I just rejoined the Mustang crowd with an 06 Tungsten Gray V6 manual. I'm pretty new to the manual, so I have a question or two.

*Why is reverse so hard to lock in? I got in the car, pushed in the clutch all the way, turned it on, and tried to put it in reverse and it just wouldn't go. I ran it through first and second, then put it in reverse (finally). Is there something I don't know about the manual transmission that I need to here?
*How smooth should my shifts be? Obviously third through fifth are fine, as I'm already moving along decently. First and second are a bit notchy because of their shortness I guess. How much clutch slip is OK without burning up the clutch? Sometimes I rev it around 1k-2k rpm and slip it into 1st, other times I try to let it lock in more before I give it some gas.
*Second is a little catchy as well. Should I be giving it some gas while letting out the clutch to "match up" my RPM, or should I just be letting out the clutch slower? Again, I'm afraid of burning up the clutch if I let it slip too much.

I know these are some newbie questions, but hopefully you guys can give me loads of pointers. I'm also going to see if my brother can go out with me and kind of tell me what I should/shouldn't do since he has driven manuals a lot.

So far I really like the control of the manual a lot more than the auto. I think it fits me best. :D Definitely in a Mustang!

Thanks all.

for reverse. just let your foot slowlyoff the brake so you roll abit, and th gear should go in

and for the clutch slipping.. dont worry about it , unless you drive like my sister,your clutch will alst your forever, drive it howyouw ant,and youll learn to drive it toyour cars style
and youll just get smoother fromthere

ORIGINAL: blackfoot

for reverse. just let your foot slowlyoff the brake so you roll abit, and th gear should go in

and for the clutch slipping.. dont worry about it , unless you drive like my sister,your clutch will alst your forever, drive it howyouw ant,and youll learn to drive it toyour cars style
and youll just get smoother fromthere



Thanks for the reverse tip. I was wondering if the car needed some motion first to sort of "loosen" the gears up from being parked in first.

I'm going to be keeping this car for a long time, so I wanted to make the clutch last as long as I could before it burned up. Thanks for the tips.

Anyone else got some more info?

Manual gears are tight with a new car. I found the new mustang (I have an 05 manual) very tight but they loosen up with a little time so soon they will be perfect. First to second I found very short, something I had to get used to. As for clutch slip, I pretty much let it lock in before giving it gas (give a little gas as not to stall the car) the less cluch slip the longer it will last. I let the clutch out till it starts to grab and pause there for a second, then give it gas while letting it out the rest of the way. As for reverse I still sometimes have a moment or two slipping it in. I had a Jetta that was the same, maybe it's just the way it is with reverse, I don't know but your not alone. Hope this helps.

for reverse there is protection built in the tranny...you have to wait 3-4 seconds after coming out of 1-45before you can put it reverse...sounds wierd but it's actually in the manual

ORIGINAL: Unbound

Manual gears are tight with a new car. I found the new mustang (I have an 05 manual) very tight but they loosen up with a little time so soon they will be perfect. First to second I found very short, something I had to get used to. As for clutch slip, I pretty much let it lock in before giving it gas (give a little gas as not to stall the car) the less cluch slip the longer it will last. I let the clutch out till it starts to grab and pause there for a second, then give it gas while letting it out the rest of the way. As for reverse I still sometimes have a moment or two slipping it in. I had a Jetta that was the same, maybe it's just the way it is with reverse, I don't know but your not alone. Hope this helps.


Yeah, that helps. Thanks! I imagine they'll loosen up a little. 1st to 2nd is pretty short. I couldn't imagine having 4.10 in there.

I'll go get some more practice in. :) How much "jerk" is in your shifts? I'm trying to make it smooth as I can, but I don't want to make it smooth at the cost of my clutch, you know?

ORIGINAL: amystery2u

for reverse there is protection built in the tranny...you have to wait 3-4 seconds after coming out of 1-45before you can put it reverse...sounds wierd but it's actually in the manual




I don't have a manual yet. :\

I found out the emergency brake crutch is more harmful than helpful. I used it on a hill today (first time) and completely choked the car down - twice - because I didn't give it more gas to get it moving through the lightly applied emergency brake. [:@]

I'm such a back manual driver, ha! :D I thought I'd try the emergency brake thing, and I'm sorry I did. That's harder than just letting it slip a little extra and going on up the hill I think. I'm not going to learn to do it that way - that'll just hurt me as far as learning goes.

