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Riding the clutch

Messages
152
Likes
21
Location
Gainesville
#1
Hey guys,

So I recently purchased a MO FiST and it is my first car with a manual transmission. After a few weeks of driving, I feel pretty confident in my skills, but I am now worried that I may be "riding the clutch". There are 2 main cases when this happens:
1) Whenever I shift gears, I usually slowly let go of the clutch until i feel it begin to engage,then I slowly accelerate while holding the clutch there for a second or two, and then I fully let go of the clutch. I do this because it makes shifting much smoother. Otherwise, the car kinda jumps forward.
2) Whenever I need to drive slowly (like in a parking lot or in stop-and-go traffic) I usually modulate the clutch frequently to move the car slowly. I'm always scared that the car will turn off on me (stall) if I don't.

Do you guys drive/shift similarly? What do you guys think about cases 1/2? Is there a better way? I appreciate any advice/tips. I find it a bit hard to drive smoothly since the clutch engages in like the last 1/3 of pedal release. Thanks for the tips!
 


Harvick

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,144
Likes
107
#2
That should be ok as long as you're not revving the engine really high, it will take some time for people to get the hang of driving a manual. The good news is that the FiST is probably the easiest car to learn driving a manual since the clutch is so light.
 


Messages
286
Likes
23
Location
Yukon, OK
#3
Not to mention the uphill assist! Wish that was around when I was learning. Would've been a little less nerve-wracking...
 


ryst

Member
Messages
295
Likes
29
Location
Grand Rapids
#4
Clutch is light, AND the engine has a buttload of torque. Driving my Honda Fit was much much harder, it made awful torque and was a pain to take off from a standstill.
 


Messages
384
Likes
135
Location
Calgary
#6
As mentioned, as long as it is low RPM's your clutch is going to be fine. The thing that hurts it is when you have the engine revs up and try to enguage it slowly.... and normally you can smell it burning if you do that.
 


Messages
180
Likes
13
Location
Markham
#7
Not to mention the uphill assist! Wish that was around when I was learning. Would've been a little less nerve-wracking...
personally, I think that sorta makes it worst to learn manual with >.<; you'll never be able to drive without hill start assist!!! :p

But agree as long as you aren't heavy footed you'll be fine =D
 


TheStig

Senior Member
Messages
860
Likes
118
Location
Phoenix
#8
Not to mention the uphill assist! Wish that was around when I was learning. Would've been a little less nerve-wracking...
Within 500 feet of the house where i bought my first manual transmission car there was a steep hill with a stop sign at the top that had alot of cross traffic. That sucked, i leaned on the tried and true handbrake method.
 


Messages
180
Likes
13
Location
Markham
#9
Within 500 feet of the house where i bought my first manual transmission car there was a steep hill with a stop sign at the top that had alot of cross traffic. That sucked, i leaned on the tried and true handbrake method.
That's how I dealt with hand break till I learned how to do it without xD
 


Messages
286
Likes
23
Location
Yukon, OK
#10
My dad had a mid-90s model 4-cyl ranger with a standard. I was still new to driving manuals, and he wanted me to pull the boat out of the water. He decided to take over, when the tailpipe was underwater. Damn that thing was gutless! ;)
 


Messages
180
Likes
13
Location
Markham
#11
My dad had a mid-90s model 4-cyl ranger with a standard. I was still new to driving manuals, and he wanted me to pull the boat out of the water. He decided to take over, when the tailpipe was underwater. Damn that thing was gutless! ;)
In the words of a racecar driver, MOAR GAS!!!
 


XuperXero

Active member
Messages
587
Likes
124
Location
Wuxi
#12
FYI... It seems like there's an anti-stall feature, because running torque pro during idle with clutch out, it idles at 750 rpm. However, when you clutch in, it spikes to 900 rpm then drops to 800ish meaning the ECU knows we're about to engage the clutch?

Edit: Further pondering about this, it's possible that it's because the clutch and brake fluid is using the reservoir and brake booster is reacting to the different fluid pressure.
 


Messages
180
Likes
13
Location
Markham
#13
FYI... It seems like there's an anti-stall feature, because running torque pro during idle with clutch out, it idles at 750 rpm. However, when you clutch in, it spikes to 900 rpm then drops to 800ish meaning the ECU knows we're about to engage the clutch?

Edit: Further pondering about this, it's possible that it's because the clutch and brake fluid is using the reservoir and brake booster is reacting to the different fluid pressure.
Anything to do with the hill start assist? Do you have that on?
 


XuperXero

Active member
Messages
587
Likes
124
Location
Wuxi
#14
Anything to do with the hill start assist? Do you have that on?
Nope. I hate Hill start, feels too unnatural. This is the first car with this feature and I have since found it useless and will possibly degrade your driving skills.

But further playing around has lead me to believe confirm that the cause is our clutch and brake uses the same reservoir. Foot on brake, clutch in, idle 750rpm. Foot off brake, clutch in, idle jumps to 900 then hovers at 800-850.
 


Messages
180
Likes
13
Location
Markham
#15
Nope. I hate Hill start, feels too unnatural. This is the first car with this feature and I have since found it useless and will possibly degrade your driving skills.

But further playing around has lead me to believe confirm that the cause is our clutch and brake uses the same reservoir. Foot on brake, clutch in, idle 750rpm. Foot off brake, clutch in, idle jumps to 900 then hovers at 800-850.
i was giving that a try too but my jumps maybe to 800 max nothing more (using torque on my phone) but i do notice, on idle the throttle sits at 10.2 and when i step on my clutch it does jump to 10.6 so maybe??

BTW: i've notice my hill start assist will randomly turn of after 2~3 weeks or so... so odd.......
 


FistSt215

Senior Member
Messages
944
Likes
78
Location
Philadelphia
#17
I find my svt focus a lot easier to drive than my fist . I'm like you op I let it out the clutch slowly to find the engagement before I take off . I've never driven a manual with such a light clutch like the fist .
 


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