as smooth as possible.

I will have to try some of Legion681 ideas, I got my dad to read what was written and he said Legion681 was spot on!

More practice is required for me

Thanks all,