Advice for not stalling at lights?
Posted by MooseOk3696@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 6 comments
please forgive formatting, on mobile
Just bought a manual. On my second day. i can get it going, park, reverse, shift gears, etc. still arrive with shaky hands because of one issue - frequently stalling at red lights. I read this is a normal part of learning but its stressful and I cause people to miss whole greens.
If I press gas, lift clutch to bite then let go the tires screech but it gets going. if I just lift the clutch normally then start gas at the bite, it usually stalls.
I want to overcome this - I read this humiliation and fear is part of learning and it gets better quick.
twelfthfantasy@reddit
You're giving it too much gas in the first case and lifting off the clutch too quickly in the second.
ReptarSonOfGodzilla@reddit
Go to an empty parking lot. From a stop, clutch in, 1st gear, with no gas, slowly clutch out, drive a few fee, clutch in, neutral, come to a stop, repeat. Once smooth, slowly add gas. Repeat until you can drive off at a normal pace. Every other gear is progressively easier. Eventually you can clutchless shift like a badass.
frikkinfai@reddit
Find a flat lot and try to get the car to start moving with only the clutch, no gas. Repeat until you've figured out the clutch's catch point. Every car and clutch is slightly different and if you can figure that out, you'll stop stalling.
ekib@reddit
The gas is never anybody’s problem, it’s the clutch. I tell people to practice without the gas at all. Let the clutch out until you feel it start to bite, then press it down again. Once you can reliably do that without stalling, see if you can get the car moving without the gas. Hold it at that bite point a second and slowly let the clutch out as you start to move. Once you’ve mastered that you’ll almost never stall. Then you can try giving it some gas as you let the clutch out when it starts to bite.
MeyersonAdam@reddit
Go to an empty parking lot and just practice getting the feeling down. There’s no real magic trick to it, your feet just need to learn what to do. A little gas, let up til it starts to bite, feed the clutch in and gas. Once you can do it on level ground consistently, practice keeping your right foot on the brake until the clutch bites so you can tackle the hills without resorting to the parking brake. Keep your revs below 2,000. Just practice.
MeyersonAdam@reddit
Keeping your right foot on the brake while using it to give a little gas I meant to say. Commonly called “heel and toe” even though it’s really big toe on brake and pinky toe on gas.