first stick

[brother chai]

hey, so i have been practicing on the 2003 Vibe GT. this is my first car with a stick shift. i have driven a 5spd a couple times before, but that was a while back. i seem to be getting the hang of it again, starting off (on flat ground anyway), and once i'm going i shift up fine. i do have a few questions though:1) downshift or not? lets say im going along in 3rd or 4th..40-45mph or so...or even 5th or 6th and i come into town and need to slow down to 25. do i downshift? or lets say i come upon traffic or a light/stop sign...downshift? some people have told me to throw the clutch in and put the car in neutral and apply the breaks some and then coming upon the stop apply the clutch too and then shift to first to start again. any tips on how to slow down, or how to come to a stop?? what's most effective. i have tried downshifting a bit (according to the speeds in the manual book) but it still seems to let off a weird noise and jolt the car a bit.2) starting from an incline...i am having a bit of trouble with this. ive gotten a little better, but what is the best way to start learning: use the parking break and ease off it as you start going? or ease off the clutch til the car hits the sweet spot and then move from break to gas?any other tips?! it would be greatly appreciated!

[rlfreese]

downshigting is overated and wates gas more than anything else, you should only need to do this if you are trying to use the downshift to stop quicker. as far as inclines go, I would use the parking break idea, that is how most people learn until they get the hang of it. driving a stick is second nature to me now, I mess up every automatic i get in by hitting the break thinking it is the clutch and throwing the car in reverse and stuff like that so I just stick to a manual, better control for me.

[Jahntassa]

1) Downshifting is really useful, and in my opinion, helps save the brakes. It's really one of those things you 'learn over time'. Figure out where the car likes to be in what gear..don't neccesarily go by the manual reccomendations.. The 'jolt' comes from the clutch, so you need to learn where that sweet spot is.. Usually i'll downshift until I get to the point where I think it'll A) Stall or B) I run out of room and need to use the breaks.2) I learned that way. Rather, the parking brake way. Don't ride the clutch, or you'll burn it up pretty quickly. Clutches take a while to learn, i'll speak that from experience. You just need to be patient, and as you go along, you'll notice you just start getting comfortable with it. Don't be afraid of it, just take it easy, and you'll get used to it..The trick with downshifting is you have to kinda 'know' where you are in the gears at what speed. When you downshift, you want to get the engine RPMs up to where you won't get that jolt. Say, if you're going from 4th to 3rd.. if 4th is at 3000 rpm, and 3rd would be at 6000 rpm, you need to get the engine up to that 6000rpm, then ease back on the clutch.. or it'll do just as you said..As said, just be patient with it!

[jwalcik]

Quote, originally posted by brother chai »hey, so i have been practicing on the 2003 Vibe GT. this is my first car with a stick shift. i have driven a 5spd a couple times before, but that was a while back. i seem to be getting the hang of it again, starting off (on flat ground anyway), and once i'm going i shift up fine. i do have a few questions though:my '05 gt is the first car i've ever own with a stick. given the choice, this is *not* the car i would have learned in, but stick with it. in a month or two you'll be wondering why you ever sweated it.Quote, originally posted by brother chai »1) downshift or not? lets say im going along in 3rd or 4th..40-45mph or so...or even 5th or 6th and i come into town and need to slow down to 25. do i downshift? or lets say i come upon traffic or a light/stop sign...downshift? some people have told me to throw the clutch in and put the car in neutral and apply the breaks some and then coming upon the stop apply the clutch too and then shift to first to start again. any tips on how to slow down, or how to come to a stop?? what's most effective. i have tried downshifting a bit (according to the speeds in the manual book) but it still seems to let off a weird noise and jolt the car a bit.when i need to slow down like that, i put in the clutch, tap the brakes, and coast. if i need to maintain the lower speed, i'll wait until the car's slowed down, then put it back in gear. if i need to stop, i just leave it in neutral and use the brakes.Quote, originally posted by brother chai »2) starting from an incline...i am having a bit of trouble with this. ive gotten a little better, but what is the best way to start learning: use the parking break and ease off it as you start going? or ease off the clutch til the car hits the sweet spot and then move from break to gas?the way i learned to get started on a hill was something a friend of mine showed me. find an incline. nothing too extreme, but something with plenty of room in front of and behind you (i found a spot in a parking lot). park facing uphill. let off the brake and start to roll backwards. ease on the gas and find the "spot" that stops the wheels and starts to push you back up the hill. you don't want to roll too far backwards (no more than just a couple of feet, tops). rinse and repeat. by doing this i was able to find the "spot" where my feet needed to be in regards to the clutch and the gas. you'll probably squeal your tires a few times, and you'll probably stall a few times, but stick with it (no pun intended). i was there just a few months ago and i know that feeling all too well.