When you guys clutch, do you leave your heal of your left foot on the ground and pivot the clutch in and out, or do you use your whole leg? I get a smoother shift somehow using my whole leg sometimes. Beats me how that happens - I'd think that would be less reliable.

im the same, i use my whole leg! but thats because im tall and when i lift my toes my knee hits the steering wheel!

Paul

This is my first manual and love teh feal of it.

1st and 2nd are a little tuff but i heard that the manuals have a heavy duty clutch. You will get use to it to find that perfect point with the gas/clutch ratio.

I use my entire leg and use the entire play of the clutch to the floor. But I am new to manuals so take it at that!

I only have 3k on mine and lovin every second of my 6 minute drive to work.

Good luck and have fun.

Ok first off, to all of you, reverse grinds for 2 reasons, (1) its the only non synchronized gear in the trans, that means there is no gear speed equalization. (2) Its a spur/straight cut gear, thats why itll grind sometimes when putting it in gear. Best thing Ive found is just to put it into reverse before you even start the car.
As for how I use the clutch, I use my whole leg, Im also pretty tall though. As for the best way to get going, just pump the gas rather than "apply" it, and release the clutch slowly.
-P.

pump the gas? I end up lurching, or it appears that I am lurching, what it is, is that the throttle is so sensitive, that a very slight pulse in the gas pedal causes me to lurch at high speeds...have to totally let off the gas when I do this....

use your whole leg...when you do, you use your thigh muscle and hamstring, which are the strogest muscles in your body, as opposed to just your calf.....you get better control and smoother action on the clutch

Makes sense KnotBand. I'll try it that way instead. Watch my shifting powers grow!!!

ORIGINAL: P Zero

Ok first off, to all of you, reverse grinds for 2 reasons, (1) its the only non synchronized gear in the trans, that means there is no gear speed equalization. (2) Its a spur/straight cut gear, thats why itll grind sometimes when putting it in gear. Best thing Ive found is just to put it into reverse before you even start the car.
As for how I use the clutch, I use my whole leg, Im also pretty tall though. As for the best way to get going, just pump the gas rather than "apply" it, and release the clutch slowly.
-P.


Reverse isn't grinding for me - it just wouldn't go into it. :D

Edit - Does anyone else have a habit of "leaning forward" when letting out the clutch to fight the forward movement? I do it and don't even realize it until it's already done. Feels stupid! [8D] Trying not to do it anymore. It reminds me of a heron stretching it's neck out.

dontlistento the manual lol its dumb, clutch in say your in first.. because your clutch is in and yourin gear, and your stoped, that means your transmission isnt turning lol.. go for reverse lol, the only chance is doesnt let you go in is because the teeth of the spur gear are linedup, so release the brake and then push her in the reverse gear

ORIGINAL: blackfoot

for reverse. just let your foot slowlyoff the brake so you roll abit, and th gear should go in

and for the clutch slipping.. dont worry about it , unless you drive like my sister,your clutch will alst your forever, drive it howyouw ant,and youll learn to drive it toyour cars style
and youll just get smoother fromthere





Lol blackfoot, wasnt it you that posted a while ago about your clutch slipping? :D

somebody posted a while ago that the reason it is hard to get into reverse is because it will not go in if it is on the right side of 3 and 4 for more than a second. Its some safety feature so you don't accidentally switch into reverse when cruising. So push it left then right into reverse. Works for me.

8cd03gro - I'll have to try that. That's a great safety mechanism for someone like me! :D

I'm getting a little better after a couple of days (much to my girlfriend's happiness). At least she hasn't gotten carsick yet.

When shifting into first from a stop, is 1500-2500 RPM too high? I hold the gas in around that range (it varies because my foot's not used to the touchy gas pedal yet). I don't really 'pump' or 'rock' the gas, I just hold it somewhere in that range and slowly let out the clutch so I don't jerk the car.

Is that standard issue as far as driving a manual goes, or am I doing it wrong?

I saw it posted that this clutch is a heavy duty one. Is that information correct?

