So a couple of days back I traded in my 06 auto for a 07 manual. I'm still trying to figure out how to shift and stuff. Still stalling in first gear . What is a good RPM to shift at? What is a good way to start out first gear in without over reving and stalling? I also have a problem shifting from 1st to 2nd and there is alway a clump or rocking from the car when I shift gears. When I release the clutch too fast there is alway a clump/rocking also. How am I suppost to release clutch / apply gas properly? And when there is a hill or cliff, I'm alway afraid I will roll back and hit the car behind me so I alway apply so much gas that I burn the tires out or stall. Which is very dangerous. Also is the clumping /rocking bad for the transmission? Also can I grind the gear by applying gas and not releasing the clutch fully? Can someone also educate on Downshift and other important terms. Last of all, is it bad to drive in a lower gear? for example going at 20 MPH in 3rd gear. Does that harm the transmission or kill gas efficiency? Sorry I wrote so much but I'm new to manuals and I would like to keep the transmission in good shape. I miss the ease of my auto so much . I don't hear the same exhaust sound in this manual like I did in the auto. All I hear is high revs and no exhaust note. Thanks in advance everyone.

 

I can't speak for anyone else but I tend to shift by sound not by RPM's. In my 6 I shift in the 2500 rpm range but don't think I look at my tach more than a handful of times a week.

Same tends to go with downshifting. I listen to the engine and let it tell me when its time to down shift. Is it bad to drive in a lower gear? Personally I'd think so. Too few RPM's and you're at risk of stalling the engine.

My recommendation is to take the car to a fairly emply parking lot (if such a thing exists in SoCal anymore! ) and practice... practice... practice. If you have a buddy who drives a manual they can easily show you the ropes.

Its actually pretty easy once you get used to it... and yea after 20 years of driving a manual I still occasionally grind the excess carbon off of my gears!

 

The trick on starting and stopping smoothly in a manual is getting a feel for the friction zone, that level of clutch where you can feel the car start to pull, then gas can be applied while easing out more on the clutch until the gear is fully engaged. When I first learned to drive a manual oh so many years ago, I was just told to come out on the clutch and push in on the gas at the same time. It was not very helpful and I stalled a bunch, and lurched a bunch. Once I uunderstood the concept of the friction zone and that it was a "feel" thing rather than a mechanical application of left and right feet, it became second nature. Don't know if that helps, but FWIW.

 

Don't be too hard on yourself. I've been driving sticks for 40 years and can tell you that the Mustang's manual (at least mine) is not the smoothest. I often find it hard to get a smooth 1-2 or 2-3 shift. Shifting at higher RPMs helps.

 

Just practice and don't give up man - alot of it is just feeling out the car and learning it. You'll pick it up. Once you do, you'll be glad that you went stick.

(my first stang was an 88 GT and also my first manual - I went through exactly what you did bro!)

 

Those are all great what too so there's nothing to add other than when you do get it down You'll have a blast I guarntee that much. My nieghbour has a 06 Auto for a knee thing but when ever she feels an itch I let her go for a spin.

 

Once you get the feel of the clutch down and the proper amount of gas to give it so your ready to go, you can use your emergency brake when your stopped on a hill and someone comes up right behind you.

Engage the e-brake and take you foot off the brake. Feel the clutch and gas to the point that the car is ready to go and you can release the emergency brake and give it more gas so you can go forward when you need to....this will come second nature with some practice and you'll be able to eliminate the need for the e-brake all together, once your good at it, but it's good to learn how to use the e-brake on a hill when the car behind you gets right tight, and your nervous about rolling backwards.

Practice the release of the clutch, and get a smooth start down first on a flat parking lot. Find a hill then to practice the same technique. With pratice, you should be able to find the sweet spot were the clutch can hold the car without rolling backwards and feel the amount of gas that's required to hold the car there without stalling, and the amount of gas required to start going forward without lurching....you can practice pushing in the clutch to feel where the car will begin to roll backwards and then slowly release the clutch to feel where the car will hold, or go forward. Start out on the bottom of the hill and go up a few feet, push in the clutch and allow the car to coast until the momentum stops, don't touch the brake, let out the clutch and try to proceed up the hill again....do it over and over and you'll get the feel down...Once you good at it, you'll be able to sit on a hill and take off without using the e-brake...

hags1

 

Jimmie had some great advice. finding the friction point is very important for smooth 1st gear starting.

I wouldn't really go by the tack to shift. I just feel it. If the car feels like it is slowing down and not coasting if you let off the gas then you should be up to the next gear.

You can't grind the gear by not letting off the clutch all the way and gasing it, but you are going to be wearing out the clutch quite a bit.

Going in a too high of gear won't cause too much trouble if you are cruising.. you can cruise along at 1k rpm without hurting anything. But if you need to accelerate for go up hill with that low of rpm you will want to downshift because the loading on the engine can cause engine detonation(pinging) which is not good for any engine.

Starting in 1st going up hill you will have your feet on clutch and brake. you'll lift the clutch until you feel the friction point. you should feel it and see rpm lower.at that point move the brake foot to the gas and luckly since newtons law object at rest tends to stay at rest giving you enough time to release more off the clutch and apply a bit of gas.