[mcgusto82]

downshifting is ideal because it always keeps you in the required gear if you were to come to a point were you need to accelerate.like you say. going 50 then you need to slow down to 25. obviously you need to downshift to say.. 3rd.. that keeps you in a good rpm range if you need to get moving again. if you come to a corner.. 2nd is ideal. enough rpm to get you going once you come out that corner. if you know you are coming to a defenate stop, clutch, 1st, hold the clutch all the way in as you should everytime you press it. brake, and wait. once the light goes green. launch.from my previous experience even after driving stick for a long time now. you sometimes forget to put the car in 1st at stops. and you try to go and all you do is nmake noise and look like a fool.always keping the car in gear keeps you from looking like a fool.my 2 bits.

[goodvibe]

Just keep it in gear and hit the brakes. As the tac approaches idle rpm put in the clutch and keep slowing down or pick the gear most appropriate to accelerate. This way you're helping the brakes yet not wearing the clutch. The clutch on your car is the weak link and the brakes are great so don't downshift just to casually slow down. Brakes are also a lot cheaper to replace and last longer then the clutch on a GT. If your trying to keep the revs up to corner quickly then blipping the throttle to downshift and match to a higher rpm is appropriate. When you can shift by using the clutch quickly like an on/off switch without jerking the car, you're getting it right. Least wear. The throw out bearing is also known to wear quickly so keeping your foot on the clutch is a no-no. Always lift when not in gear and reclutch as needed. (I'm not talking about during a normal shift when 1 clutch actuation is correct). This will also get the synchros up to speed for an easy shift. Starting from a stop on the GT usually means slipping the clutch but keeping the rpms above 2k or it won't feel smooth. I usually just started it a below 3k and let the motor die against the clutch until it was fully engaged just above 2k and left briskly. It was just too much trouble to do anything else, gave the least amount of slip time and I just wasn't going to work that hard for a few extra thousand clutch miles. GTs wear clutches quickly do to the low torque, high weight, lite flywheel, weak disc and required launch technique. Mine would have lasted over 40k if the throw out bearing didn't need replacing. Not fabulous but expect to replace it before 50k even if you're nice.

[brother chai]

any suggestions on how to properly downshift then? say i've got it at about 2,500-3,000 rpms going 45 in 5th gear and i need to drop to 30mph. what would i do?

[goodvibe]

For normal driving I would just put in the clutch and tap the throttle to raise rpm 20% put it in 4th, release the clutch and keep your foot on the gas to keep it smooth. If you let the rpm drop low enough you can just shift down casually and it will still be smooth enough. The car should pull with light throttle in any gear from 1500 rpm. Maybe not 6th with some set ups though mine did fine.

[binary]

Down shift? Bah... its a waste of gas and clutch - both of which cost a heck of a lot more than a set of brake pads.Down shifting is good on in certain cases or weather. If you're changing speeds from 55 to 35, just push the clutch in and slow down (coast or tap your brakes...)A few situations I downshift is when I'm driving spirited on the countryside... come up to a turn and want to accelerate out, but need slow down around it... I drop from 5 to 3rd and that lets the engine slow me down and then launch me out of the curve.Yeah, then I get really bad mpg and need a grin-ectomy...

[rlfreese]

I agree with binary, like i said earlier. Downshifting is a waste of clutch and gas. Both of which are expensive now. Brakes on the other hand can be picked up for about the price of a tank of gas. You do the math.