# Tips for Driving a Manual?



## stack (May 2, 2008)

ok fine clutch to but you still fcuk it up either way....putting it in N works for me:freakdanc


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## Shocktopus (Nov 8, 2008)

eljefe68 said:


> You may not be saving your tranny, but you will save the throw-out bearing on your clutch. When sitting at a dead stop, like at a stop light, it is a good idea to put the trans in neutral and take your foot off the clutch.


When AT a stop, yes, like you said, if it is a long stop I might shift into neutral. I disagree with the previous poster that said they shift into Neutral while slowing to the stop though. What if an emergency situation requires power? Something like that happened to a friend of mine when he noticed that the (drunk) driver behind him wasn't slowing for the stoplight. Luckily there was no traffic so he floored it and turned right while the drunk went sliding through the intersection.

Also, neutral while in motion uses more gas than engine-braking. I hadn't thought about that until someone mentioned it here and I watched my real-time mpg gauge that day. Obvious in retrospect but I hadn't ever thought of that. Not that MPG is my primary concern but it was interesting to see.


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## TerraPhantm (Nov 22, 2004)

To get the 1-2 shift smoothly in my car, I usually shift out of 1st at a pretty low engine speed, usually 1500RPM or so. I also pretty much never downshift to first unless I come to a full stop


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## Shocktopus (Nov 8, 2008)

Fast Bob said:


> Not true...."trans" and "Clutch" are two seperate systems...."Riding" the clutch means driving with your left foot resting on the pedal...."Slipping" the clutch would be when you`re preventing the car from rolling backwards by keeping the pedal just short of it`s full engagement point...


Which I was pleasantly surprised that I don't have to do in the 09. That two-second hill-hold is a godsend sometimes. Like, say, Laurel Street in SD...


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## Fast Bob (Jun 4, 2004)

TerraPhantm said:


> To get the 1-2 shift smoothly in my car, I usually shift out of 1st at a pretty low engine speed, usually 1500RPM or so. I also pretty much never downshift to first unless I come to a full stop


Which means you`re at idle speed after shifting into second....*not* a very effective method, but fortunately for you, BMWs develop peak torque early, so once the car`s rolling you can pull away without too much lugging of the engine (lugging is bad).


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## Fast Bob (Jun 4, 2004)

Shocktopus said:


> Which I was pleasantly surprised that I don't have to do in the 09. That two-second hill-hold is a godsend sometimes. Like, say, Laurel Street in SD...


Well....there IS another alternative to slipping the clutch....it`s called "the e-brake"....


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

Fast Bob said:


> Well....there IS another alternative to slipping the clutch....it`s called "the e-brake"....


If you slip the clutch to hold the car on a hill, you will fail your UK driving test.

Gotta use the e-brake to hold the car on a hill.


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## TerraPhantm (Nov 22, 2004)

Fast Bob said:


> Which means you`re at idle speed after shifting into second....*not* a very effective method, but fortunately for you, BMWs develop peak torque early, so once the car`s rolling you can pull away without too much lugging of the engine (lugging is bad).


Well if the flywheel was lighter I'd probably shift later, but as it is now, the revs take way too long to drop from 3k+. Also I thought it isn't really lugging the engine unless you go *below* the idle speed, which I would never do intentionally.


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## Fast Bob (Jun 4, 2004)

TerraPhantm said:


> Well if the flywheel was lighter I'd probably shift later, but as it is now, the revs take way too long to drop from 3k+. Also I thought it isn't really lugging the engine unless you go *below* the idle speed, which I would never do intentionally.


You DO realize you`re driving a BMW, don`t you? See that 6400-RPM redline on the tach ? It`s telling you that it`s not only OK to run it up that high, but it`s actually *good* to do this once in awhile.
"Lugging" is being in too low of a gear to permit the engine`s torque to easily overcome the load being applied, i.e.,if you`re attempting to accelerate, and feel bucking, shaking, or a sound like someone throwing rocks under your hood, *you`re lugging the engine*, and it`s time to downshift. Not only is the engine less efficient while lugging, but it places undue strain and wear on cylinder walls, rod bearings, and wristpin bearings....in other words, IT`S A BAD IDEA....so let that engine rev freely....that`s what it was designed and built for.


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## TerraPhantm (Nov 22, 2004)

Well it's not that I never redline this thing, I usually make it a point to reach 6800RPM in 2nd atleast once in my daily drives. I would do the same for 3rd if it wasn't nearly at 100mph by the end of that gear.

I just find it hard to go from 1st-2nd without waiting an eternity for the revs to drop the right place _unless_ I shift from around 1500-2000. The rest of the gears I'll shift around 3000-3500. The car never made any weird noises on me when shifting like this, so I assumed it was okay. I can change my habits if I must tho, I wouldn't want to cause any premature failure.


