First Manual Transmission | Any Tips?, First Post Noob Stuff
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First Manual Transmission | Any Tips?, First Post Noob Stuff
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Aug 1 2013, 03:23 PM
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Club Newbie Group: Members Posts: 14 Posts Per Day: 0.00 Thanks Received: 1 Trader Stats: 0 (0%) Joined: 28-July 13 Member No.: 16,300 |
Just purchased my first manual transmission (and first hyundai) and was wondering if you folks have any good tips?
I have nothing to hide, stalled it 3 times just driving to the other side of town (maybe 5 miles?) my first night owning it. My stalls are mostly slow speed stuff like at a McDonald's drive through, a creep ahead after a full stop to get better vision, or just being stupid and starting the car off in 3rd. I learned a few years ago the basics on a 4 speed, poor clutch, suv. A couple things have carried over, but I was not good at shifting that vehicle either. I spent a couple hours this morning trying to improve, I seem to be getting a little better. My later shifts are getting smoother but not great. Struggling a bit to find the right gas/clutch combo. Please don't chew me out for spending $18000 to learn a stick, and possibly ruin the transmission. It was really my Fiesta with its HORRIBLE dual clutch auto that has scared (and scarred) me away from automatics for a while. This car is 1 day off the lot and I feel like I don't own it yet, mainly because I can barely drive it. I swear I am not a bigger danger then your avg mom on the phone, I know how to stop, and I give it extra gas to make sure I don't stall in traffic. I want to get less jerks aka smoother shifting. Embarrassing I will probably be thinking of more questions, but the basic one for now is: What are some good tips I should try? Oh, and what causes the "clutch to burn"? That way I can dodge that on this poor new car. thanks ahead of time This post has been edited by CWC3: Aug 1 2013, 04:04 PM -------------------- 2013 Elantra GT | Manual | Base Trim Medford, Oregon |
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Aug 1 2013, 06:39 PM
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GT for life! Group: VIP Members Posts: 6,303 Posts Per Day: 0.90 Thanks Received: 478 Trader Stats: 2 (100%) Joined: 27-January 05 From: Greenville, SC Member No.: 34 Mood: Optimistic |
Welcome to the club and congrats on the new car!
One helpful tip, until you learn the sound of the engine or RPM level of when it is ideal to shift, is that the Elantra's have a shift indicator on them to help you know when to shift. Be aware that the shift indicator (eco mode) is programmed to have you shift very early (or at low RPM's) to maximize fuel economy. Especially when shifting into 2nd or 3rd while going up a hill you will want to wait to shift until you build your RPM's up. I sometimes had to laugh when it was telling me to shift and I thought, I barely can accelerate now, if I shifted to the next gear I'd practically stall the engine. My advice on learning the car is to take it into an area (empty parking lot or residential area that doesn't get much traffic) and just practice starting and stopping. You really need to find an area with an incline to get a feel of starting it out on a hill. That is the most difficult thing with a clutch and there is nothing worse than someone crawling up your butt on a steep incline. Once you get a feel for the clutch you will pick up driving the car pretty quick. What you want to do is try to prevent "riding" the clutch too much. That means having the clutch partially engaged while driving. The key to not riding the clutch is to practice starting from a dead stop and get a hang on how to start the car smoothly. Riding the clutch is what will cause it to wear out prematurely. Luckily this car is a fairly easy clutch to get used to, so with a little practice I'm sure you'll get the hang of it! -------------------- Please consider helping keep the club online and independent. Donate here to help the club.
Current Car: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT, 6 spd manual w/ the style and tech packages Previous Hyundai's: 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE in Venetian Red; 2006 Hyundai Sonata GLS, 3.3L V-6 in Ebony Black; 2004 Elantra GT, 5 spd manual in tidal wave blue |
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1 members thank Alex2013GT for this post CWC3 | |
Aug 1 2013, 06:53 PM
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Club Regular Group: Lifetimer Posts: 54 Posts Per Day: 0.01 Thanks Received: 17 Trader Stats: 1 (100%) Joined: 8-April 13 From: Pittsburgh, PA Member No.: 15,269 Mood: Thirsty |
Welcome. I'm relatively new here myself. This sounds like something I did about 20 years ago. I bought a 3 year old Civic Si HB having never driven a stick before. After a 15 minute lesson from the salesman and a test drive on the road I bought it. Next morning around 6 a.m. I went to a mall parking lot and spent a couple hours sorting myself out. Time well spent. Here's my best tip, since I'm not sure if you live in a hilly area or not. When you start out on a hill, pull up the handbrake before starting out. Give it some gas and ease out the clutch while lowering the hand brake. This will free up your left foot to concentrate on the clutch without worrying about drifting back. Once you get the hang of it you'll only need do this on very steep inclines.