 

That’s what the rev limiter is for – tells you when to shift.

 

This is what I do when on a hill. Once the clutch is at the friction point (I dont know if anyone explained this yet, but the friction point is the point where the clutch plate starts to come into contact with the flywheel, enabling the car to go forward) the car will want to go forward, so when you are on a hill and at the friction point, the car will move backwards a whole lot less.
When you know how the clutch works, it makes it easier to absorb this information. Here is a good site that explains everything
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch1.htm

 

And after you become proficient in all the above: Grip It & Rip It.

 

get used to the friction zone... its all about the clutch, and less about the gas. you only need to give it enough gas to not kill the engine....

slow slow slow on that clutch pedal. the faster you go the harder it is to get used to it.

feather it out.... get to know exactly where the clutch starts to grab, and exactly where its all the way out....

practice it all the time, just keep driving the car everywhere and you will get the hang of it in no time at all...

 

Thanks for all the advice guys, please keep them coming.

 

Sorry I meant if it is bad to drive in a higher gear? For example if im drive 20 miles while in 3 or 4th gear? Does this reduce gas efficiency or damage the transmission?

 

quoting myself here.


so no it will not harm transmission in anyway, but not always the best for the engine.

 

Don't you have parents that can teach you this, or at least a buddy? I learned from riding dirtbikes as a kid and my Dad let me drive the car on his lap when I was 12 and on my own with him in the passenger seat at 14. Not all the time, but once in a while. We lived out in the sticks with very few people around and back then cars didn't have airbags to contend with.

 

About the sweet spot on the hill, dont do that, you'll burn the clutch out in no time. It just takes alot of practice. Go try to find an open parking lot. Give it just enough gas to hear it a little, and slowly let out of the clutch, then stop. Try to go back and forth forwards and in reverse between parking spaces. The more you do it, the easier it becomes, trust me. When I first started, I was horrible; as you do it more and more, it'll become second nature, and you wont even notice that you're shifting.

 

Thanks I thought that was very important to know.

 

If im in the parking lot, what gears should I use? If I use first gear, tach will over rev and If im in second gear it seems kinda of too high for parking lot speed. Also if im going 20 miles and in 4th gear, if I accelerate in that gear, would it hurt gas mileage or harm the engine? Am I suppost to shift to 3rd gear or is 4th gear ok?

 

Easiest thing to do is start letting the clutch out somewhat slowly. When you feel it start to grab, give it a LITTLE gas. Make sure the clutch is completely out when the car starts to move (keep your foot OFF the clutch unless you are actually shifting). When the RPMs reach about 3K, which will happen fairly quickly in first, shift into second. When you shift into second, completely depress the clutch, put the gearshift into second, let the clutch out, when you feel it start to grab, give it gas. Put the clutch in, stop. Put the car in first, and start over. Do it again and again, first second first second first second. You WILL stall the car out. You WILL jerk around, it's just part of the learning process. First and second are the hardest to learn. Third and fourth are more fluid shifts. Unless you are in a huge parking lot, you may not even make it to third because you will probably be going slow enough to not need third gear. Put it this way - you can go from 0-60 in first and second in this car if you really wanted to, so no, 20 mph is not too fast or too high for second gear (although it may SOUND like it). As far as "over reving", "too high" is red line on the tac and if you redline in second I guarantee you you are going to be going WAY faster than 20 mph. If you really want to get out of second (i.e. the RPM's hit 3K), shift to THIRD, not fourth. I am usually in second or third in parking lots.

From a more "mechanical" perspective, keep in mind when your left foot is going down (on the clutch), your right foot is going up (off the gas) and vice versa. Sit in a chair (or in the car) and practice the following: All at the same time put your right foot up (off the gas) put your left foot down (clutch in) while at the same time moving your right arm into a gear. All three motions at the same time. Followed by left foot up (clutch out) and right foot down (gas). Your brain will eventually learn this pattern and you will do it automatically.

If you need to stop quickly and get yourself in a hairy situation because you are not sure what to do about shifting, push the clutch in and hit the brakes. Worry about what gear to take off in after that.

One thing to keep in mind is do not shift based on MPH, shift based on what the RPMs are, no matter what gear you are in. Shifting at 2500-3K RPM is conservative and should keep you from jerking etc while you're learning. The harder you hit the gas, the faster the RPMs will rise ("rev")and the quicker you will need to shift to the next gear. In the beginning this may require you to keep your eye on the tac, but after awhile you will learn what 3K feels and sounds like and you won't have to look as much.

I don't know if fourth at 20 mph will actually hurt your car, but you certainly won't have enough power to go and the car will "bottom out" so to speak. If you are in second and need to shift, go to third next.

As far as downshifting, it is better to error by shifting into a gear that is too high rather than too low. If you shift into too low of a gear, when you let the clutch out the tac will shoot up and the car will jerk majorly (and you will fly forward). This is NOT good for your car. Myself (others may think differently) I usually don't downshift to second unless I'm going pretty darn slow to begin with and I almost NEVER downshift to first unless I am stopped.

This concludes Lynda's dissertation. I digress. Good luck!