Driving Tips - Manual Transmission

[DCS]

Do they indicate how long one is able to ‘coast’ before auto stop (ops didn’t mean that ) of the injectors?

No more details in the article.

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[dusman59]

Keep rpm's around 3k giving time for synchros to spin up befoe shifting.Then 1 to 2 hand at 2 o'clock side of shift ball bringing it back toward you and down,2 to 3rd hand at 6 o'clock side of ball bringing it straight up allowing the center spring to work 3 to 4th, hand at 12 o'clock front of ball bringing it straight down(easiest shift). 4 to 5th hand at 9 o'clock side push up away toward 1 o'clock, 5th to 6th hand at 9 o'clock keeping pressure to overcome centering spring and bring down. Do not rest hand on shifter when not shifting. Your hand only needs to touch the shifter when shifting. I have been driving manuals for over 57 years including 3,4,6,16 speed transmissions. Hope this helps.

 

[Eremyjay]

Can watch the whole video or only form 3:35 about approaching stop sign / red light.

 

[Zig]

Can watch the whole video or only form 3:35 about approaching stop sign / red light.

While in agreement with most the part about coasting wasting fuel is a bit sketchy, guess they ain’t never coasted down a hill toward a fueling station.

 

[infinitemberstang]

I typically shift down the gears when I'm coming to a stop, been doing it for years. I have not heard much about coasting to neutral written in stone on how to drive a manual to be honest, just users opinions on the matter. How do you typically drive it?

On surface streets I just go into neutral when I anticipate a red and/or I got enough space to roll in neutral when I see a stop sign. Never had any issues with my other stick shifts with this driving style - but wonder if the pony is anything special?

 

[infinitemberstang]

Can watch the whole video or only form 3:35 about approaching stop sign / red light.

Coasting the clutch pedal depressed? Holy cow - that’s the worst ever thing one can do. I mean to roll no pedal depressed!
Rolling with clutch pedal engaged - those pads are going to go bad with one the year!

 

[infinitemberstang]

Freewheeling. Although I will admit this particular feat may have been accomplished while coasting down a long steep windy road once or twice - just gotta make sure to put it back in the correct gear.

Situational awareness is the key if one wants to coast in neutral. Driver distractions have to be minimal of one wants to coast.

 

[infinitemberstang]

Keep rpm's around 3k giving time for synchros to spin up befoe shifting.Then 1 to 2 hand at 2 o'clock side of shift ball bringing it back toward you and down,2 to 3rd hand at 6 o'clock side of ball bringing it straight up allowing the center spring to work 3 to 4th, hand at 12 o'clock front of ball bringing it straight down(easiest shift). 4 to 5th hand at 9 o'clock side push up away toward 1 o'clock, 5th to 6th hand at 9 o'clock keeping pressure to overcome centering spring and bring down. Do not rest hand on shifter when not shifting. Your hand only needs to touch the shifter when shifting. I have been driving manuals for over 57 years including 3,4,6,16 speed transmissions. Hope this helps.

Interesting that you mention not to rest hand on shifter. What are the repercussions ?
If one is not really putting a weight on it shifter - does it really matter? Shift knobs are heavy as well these days. So I still don’t get this recommendation. Ford also mentions this.

 

[dusman59]

The MT82 has a remote(non-internal) mounted shifter so resting ones hand shouldn't really cause an issue. A transmission with an internal shifter can cause shift forks and other intenal parts to wear overtime. I believe the Tremec has an internal shifter. I'm not familar if it would be affected as it appears to be close to the tail shaft not close to any shift forks.

 

[young at heart]

I don’t mean to offend anyone but good grief guys, if I had to put this much thought into driving a manual (or any car for that matter) I’d have to attach a discharge tube to my drool cup and run it through the floorboard to the ground. I’m gonna say if one has to consult a checklist going down the road maybe more seat time would be good.

This is exactly why I refuse to try and teach my retirement age wife how to drive a manual. Sure, I could teach her how to drive around a deserted parking lot and shift a couple of gears. What neither I nor anyone can impart is the ability to do all the things necessary in real road situations without thinking about it. That only comes through developing rote through many years of experience.

