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I'd be curious to see the percentage of people who swear by a manual transmission and see what cross-section there is with people who regularly drive in large city traffic.
Location: West Los Angeles and Rancho Palos Verdes
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rangerdude_Charlie
This is pretty much me to a T. I remember stalling all over the place and people honking at me, in their manuals. We have all been there trying to learn how to drive a manual. My sister gave me really good advice on driving a manual, cause I wanted to return it for an automatic, she said give it a little gas before releasing the clutch and amazingly it worked. I remember trying it out and she was right and it worked great. Good advice.
I was recently giving somebody a few lessons and I think something that really needs to be emphasized is getting a feel for when the clutch is halfway up, so you can anticipate half clutching and be right there catching the clutch without feeling around for the bite point. A feel for half clutching needs to be worked into a person's muscle memory before the car starts rolling, which is something my friend never absorbed from any of the Youtube videos they watched, and after taking my advice my friend instantly improved his driving at least 200%.
This is pretty much me to a T. I remember stalling all over the place and people honking at me, in their manuals. We have all been there trying to learn how to drive a manual. My sister gave me really good advice on driving a manual, cause I wanted to return it for an automatic, she said give it a little gas before releasing the clutch and amazingly it worked. I remember trying it out and she was right and it worked great. Good advice.
Some cars need this, some don't. My Honda's needed all the help I could give them getting going. I would use the emergency brake to hold the car so I could give it gas without rolling back. My Passat would start moving the instant the clutch was at the bite point. Even on hills! Sweet car.
I was recently giving somebody a few lessons and I think something that really needs to be emphasized is getting a feel for when the clutch is halfway up, so you can anticipate half clutching and be right there catching the clutch without feeling around for the bite point. A feel for half clutching needs to be worked into a person's muscle memory before the car starts rolling, which is something my friend never absorbed from any of the Youtube videos they watched, and after taking my advice my friend instantly improved his driving at least 200%.
I am not at all sure what you mean... like an earlier poster, I think you are making generalized statements that do not reflect the amazing range of clutch travels, engagement points, and pedal resistances that can be found in the world. The bite point, at least, is something that every clutch must have. It might be less distinct in one model vs. another but it will be there. I can't see that learning to find it could be a bad thing.
I'm a manual transmission fan. I wish there were more standards out there. I think it would cut down on a lot of distracted driving as the driver would have to concentrate on... driving?
I don't care if the manual is slower or faster, I just like the feeling of actually driving the car as opposed to just steering it.
Are not manual transmission more long lasting and easier to rebuild compared to automatic transmissions? Assuming proper usage in both conditions.
In my experience, this has been true of my vehicles as well as those of friends and family over the years.
I'll admit to being a relatively small sample size, though, so I have no idea if that's actually true in general or not...
the manual is obsolete. possibly the nearly unknown and most efficient is an automatic with a clutch
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