Few Questions

RareEntitee · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:41

please don't laugh

I'm learning to drive a manual in a Ford Fiesta 1.8 Sports car and im not sure if its harder to drive but the gas and clutch are waaaay to sensitive, if i slip it out jus that lil inch too quick, i stall :mad:

So i havn't got a lesson for a few days and i'm not trusted to practice in any relatives car, so could you guys please help lil old me please.

I think i'd understand it better if i knew how a car works, someone should make a sticky, there are mechanical engineers here i know so please doooooooooooo it

Question Number 1!

lol you guys are gonna think im such a tool. ......lol now i can't stop laughing...lol why can't i stop laughing................................................O dear god stop the lolz

OK!

sorry still gigling...my God..shut up. im sorry,

Question Number 1

When your driving at a slow speed (in traffic), why is there a need to put your foot on the clutch to stop the car jerking and stalling?

2

Instead of putting your foot on the clutch, could you just put the car in neutral and coast to a stop by just pressing the brake.

3

Are other manuals easier to drive.

4

Why do you have to give gas as you get your biting point to move the car from a stop.

5

Don't you guys hate it when you have to stop on a steep hill in traffic with the handbrake on cause once i slowly let it out and quickly get on the biting point on the clutch, i automatically gas it over 4000 rpm cause i get nervous from rolling back.

6

could you experienced drivers give me some advice?

7

Oh yeah this one. Can you give gas to move the car forward when your fut is on the clutch. e.g. when i roll from a minor to major road in first gear, my foot is on the clutch, can i give it gas then or can i easily quickly jus let out the clutch to give gas, do you need to get the biting point when the car is moving?

Could some1 make a sticky on the mechanics of a motor, from the function of a clutch and how it relates to the transmission, what gear changing does cause i feel in a lot more control when im turning left/right in a lower gear, and also Engine speed and wheels locking, why they jerk or stall, am i making any sense?

paradigm · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:42

RareEntitee said:
I'm learning to drive a manual in a Ford Fiesta 1.8 Sports car

Sorry, but before I read any further and comment on the actual questions...

LOLWUT!!! Fiesta Sports Car? :confused:

RareEntitee · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:45

oh im sorry, im not entirely sure, but its got a 1.8 engine

paradigm · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:46

RareEntitee said:
1

When your driving at a slow speed (in traffic), why is there a need to put your foot on the clutch to stop the car jerking and stalling?

Because dropping below a certain speed (whilst in gear) will take the engine below its idle speed (usually about 800rpm), causing the engine to stall.

RareEntitee said:
2

Instead of putting your foot on the clutch, could you just put the car in neutral and coast to a stop by just pressing the brake.

You "can", although it is considered to be bad practice, as you are not in "full" control of the vehicle.

RareEntitee said:
3

Are other manuals easier to drive.

Not really, its not like any are "hard" either.

RareEntitee said:
4

Why do you have to give gas as you get your biting point to move the car from a stop.

You don't, or at least, you won't when you learn good clutch control.

RareEntitee said:
5

Don't you guys hate it when you have to stop on a steep hill in traffic with the handbrake on cause once i slowly let it out and quickly get on the biting point on the clutch, i automatically gas it over 4000 rpm cause i get nervous from rolling back.

Again, in time you will get decent clutch control and this won't even matter to you, infact you won't notice.

RareEntitee said:
6

could you experienced drivers give me some advice?

Practice, practice, practice.

Have a read of these:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clutch

Janesy B · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:49

Question Number 1

When your driving at a slow speed (in traffic), why is there a need to put your foot on the clutch to stop the car jerking and stalling?

Engine becomes bogged down and is not creating enough energy to move the car.

Instead of putting your foot on the clutch, could you just put the car in neutral and coast to a stop by just pressing the brake.

You can but you will suffer from brake fade if you rely on brakes to slow you down rather than the engine.

Are other manuals easier to drive.

Not really.

Why do you have to give gas as you get your biting point to move the car from a stop.

Same as one.

Don't you guys hate it when you have to stop on a steep hill in traffic with the handbrake on cause once i slowly let it out and quickly get on the biting point on the clutch, i automatically gas it over 4000 rpm cause i get nervous from rolling back.

Not really, you just need more practice.

I can't really work out the other questions :/

RareEntitee · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:49

and number 7 please

paradigm · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:51

Number 7 is a weird question that I'm not quite sure of the situation for. If I'm reading it properly, it would appear that you have the clutch disengaged (pressed down) when rolling from minor to major roads. If so then you shouldn't really be doing this anyway, so speak to your instructor and ask what you are doing wrong. You "can" give the car more revs with the clutch disengaged, but when you come to let it out again, you will accelerate a lot harder than if you bring the clutch to biting point and add throttle.

With regards to being in a lower gear and feeling "in more control", this is because the engine will be transfering more natural "engine braking" in the lower gears (read up on torque) to the wheels, and stopping the car from feeling like its running away on its own.

Keeping in a high gear will mean the car is more likely to keep rolling for longer.

Janesy B · 29 Jun 2009 at 13:53

Oh yeah this one. Can you give gas to move the car forward when your fut is on the clutch. e.g. when i roll from a minor to major road in first gear, my foot is on the clutch, can i give it gas then or can i easily quickly jus let out the clutch to give gas, do you need to get the biting point when the car is moving?

You shouldn't be in first, you should be in second. Think of 1st as a gear to get the car rolling. You also shouldn't be depressing the clutch when turning a corner.

If I'm honest, you need some more time with an instructor as most of these things are worked out in the first few lessons.