Short shifting or shifting at a lower rpm will eliminate some of the jerking as well as not giving too much throttle. Practice starting out from a dead stop. You'll come to know how much travel there is in the clutch before it engages. I let the car stall out when easing out the clutch without giving it any gas to get a good feel for the engagement point. Riding the clutch is what causes it to burn. When your starting out get off the clutch pedal quick without giving too much throttle. Do this too when shifting gears. Practice is all you really need. If you gave it a couple hours this morning give it a couple more tomorrow you'll get the hang of it. Have fun and keep it, you'll be heel and toe downshifting in no time. -------------------- A proud member of the club.
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Aug 1 2013, 06:59 PM
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GT for life! Group: VIP Members Posts: 6,303 Posts Per Day: 0.90 Thanks Received: 478 Trader Stats: 2 (100%) Joined: 27-January 05 From: Greenville, SC Member No.: 34 Mood: Optimistic |
Here's my best tip, since I'm not sure if you live in a hilly area or not. When you start out on a hill, pull up the handbrake before starting out. Give it some gas and ease out the clutch while lowering the hand brake. This will free up your left foot to concentrate on the clutch without worrying about drifting back. Once you get the hang of it you'll only need do this on very steep inclines. Well that is a fantastic tip!!! I never thought of doing that. -------------------- Please consider helping keep the club online and independent. Donate here to help the club.
Current Car: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT, 6 spd manual w/ the style and tech packages Previous Hyundai's: 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE in Venetian Red; 2006 Hyundai Sonata GLS, 3.3L V-6 in Ebony Black; 2004 Elantra GT, 5 spd manual in tidal wave blue |
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Aug 1 2013, 07:13 PM
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That Guy.. Group: Leader Posts: 6,687 Posts Per Day: 1.18 Thanks Received: 724 Trader Stats: 16 (100%) Joined: 20-September 08 From: Neenah, WI Member No.: 6,539 Mood: Thankful |
Something my mom always told me, "Practice makes perfect".
-------------------- "This may be true but it is a chrysler sebring which is synonomous with being a p.o.s. car. Personally I gotta say it's getting really tiring having to clean off the sopping wet panties from my Hyundai Elantra every morning. Bitches love Hyundais." "Sometimes you wonder how the sperm that made that idiot was the fastest swimmer. . . Must've had a "race motor" in it with nass under the hood. . . " - Alex2013gt |
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Aug 1 2013, 07:34 PM
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F.K.A. fsv87 Group: Members Posts: 1,888 Posts Per Day: 0.32 Thanks Received: 189 Trader Stats: 0 (0%) Joined: 25-November 07 From: Miami, FL Member No.: 5,380 Mood: Obnoxious |
Great advise here, as usual. Welcome to EClub!
The handbrake is definitely going to be your friend starting on hills. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think these cars might have hill start assist. It prevents you from rolling backwards for just enough time to get started. I drove a mini the other day that had this. If I'd had this my first time driving manual it would have saved me so many mini heart attacks. Now, I'm not saying to chirp the tires with every shift, but something that burns the clutch, aside from riding it, is being overly smooth. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but if you're taking too much time letting off the clutch you're going to shorten its life. Your best bet is definitely going to be hitting an abandoned parking lot and stopping and going. The hardest part is getting the car going and finding the right balance of gas and clutch. Enjoy your new ride!! -------------------- |
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1 members thank VIG for this post CWC3 | |
Aug 1 2013, 09:46 PM
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GT for life! Group: VIP Members Posts: 6,303 Posts Per Day: 0.90 Thanks Received: 478 Trader Stats: 2 (100%) Joined: 27-January 05 From: Greenville, SC Member No.: 34 Mood: Optimistic |
Frank, I don't think these cars have hill start assist. If they do, I can't tell at least!
My worst fear is when I travel to our office in Charlotte (which is quite periodic). Well the exit from the underground parking garage is up a pretty steep incline with the parking attendant office right at the top. So obviously I need to stop and pay and I hate when people pull up right behind me. It has happened a couple times and just drives me crazy! Thankfully I've driven manuals for several years and am comfortable enough, but I still get nervous when they creep up my bumper. -------------------- Please consider helping keep the club online and independent. Donate here to help the club.