Thanks!

ORIGINAL: 8cd03gro

ORIGINAL: blackfoot

for reverse. just let your foot slowlyoff the brake so you roll abit, and th gear should go in

and for the clutch slipping.. dont worry about it , unless you drive like my sister,your clutch will alst your forever, drive it howyouw ant,and youll learn to drive it toyour cars style
and youll just get smoother fromthere





Lol blackfoot, wasnt it you that posted a while ago about your clutch slipping? :D


lol yes lol, and the aftermarket clutch didnt come in because they thoughtmy car was an 04 lol!..but yeah mysister drove my car last year, (i would let her tkae little trips into town, soshe could feel cool :P) lol but what really killed my clutch is when i went on vacation and her boyfriend stole my car ( i charged him) he put 3500km onmy car, tires were half the life, and myclutch was near gone..


lol update,was i half writing this.. lol my sister got her second ticket lol doiing 65 in a 50 LOL.. 50$ ticket.. ive never had anytickets lol and she just got her licences too...

now im not gonna lie,imunder my moms name to cut prices down.. lol inmy name i wouldnt be able to afford my car.. my sister has the same deal.... my mom always threatened us that if we got a ticket we would lose that previage and be on our insurance.. she got two tickets and shes still under my mom.. she just laughs about it.. if iit was me, id be looking for a new home too :(

It took me a while to get used to the way the stang drove...its got a hard clutch and sticky gears in 1 and 2, and down shifting is noisy sometimes (yes i down shift into every lower gear besides 1st when slowing down) When i first got her i would be spinning the tires every time i would start going...the trick is to let out the clutch while your pressing the gas at the same time. Revving then dropping is kinda eh.. It gets you the smoothest start and smoother shifts. I can drive it really smooth now after 3 months, but its no fun to drive like that so i only do it when i have other people in the car (girls) Its a night and day differnce from the 5speed jeep i used to drive also. On hills the jeep would just sit there if i let out the clutch a little bit. Try that on the stang with no gas and she shuts off, so i just throw it out of gear and hold the brake. I find it easier to drive in 1st gear by bliping the throttle and lettin the clutch slip a little so you can turn around and such. When you wanan take off i let the clutch out more on my last blip and she goes off nice and smooth. It just takes some time, thats about the best advice one can give.
ORIGINAL: Explaced

When shifting into first from a stop, is 1500-2500 RPM too high? I hold the gas in around that range (it varies because my foot's not used to the touchy gas pedal yet). I don't really 'pump' or 'rock' the gas, I just hold it somewhere in that range and slowly let out the clutch so I don't jerk the car.

Is that standard issue as far as driving a manual goes, or am I doing it wrong?

I saw it posted that this clutch is a heavy duty one. Is that information correct?

Thanks!

Thanks NickSezz. Sounds like good info.

I took it to the beach and back today on a road trip with my girl. We had a good time, and I didn't shake her around too much with the manual. She said I was doing a lot better than before, so that's good news. I feel a lot better about it now too. Hopefully after a couple more weeks I'll be pretty smooth with it.

I've got over 1k miles on the thing already. I've had it since the 3rd. [8D] It had 250 approx. miles when I got it.

Quick Question - is it necessary to let the clutch out all the way at a stop, or can I push it just far enough that I can tell it's disengaged? I don't want to sit at the light and be "riding the clutch", sort of. I'd like to burn as little of the surface off as I can.

I find it easier before I start to let the clutch out to just before I know it's going to catch and hold it there. I've been trying not to do that until I'm just about to start moving though.

Is this ok? Thanks all.

Bump! Need an answer to my last post please! :)

The only difficult thing to driving a stick is stopping on a steep hill. I've been driving a stickshift since I was 18, and I still get scared when I'm on a very steep hill and the idiot behind me has pulled up to nearly touching my bumper. I've slipped my clutch numerous times in this position. One technique taught to me by another is to put on your parking brake while disengaging so you don't roll back, but I've found that on a hill, it's so difficult to get the car moving with the parking brake engaged that you're better off just slipping the clutch. As long as you don't do it too often you should be ok... my 97 mustang has 101k miles on it and the clutch is still in great condition. So don't sweat it.