I realize this is debatable but I personally kinda believe there are some things that can’t be effectively and safely learned past a certain point in life. I rode my Harleys for close to 60 years before recently hanging it up. But when I rode I just got on and rode, never thinking about operating the bikes. My sole focus was dodging idiots in cars who were actively trying to kill me. If I had to try to learn to ride later in life there wouldn’t be enough time to develop the rote necessary to be safe. Take a look at the Harley fatality stats and look at the skew toward 50+ year old males. You have to assume guys finally “made good“ and bought themselves something they’d always wanted.

I suppose I’m saying if I personally had to put this much thought into driving a manual I might think about an automatic, especially given how good they are now. But that’s just me.

 

[The Ghost]

Honestly this is all intriguing to read. I learned to drive manual when I was 21 and did so for a month while I was using a loaner car. Never drove it again until I got my S650, and I remembered how, but they had clearly come a long way in the 17 years since. I'm in my late 30s and had really wanted a manual since then, so I finally got one. It's been a bit of trial and error in the last 4 months, and I'm relying on RevMatching, but I feel like I've gotten pretty good at it. Obviously reading through here gives me a lot to reflect on in order to keep improving my driving.

To the OP's point, if I'm approaching a stop sign or a light in minimal traffic, I usually engine break until the car gets slow enough that I need to shift into Neutral before stopping. If I'm going downhill, I try to stay in a high gear until I'm coming to a stop or need to slow down, then it's either Neutral if I'm going to stop or switching to a lower gear so that I can keep rolling.

 

[infinitemberstang]

Fair points - but the reason i posted this was in relation to the ford owners manual which states something along the lines of not to roll in neutral..since this is my first pony - I’m trying to understand the reason for the same.

Agreed driving skills cannot be unlearnt after a certain age - but willing to tweak it if my pony is all fine in the long run.

PS - i like to keep my babies around for a long time. Read long time!

 

[Zengineer]

It's more about maintaining control of the vehicle and being able to accelerate if the need suddenly arises. Leave it in gear, it isnt wearing the clutch any extra and is somewhat saving your brakes.

 

[AlloyPony]

We were always told throughout the years that the more often you’ve got the clutch pedal depressed, the faster the throw-out bearing will wear. So I’ve gotten into a habit of going to neutral when I see red up ahead. This way I use the clutch once, not several times, and then select the gear appropriate for taking off again. Not to mention it saves fuel by keeping RPM down, saves wear on the engine, and just is smoother also. If somebody hits me from behind, what difference does it make? I have a foot on the brakes either way.

 

[Eurasianman]

Fair points - but the reason i posted this was in relation to the ford owners manual which states something along the lines of not to roll in neutral..since this is my first pony - I’m trying to understand the reason for the same.

Agreed driving skills cannot be unlearnt after a certain age - but willing to tweak it if my pony is all fine in the long run.

PS - i like to keep my babies around for a long time. Read long time!

It's more about maintaining control of the vehicle and being able to accelerate if the need suddenly arises. Leave it in gear, it isnt wearing the clutch any extra and is somewhat saving your brakes.

^ This. When slowing down, leaving it in gear allows you to better maintain control (i.e. accelerate if need to to change lanes to avoid hitting a stopped vehicle).

Things tend to get more refined over the years. I remember hearing about leaving your hand rested on the shifter isn't good, constant clutching will wear out the throw out bearing, etc. I would say that by today's standards, as long as you're not driving like a jackass, your clutch/trans "should' be problem free for the first 100,000 - 150,000 miles. My father had an 1997 Toyota Tacoma that had 150,000 and never had to service the transmission or clutch (I know, hard to compare a Toyota to a Ford), but yea. Not to mention, I put at least 50,000+ miles on that Tacoma and this is coming from a kid who drove it at the age of 16 until I was 23, so I was not easy on the trans/clutch (of course jackassery was involved).

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