Learning stick on 2018 Fiesta ST

[Zachmac]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been dreaming of getting a Fiesta st for close to two years nows. My lease just expired so I ran out and bought one.
However after practicing on it for 3 days, the slave cylinder failed and I had to have the car towed to the shop. Fortunately it was covered

I just got the car back but as soon as I start practicing, the car started smoking. Idk what I’m doing wrong. Since I’m learning I’m trying to keep the rpms between 2 and 3000 when going into 1st gear. Am I taking my foot off the clutch to slow or are the Rpms too high? I’ve watched YouTube videos and some people were saying to keep the Rpms around 1500 but I kept stalling out

any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

 

[D1JL]

​

Dave

 

[RubenZZZ]

You don’t need so much rpm. It’ll grab around 1k and pull just fine from there. The engine makes enough power to not need so much slippage of the clutch.


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[Ford ST]

You are burning the clutch.

You simply apply a little bit of gas as you lift your foot off the clutch.






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[GotVic]

Practice letting the clutch out until the car just starts to roll without using the gas, and as soon as the car starts moving clutch in and stop. Once you get used to that point on the clutch where the car is just starting to move, simply add a little throttle and continue to let the clutch out. With a bit of practice you should be able to get the car rolling without slipping the clutch much at all.

FWIW, you should be able to go from full stop to idling in 1st without using the gas at all. You have to slip the clutch a bit, but you'll really get a feel for the clutch if that's all you're paying attention to and not worried about applying throttle.

 

[Ford ST]

Practice letting the clutch out until the car just starts to roll without using the gas, and as soon as the car starts moving clutch in and stop. Once you get used to that point on the clutch where the car is just starting to move, simply add a little throttle and continue to let the clutch out. With a bit of practice you should be able to get the car rolling without slipping the clutch much at all.

FWIW, you should be able to go from full stop to idling in 1st without using the gas at all. You have to slip the clutch a bit, but you'll really get a feel for the clutch if that's all you're paying attention to and not worried about applying throttle.

Listen to this post. This is how you do it.

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[GotVic]

Thanks for the info. I wasnt able to stop stalling out until I kept the Rpms at 2000. Anything lower than that I’m stalling out immediately. Any idea why?

It sounds like you're letting the clutch out too quickly. When letting the clutch out, there's a range from the floor to where the car starts moving that doesn't really matter, you can let up the clutch really fast until the car starts to move. But at that point the car starts to move, you have to slow down a whole lot. That's why I mentioned learning to get the car to move without using the gas, and getting to car to idle in 1st without using the gas at all. There's a sweet spot where the magic happens. Without using the gas, you really have to be gentle on the clutch to not kill the motor, but you'll get a good feel for it.

You have to slip the clutch quite a bit to get the car to idling in 1st without using the gas. When you figure out that short range where the clutch is actually doing it's job, it gets easier.

It doesn't take long at all and you're not even thinking about it.

 

[Zachmac]

It sounds like you're letting the clutch out too quickly. When letting the clutch out, there's a range from the floor to where the car starts moving that doesn't really matter, you can let up the clutch really fast until the car starts to move. But at that point the car starts to move, you have to slow down a whole lot. That's why I mentioned learning to get the car to move without using the gas, and getting to car to idle in 1st without using the gas at all. There's a sweet spot where the magic happens. Without using the gas, you really have to be gentle on the clutch to not kill the motor, but you'll get a good feel for it.

You have to slip the clutch quite a bit to get the car to idling in 1st without using the gas. When you figure out that short range where the clutch is actually doing it's job, it gets easier.

It doesn't take long at all and you're not even thinking about it.

I’ll try all of this! thank you

 

[RubberDucky_82]

Sounds like this video might help regarding getting the car to move without touching the throttle. Good luck! You'll get it in time.

View: https://youtu.be/5SQBBGb7GPI

 

[Crystals]

Sounds like this video might help regarding getting the car to move without touching the throttle. Good luck! You'll get it in time.

View: https://youtu.be/5SQBBGb7GPI

This video is why I took the leap and bought a FiST myself. I had never driven a manual before buying it. Took a while to get used to it (especially shifting from 1st to 2nd, which has quite a kick if not done correctly), but the video answered virtually all my questions. I liked his rev match video as well.

 

[flbchbm]

Welcome to the machine.

 

[Dpro]

Welcome you will get the clutch down.

 

[Silfister]

Good luck learning to manual; years ago when I was in high school I bought a car w/ a stick. My dad went to a rent-a-wreck place and got me a temporary beater to learn on so I wouldn't f-up my new ride. I practiced on that car for a full day until I was comfortable shifting w/o burning the clutch, grinding the gears, etc. Definitely saved wear and tear on my own recently purchased vehicle.

 

[GotVic]

I’ll try all of this! thank you

Keep us posted.

 

[Flaco]

Welcome !

 

[M-Sport fan]

Good luck learning to manual; years ago when I was in high school I bought a car w/ a stick. My dad went to a rent-a-wreck place and got me a temporary beater to learn on so I wouldn't f-up my new ride. I practiced on that car for a full day until I was comfortable shifting w/o burning the clutch, grinding the gears, etc. Definitely saved wear and tear on my own recently purchased vehicle.

Surprised that even the rent-a-wrecks had any manuals at all!

 

[Zachmac]

After taking all the advice from this thread, I was able to drive around yesterday and today (probably 4 hours total) stalling the car maybe 3 times. Even drove the car home from my parents, 30 minutes away, solo. My dad came out with me and was able to point out a bunch of things I was doing was wrong.

Thank you everyone!

 

[Zachmac]

Sounds like this video might help regarding getting the car to move without touching the throttle. Good luck! You'll get it in time.

View: https://youtu.be/5SQBBGb7GPI

I’ll check this out! Thank you

 

[Ford ST]

So does your dad know how to drive manual?
That's the best person to learn from if He does.

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[the duke]

I would suggest familiarizing yourself with how a clutch and transmissions works. If you can imagine how the components interact, you can visualize how they're working together while you're performing the action. This will give better context as to what your doing and important why. It's no longer a Black Box.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=devo3kdSPQY