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## Fast Bob (Jun 4, 2004)

TerraPhantm said:


> Well it's not that I never redline this thing, I usually make it a point to reach 6800RPM in 2nd atleast once in my daily drives. I would do the same for 3rd if it wasn't nearly at 100mph by the end of that gear.
> 
> I just find it hard to go from 1st-2nd without waiting an eternity for the revs to drop the right place _unless_ I shift from around 1500-2000. The rest of the gears I'll shift around 3000-3500. The car never made any weird noises on me when shifting like this, so I assumed it was okay. I can change my habits if I must tho, I wouldn't want to cause any premature failure.


You`re probably OK doing what you`re doing....just noticed you have a ZHP (6800 redline  so don`t be afraid to let those horses get out and run....I just find that for me, I get a better 1-2 shift at around 4,000 to 4,500....YMMV, as they say.


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## damyankee (Apr 3, 2007)

I too find that shifting from 1-2 at fairly low RPMs makes it a lot easier to do smoothly, but I mentally kick myself everytime I do this for "wimping out" if that makes sense.

Knowing the peculiarities of your machine and learning how to shift just right under any conditions is part of what makes it a million times more fun than driving a god-forsaken slushbox.


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## mistercindy (Sep 18, 2005)

rourkem said:


> I'm waiting to take delivery of a new 330Ci with the 5 speed manual. This will be the first car I've owned myself (I currently rent, borrow or walk), and so its my first time driving a stick often.
> 
> Way, way back I was taught to drive a stick by a friend. Last weekend I rents a car with a stick so I could practice before picking up my new car... I'm planning on doing that again. My problem is that I don't know anyone who drives stick, so I'm mostly teaching myself.


Cheers to you for learning! I wish I could that into my daughters' heads. So far they won't even try to learn in my car. On to business......



rourkem said:


> 1) When coming to a stop sign one should put the clutch in and downshift to first, right? At one point should the clutch go down? It should go all the way down quickly, right?


I always put the clutch all the way down and shift into first at a stop sign. I've driven manual vehicles that allow you to shift into first while the car is still slowing down (old 1960's era Volvos, mostly), but my '08 328i doesn't seem to want me to do that. If I'm at a red light where I'll be sitting for a while I'll put the clutch all the way down and put it in neutral.



rourkem said:


> 2) When approaching (in 3rd gear) something like a traffic rotary where you might need to slow to 10mph, what should you do?


I find that there's a darn nice range with each of 1st, 2nd and 3rd, depending on how slow the traffic is moving. If its really crawling I usually have no problem staying in 1st until the car is under 2-3 MPH or so. And 2nd gear will let me go as slow as 5 MPH up to 30-ish which in my book is a fine range for slow and heavy traffic. Along those lines, I start from 2nd gear a fair amount. I do it a lot when if I'm pointed even slightly downhill during my stop.



rourkem said:


> 3) In VERY slow stop and go traffic is it okay to ride the friction zone of the clutch some? I assume riding the clutch while stopped is pretty much unaviodable in this situation.


I try not to do that. When its very slow (under 5 MPH to stopping) I'll go through the effort to shift from to 1st to neutral and back. Its the one occasion where a manual can be a minor PITA.


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## Fast Bob (Jun 4, 2004)

mistercindy said:


> I've driven manual vehicles that allow you to shift into first while the car is still slowing down (old 1960's era Volvos, mostly), but my '08 328i doesn't seem to want me to do that.
> .


Do you know how to double-clutch ? If not, it would behoove you to learn this skill, you`ll find that you can slide easily into first at any speed under around 20 mph. Up until the late `60s, many cars had no synchros on first gear, so you HAD to learn to DC


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## sprintman (Feb 22, 2008)

What FB said. All good drivers DC changing down, it's a learnt skill that takes mucho practise.


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## adam98540 (Oct 24, 2008)

rourkem said:


> Last weekend I rents a car with a stick so I could practice before picking up my new car... I'm planning on doing that again.


Where did you manage to rent a manual transmission car? I'm working on teaching my girlfriend, and having a rental available would take a lot of stress off of both of us.


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

sprintman said:


> What FB said. All good drivers DC changing down, it's a learnt skill that takes mucho practise.


On old cars with single or no sychromesh :yikes: DC is essential.

Recent cars have double or triple cone syncromesh on at least 1st and 2nd. Double clutching is rarely if ever needed. My 2006 MX-5 had triple syncros on the 1st to 4th. I could do red line downshifts with a single finger. No double clutching.

Rev matching is still important.

This is a great how-to video. Even if you never heal-toe, it also shows how to rev match.


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## sprintman (Feb 22, 2008)

FB is correct, lugging is very bad for any engine.


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