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1. I heard that when you stop on the brakes you have to step on the clutch. Do you still have to step on the clutch while putting on the brakes if you shift to neutral?
2. When you have come to a stop and turn at an intersection, do you always have to push on the accelerator before letting the clutch go? Or can you let the clutch go and then push on the accelerator?
3. When you are turning slowly in an intersection, should you shift to second gear while doing that? It’s kind of slow at 1st gear.
1. I heard that when you stop on the brakes you have to step on the clutch. No necessarily. You may slow down with brakes without releasing clutch, but to a certain point only, or car will stall.
Do you still have to step on the clutch while putting on the brakes if you shift to neutral? Surprisingly, on some manual transaxles, you may release gear without pressing clutch pedal, but you won't be able to get back into a gear without releasing clutch. Most cars though require clutch to be released to shift into neutral.
There is a "sweet spot" around 2800 RPM, varies from engine to engine, when you can do clutchless gear shift. Eventually, should you be attentive, you may figure same for your car.
2. When you have come to a stop and turn at an intersection, do you always have to push on the accelerator before letting the clutch go? Or can you let the clutch go and then push on the accelerator?
Depends how powerful your engine is, how much torque it produces, and how high are RPM. Normally, unless you rolling with some momentum, you do need to press on gas pedal just enough to produce all that.
3. When you are turning slowly in an intersection, should you shift to second gear while doing that? It’s kind of slow at 1st gear.
Depends. See above. Some engines, you can take off in 3rd. You have to have enough torque supplied to do so. I also normally bypass low gears and, depending on terrain, can go 1>3>5, or 1>4>5. Or combinations. It's practice and experience. Gut feeling.
1. I heard that when you stop on the brakes you have to step on the clutch. Do you still have to step on the clutch while putting on the brakes if you shift to neutral?
2. When you have come to a stop and turn at an intersection, do you always have to push on the accelerator before letting the clutch go? Or can you let the clutch go and then push on the accelerator?
3. When you are turning slowly in an intersection, should you shift to second gear while doing that? It’s kind of slow at 1st gear.
All the clutch does is connect/disconnect the transmission from the engine.
1) You should actually NOT step on the clutch when your brake in general. The engine should be left engaged for as long as possible. If you're in gear coming to a stop, leaving the clutch out up until the rpms drop to around 1,200 or so. If you're doing this gradually, you'll feel the engine start to lug (shake) as you drop down below the idle (generally 700 rpm or so). The clutch should be depressed before that point. If you don't, you'll eventually just stall and the engine will turn off. When you're starting out, don't sweat it. If it makes you more comfortable to just immediately put the car in neutral or engage the clutch when you come to a stop as you're learning, not a huge deal. When you become more comfortable you won't even think about it anymore but it's kind of a lot to remember at first. I've seen people stop way past where they intended because they're worried about what to do with the clutch.
2) Whatever you feel like. If you're not using any gas, you'll have to let the clutch out very slowly or the engine will stall. You're slipping the clutch out gradually. The slower you slip the clutch out, the less gas you need. The faster you're slipping the clutch out, the more gas you need. In the "friction zone" of the clutch, some slippage is allowed between the engine and transmission which allows the car to slowly begin to pick up speed while the engine rpm stays higher than the transmission/wheel speed. That's just a finesse thing. Go try taking off from a standstill in a parking lot without using the gas. Good practice anyway. You'll find that it has to be done so slowly it's not practical in most situations. It is, however, very practical in stop and go traffic on the freeway.
3) If you feel like it. What I'll usually do is when making a left turn short shift to second (shift earlier than you normally would) before I begin to turn. Alternatively just ride it out in first gear and let it rev high. Or simply shift in the middle of the turn. It's kind of bad form to shift midturn if you can avoid it but not a huge deal or anything.
The questions have been answered, but I'd recommend checking out how clutches work on howstuffworks.com. Once I had a better understanding of what was going on when I stepping on the clutch pedal, it helped me drive much better.
A couple more tips that might help:
1) Go to an empty parking lot. From a complete stop, without using any gas, get the car moving in first gear. Do it several times and try to do it while minimizing the time you're slipping the clutch. Your foot should be completely off the clutch within 5 seconds or so. And keep in mind that the best method is to modulate the clutch; it's not necessarily one steady motion.Once you have that down, you'll have a better feel for the clutch and you can start adding in the gas. While you're at it, get a feel for the clutch engagement point. For the first couple of inches of travel, nothing happens. The engagement point is when the clutch starts to grab and the car starts moving (you can also watch the RPMs and see them drop slightly). This will help on hills. You can bring the clutch to the engagement point with your foot still on the brake, hold it there, and move your right foot to the gas without rolling backwards.
2) Try driving in first gear at very slow speeds. Give the car gas and try not to make the car buck. This will help you be a little more smooth and deliberate when you're stepping on the accelerator. It'll also show you that you can basically crawl in first gear without having to push the clutch in.
Two things you shouldn't do-
Don't become a 'clutch rider'. Leaving your foot on the clutch pedal puts stress on the throw out bearing and it will wear quickly. Let the clutch fully engage or you will have quick disc wear.
Don't take you foot of the accelerator before shifting. You will give your passengers whiplash. Shifting rpm should match gear/mph
All you have to do now is to learn to downshift. If you have any doubts, have a friend or a driving teacher showing you how to do it. Once you learn how to downshift, all your questions will be answered.
1. I heard that when you stop on the brakes you have to step on the clutch. Do you still have to step on the clutch while putting on the brakes if you shift to neutral?
2. When you have come to a stop and turn at an intersection, do you always have to push on the accelerator before letting the clutch go? Or can you let the clutch go and then push on the accelerator?
3. When you are turning slowly in an intersection, should you shift to second gear while doing that? It’s kind of slow at 1st gear.
I'm not really sure you will get the answers you need from text descriptions. In general, you have to feel and hear when it is time to up and down shift.
I would recommend that you turn the radio is off while learning and listen to the engine - it will always tell you when it is time to shift.
With that said...
1. When in neutral, the clutch should be out. You should only hold it if you are in N very briefly.
2. It is always a good idea to give it a little gas before you start releasing the clutch.
3. First gear will be CAPABLE up to about 25-30 mph in most cars, you don't have to worry about getting out of first while turning -- but listen to the engine.
Two things you shouldn't do-
Don't become a 'clutch rider'. Leaving your foot on the clutch pedal puts stress on the throw out bearing and it will wear quickly. Let the clutch fully engage or you will have quick disc wear. Don't take you foot of the accelerator before shifting. You will give your passengers whiplash. Shifting rpm should match gear/mph
Personally, how I shift is I ease off the accelerator while applying light pressure on the shifter. When the transmission unloads, it'll pop right out. I then at that point depress the clutch as I'm moving the shifter into the next gear. It's a good exercise to learn what to do with the gas pedal when you're shifting. A lot of drivers just take their foot off like it's an off/switch which leads exactly what you're describing. Of course, simply stepping on the clutch kind of does the same thing since it immediately kills the acceleration. Everything is just progressively. It's not an on/off switch.
Learn about engine breaking, i.e. downshifting to let the engine break instead of using the breaks. It's one of the advantages of using a manual, potentially lower break wear and greater vehicle control.
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