Peerzy · 29 Jun 2009 at 14:10

Get a relative to take you to a local supermarket car park at 10PM~ on a Sunday night and spend a couple of hours just getting the basics down. I did this before I was even insured on my parents car, I didn't do more than about 20MPH but by the time it came to me booking some lessons I was already a few steps ahead. It saved me about 5 hours of paid lessons cause I was already the don at clutch control.

RareEntitee · 29 Jun 2009 at 14:26

alright i had a read up, and im gonna try explain it, tell me if im right k

Ok the clutch on a mechanical vehicle is a rotating mechanism that is continually engaged/disengaged from the fly wheel which is connected to the engine. Once fully depressed, the clutch disk seperates from the engine, allowing your wheels to move freely without any control from the engine.

So it would be dangerous to coast left or right turns, you must first connect the clutch to the fly wheel so that the engine can control your car depending on the gear you are in. If you give too much gas while the clutch is disengaged the disk will be spinning too fast for the fly wheel's engine speed, which will cause a jerky start once its engaged.

In autocars, the clutch is always fully engaged however, and the brake pedal disengages it to change your gear.

Am i right?

miniyazz · 29 Jun 2009 at 14:27

RareEntitee said:
1

When your driving at a slow speed (in traffic), why is there a need to put your foot on the clutch to stop the car jerking and stalling?

The engine turns at a minimum speed of say 800rpm, regardless of the gear, and slower than that will cause it to stall. The higher the gear, the faster the car is going for any particular rpm. So slowing down from 3rd, you will need to have the clutch down probably before you go slower than about 15mph, but in first, before you go slower than about 4mph.

2

Instead of putting your foot on the clutch, could you just put the car in neutral and coast to a stop by just pressing the brake.

Yes, but there's genuinely no benefit. Putting your foot on the clutch lets you re-engage it quickly if you need to accelerate away; putting it in neutral will mean you have to put it back into gear to accelerate. So using the clutch gves you more control than neutral, and changing to a lower gear and using engine braking to a certain extent gives you more control still (because it is staying in gear).

3

Are other manuals easier to drive.

Probably not.. practise.

4

Why do you have to give gas as you get your biting point to move the car from a stop.

As said, you don't need to once you have sufficient clutch control, but you won't be able to get above about 25mph (5th) without using the accelerator, and you will only speed up slowly.. giving gas, apart from making you less likely to stall, means you accelerate faster.

5

Don't you guys hate it when you have to stop on a steep hill in traffic with the handbrake on cause once i slowly let it out and quickly get on the biting point on the clutch, i automatically gas it over 4000 rpm cause i get nervous from rolling back.

You should have the handbrake on, then bring the clutch to the biting point, with a little bit of gas so the car just moves up the hill very slightly and you can feel the resistance of the handbrake, then take off the handbrake. That way your revs don't go through the roof and you don't roll backwards.

6

could you experienced drivers give me some advice?

Listen to your driving instructor

7

Oh yeah this one. Can you give gas to move the car forward when your fut is on the clutch. e.g. when i roll from a minor to major road in first gear, my foot is on the clutch, can i give it gas then or can i easily quickly jus let out the clutch to give gas, do you need to get the biting point when the car is moving?

When your foot's on the clutch, the engine is dissociated from the gears, so gassing the engine will cause the revs to climb but no forward movement. And in response to Janesy B, I'd use second gear to turn from a major to a minor road, but first for a minor to a major road, unless I can see it's clear without slowing down that much. So maybe second for a left turn, but usually first for a right turn.
To accelerate onto a major road you want to have it at the biting point, then give gas and bring the clutch up as you do so. Biting point is not so important when moving, it gives you a smooth transition into gear though (unless I'm mistaken).

RareEntitee · 29 Jun 2009 at 14:40

thanks miniyaaz,

EvilDreams · 29 Jun 2009 at 14:44

A newb question from me: Will I wear out my clutch if I sit on the biting point and the brake at junctions/hills all the time rather than slap it in neutral/handbrake while I wait?

Vigoro · 29 Jun 2009 at 14:46

Probably will wear it out quicker yes. Put the handbrake on an neutral :/

richb_83 · 29 Jun 2009 at 15:00

My instructor for my first lesson just made me stop and go using only the clutch and brake wasn't allowed to use the gas...in a 1 lt fiesta...soon got the hang of clutch control lol

So thats what I did with the wife when she moaned about using the clutch, took her to a quiet estate and made her do the same...she's getting better

miniyazz · 29 Jun 2009 at 15:06

EvilDreams said:
A newb question from me: Will I wear out my clutch if I sit on the biting point and the brake at junctions/hills all the time rather than slap it in neutral/handbrake while I wait?

Depending on how steep the hill and how long for, you'll probably get a nice smell of what can only be described as 'burning clutch' slowly perfusing the cabin

Janesy B · 29 Jun 2009 at 15:07

Think I misread the question

When pulling out I release the clutch and feed in the throttle then when I've fully engaged the clutch I make my way into second almost straight away.

SoliD · 29 Jun 2009 at 15:14

Just sounds like you need a load of practise with your clutch control, keep at it everybody takes time to get used to the biting points and everything, Don't give up thats the main thing. IT will come in time.

miniyazz · 29 Jun 2009 at 15:19

Janesy B said:
Think I misread the question

When pulling out I release the clutch and feed in the throttle then when I've fully engaged the clutch I make my way into second almost straight away.

I think the question was open to interpretation!

And yes, my driving instructor told me to use first gear to start the car rolling then take it into second straight away. Unless you need the acceleration of course..

It really bugs me when I'm a passenger and someone (usually a woman

) is stopped at a roundabout or something, pulls out in first, but keeps it in first all the way round the roundabout. I feel the car's pain.. and it's jerky as well.

Janesy B · 29 Jun 2009 at 15:25

It's horrible, gears woman USE THEM