Current Car: 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT, 6 spd manual w/ the style and tech packages Previous Hyundai's: 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE in Venetian Red; 2006 Hyundai Sonata GLS, 3.3L V-6 in Ebony Black; 2004 Elantra GT, 5 spd manual in tidal wave blue |
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Aug 1 2013, 09:52 PM
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F.K.A. fsv87 Group: Members Posts: 1,888 Posts Per Day: 0.32 Thanks Received: 189 Trader Stats: 0 (0%) Joined: 25-November 07 From: Miami, FL Member No.: 5,380 Mood: Obnoxious |
Really??
You know what's crazy? My 2012 Accent has hill start assist. And it is an automatic! It would have been nice of they put it in an application that would be more useful. -------------------- |
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Aug 2 2013, 01:05 AM
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Sleep is for the weak! Group: Leader Posts: 2,999 Posts Per Day: 0.43 Thanks Received: 197 Trader Stats: 8 (100%) Joined: 2-February 05 From: New Jersey Member No.: 250 Mood: Stressed |
Welcome to the club. I think everyone has hit the main points. Don't worry I bought my 05 elantra new and it was the first manual I've owned and basically learned on it. I'm at about 90k on the original clutch. Just make sure to maintain the vehicle and you should be good to go.
-------------------- A proud member of the club.
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Aug 2 2013, 02:35 AM
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o hai Group: Leader Posts: 1,461 Posts Per Day: 0.27 Thanks Received: 219 Trader Stats: 1 (100%) Joined: 9-July 09 From: Victoria, Australia Member No.: 7,384 Mood: Carefree |
My worst fear is when I travel to our office in Charlotte (which is quite periodic). Well the exit from the underground parking garage is up a pretty steep incline with the parking attendant office right at the top. So obviously I need to stop and pay and I hate when people pull up right behind me. It has happened a couple times and just drives me crazy! Thankfully I've driven manuals for several years and am comfortable enough, but I still get nervous when they creep up my bumper. I always use the handbrake, but if someone wants to keep creeping forward, a tiny roll-back on take-off stops them doing that at the next set of lights. ::Edit:: Oh also for a tip, don't deliberately roll back at the lights! -------------------- and then I found 5 bucks!
EC Affiliate Mall! Shop online and the club benefits! If you haven't done so, please take a minute to review the forum rules! |
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Aug 2 2013, 01:35 PM
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Club Newbie Group: Members Posts: 14 Posts Per Day: 0.00 Thanks Received: 1 Trader Stats: 0 (0%) Joined: 28-July 13 Member No.: 16,300 |
Awesome! Thanks for all the tips and welcomes. This is a great lil community here.
Couple things I have thought of with another day of driving: I have been using the clutch a lot for smooth shifts, I get mixed opinions on this idea. I saw above one of you said this will cause clutch burn. For example if I pull into a parking spot and I couldn't coast fully into it, is it alright for me to just keep the clutch halfway in while playing with the gas to get that extra foot or so in? Same question on reverse, I have been enjoying just abusing the clutch and slowly reversing. Otherwise one night of driving has improved me a bit. Starting to figure out the appropriate gears for certain speeds (when that red goes green as your slowing down). Did stall this morning at my first stop sign, trying too hard for a low rpm shift. I live at a apartment complex where the streets are your avg 10-15mph and I feel bad revving the engine to 3k. Let my friend drive the car too, last night that is, stalled it probably 6 times which actually made me feel a little better . I am feeling more confident, and I got plenty of empty parking lots in the morning to practice on. -------------------- 2013 Elantra GT | Manual | Base Trim Medford, Oregon |
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Aug 2 2013, 02:49 PM
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Proud GLT Owner Group: Lifetimer Posts: 21,140 Posts Per Day: 3.04 Thanks Received: 633 Trader Stats: 3 (100%) Joined: 11-March 05 From: Brownsburg, IN Member No.: 532 Mood: Hyper |
Biggest thing to clutch longevity: Get off the clutch as quickly as possible. The less time it has to slip, the less wear it creates. It's not something that will happen overnight.... I've been driving manual trans cars since I turned 14...... and I'll be 38 this December. Every car is a little different and it just takes time behind the wheel to get adjusted and used to the car.
So basically what we're all saying is: Go drive it. A lot. Then go drive it some more. Drive it in every possible place that you can think of (downtown, crowded streets, curvy side streets, highway, city, town, rural etc) and just practice. I was lucky to learn to ride a Dirtbike when I was 11, had driven tractors since I was 8 or 9 so the transition to a manual trans car/truck was pretty painless. -------------------- Founding Member of the Indiana Chapter of the Teeny Weeny Club for Secure Adult Males
"Drag racing is for fast cars, and autocrossing is for fast drivers" -Toecutter |
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1 members thank Bobzilla for this post CWC3 | |
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