ORIGINAL: Explaced

Quick Question - is it necessary to let the clutch out all the way at a stop, or can I push it just far enough that I can tell it's disengaged? I don't want to sit at the light and be "riding the clutch", sort of. I'd like to burn as little of the surface off as I can.

I find it easier before I start to let the clutch out to just before I know it's going to catch and hold it there. I've been trying not to do that until I'm just about to start moving though.

Is this ok? Thanks all.


When I'm stopped at a traffic light I put it in neutral and take my foot off the clutch completely. I heard getting into that habit will extend your clutch life as the flywheel isn't spinning for no reason when you have it manually in neutral (foot on the clutch).

At a stop sign, well I do alot of rolling stops hehe, but if I were to make a full stop, I'd be downshifted to second, brake to stop with clutch pushed in all the way, and while stopped for the brief second at the stop sign I would shift it into first and then commence.

Thanks for the info Revolver.

Hills do suck! [8D]

wether the clutch is in or out when at a stop is the same, clutch wear happens in the process of letting it in or out.. flywheel always spins, its to maintain vibration , and rotaional motion of the motor. its just so happens to be a handy thing for the clutch friction plate to grab on to.

your engine is running.. your flywheel is spinning.. clutch in, transmission is turning (wheels not moiving,and input shaft isnt spinning) cluthc out , transmisson is spinning

if anything youll extend the life of your transmission by keeping your clutch in at stops. because there will be less internal wear on the transmission

if you taking your foot off the clutch at every stop, and putting it back in as the light goes green, youll just put more wear on the clutch , because your engaging and disengaging your clutch more times then you have to

Ok. What about halfway points? For example, on a hill, I'll let the clutch out till I feel a slight catch, then push it in just enough that I don't have that catch. That way I don't let the cluth out very far before it'll catch to take me up the hill.

Is it wearing the clutch to do that? If it isn't, I'd prefer to do that all the time because it's easier to catch it that way. I know I don't have to push the clutch all the way in to shift, but I'm just not sure if it is better to do so.

If it won't wear my clutch out for 100k miles, I really don't care. :D

what you just said, you should be ok, its when you ride your clutch at that halfway point (in the friction zone) that yo have to worry about

Clutch wear is clutch wear. It happens.
If someone stops right on my ass on a hill, i will do one of two things.....
Let off the clutch and gas it quickly, or let the clutch out to barely engage it, then give it gas.
Sure, having it slip like that is wear and tear...but there's only so much you can do.
Go hit some hilly streets and practice taking off on a hill.

eventually you getthe hang of letting your foot off instantle to that friction point on a hill, and your able to take off smoothly

here's a link to driving manuals: http://www.10w40.com/individual/100186.asp (http://www.10w40.com/individual/100186.asp)
A lot of this won't be news to you because you've already been driving your manual, but hopefully some of it will help. the article covers a range of issues, but below is the excerpt specifically about stopping at lights and why not to have the clutch partially pushed in (crib notes version: clutch all the way down with the car in first for short stops - foot completely off the clutch and the car in neutral for long stops): (Also, I am new to manuals as well, so if more knowledgeable members disagree with this advice (the source seems reputable) please chime in)

While you're waiting for change:

Imagine you are at at traffic light, waiting for the light to change to green. What gear should you be in? Where should your feet be? If you expect it to be a short light, you should have your right foot on the brake, your left foot should be holding the clutch to the floor, and you should be in first gear. When the light changes to green, you can just let your foot off the brake and start like normal.

But, if the light looks like it will be a while, or for any other reason you don't think you will be moving, you should shift into neutral, and while still holding the brake pedal down with your right foot, let the clutch out. As long as the gear shift is in neutral, the car won't move or stall, or otherwise embarrass you. You should do this because having the clutch pushed in really stresses some of the moving parts. In fact, often times you can hear a whining sound when you have the clutch pushed in that goes away when you let it out. Normally a small sound is not a problem, but a very noticeable whine is a sign that the "throwout bearing" may be going bad. Pay a mechanic to fix it, because you don't want it to fail - the clutch can get quite flaky in its operation as the throwout bearing deteriates.

Thanks for the info!!

A lot of the problem is the stock shifter as well.