However, lower RPMs tend to equal less torque, which will limit your ability to accelerate and force you to use a lower gear. Driving stick is not as complicated as it seems. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Know How. Having been bitten by the car bug at a young age, I spent my formative years surrounded by Studebakers at car shows across Quebec and the northeastern United States. Over ten years of racing, restoring, and obsessing over automobiles lead me to balance science writing and automotive journalism full time.
I currently contribute as an editor to several online and print automotive publications, and I also write and consult for the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. And essentially the hardest part of getting a vehicle going or any object, to move it forward is to overcome inertia. So think of it like a bicycle that has a big gear on the front and a big gear on the back and the chain connects the two gears. And that allows you to get the vehicle going or the bicycle going because you've got a big gear here and a big gear here.
So every time you rotate the pedals, the wheel goes around one time at the back. So once you get the vehicle going and overcome the initial inertia, the way that you make the vehicle go faster is by taking the big gear on the front and chaining it to a smaller gear on the back. And how that works is that every revolution on the big gear on the front, the back one is going to turn three or four times.
So every time you turn the pedals on the bicycle, the rear wheel is going to turn three or four times. It just keeps-- as you shift the gears, the engine is allowed to turn a smaller and smaller gear. The difference between an automatic and manual transmission is that a automatic transmission, the motor is connected to the drive train via hydraulic pressure. So when you reduce the amount of revolutions of the pump, that creates hydraulic pressure in the transmission.
And then you'll probably notice when you're driving an automatic transmission, there's some residual power there. That's because of the hydraulic pressure can't be completely eliminated in an automatic transmission.
There's two spinning plates in the clutch assembly, and when you push the clutch in, you separate those two plates and disconnect the drive train, the transmission, from the engine. It's when there's enough friction for those two plates to connect, and the engine is reconnected to the drive train. So that's essentially what you're doing when you're finding the biting point or the friction point in the clutch assembly, is you're bringing those two plates together.
Now, if you ride the clutch, those two plates never come together in contact fully and you get friction and you wear out your clutch. Now, the bigger the vehicle, the more important it is, when you shift gears, get your foot off the clutch as quickly as possible. Today, this is about finding the friction point and controlling the clutch and not stalling the vehicle. I'm going to show you how to find the friction point with the parking brake on and not moving the vehicle.
And I'll put a camera up here for you for the pedals as well so you can see what my foot is doing. Finding the friction point or the biting point of the clutch, that's when the engine engages with the drive train and the vehicle begins to move forward. So essentially what we do is we push the clutch all the way in, we push the vehicle into first gear.
So we put it into first gear, and we've got the parking brake on so we don't need to hold the brake. Most vehicles in this day and age are going to have a tachometer, which tells you the engine revolutions. And you can see here in the camera that as soon as I find the friction point, the tachometer goes down. So as soon as the engine, regardless of whether it's a petrol engine or whether it's a diesel engine, as soon as it detects that there is torque on the engine, that more power is required, it is going to torque up.
And what I would suggest for those of you learning how to find the friction point, just let the clutch out. You'll feel the vehicle move a little bit against the parking brake, but that's how you find the friction point or the biting point of the clutch. Once you find that and you are able to control that so the vehicle isn't stalling against the parking brake, that is the first step.
That is the fundamentals of learning how to drive a manual transmission is controlling the clutch, teaching the big muscles in your leg fine motor control. Because as they said in the introduction, the big leg muscles are not designed for fine motor control. After you find that friction point and you were able to control that clutch against the parking brake, then we move on to the next step, which is actually moving the vehicle forward and controlling the clutch through the friction point.
You've done your exercise both in first and reverse, and you've moved it out to the friction point against the parking brake. Next, push your foot all the way down on the clutch, start the car, and push the gearstick into first gear. Then, gradually release your foot off the clutch as you slowly push down on the accelerator at the same time. Continue this process until the clutch pedal is fully raised, then accelerate as normal. For more advice, including how to up-shift and downshift smoothly with a manual transmission, keep reading.
Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow.
Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Keep your left foot resting on the clutch at all times. The clutch is the pedal all the way on the left and is what allows you to transition between gears.
To make sure you can engage the clutch whenever you need to, keep your left foot on it without applying any pressure. The pedal on the left is the clutch, the pedal in the center is the brake, and the pedal on the right is the accelerator or gas pedal.
Press the clutch to the floor to put the engine in neutral. The neutral gear refers to the stage where no gear is engaged. Push the clutch pedal to the floor in a smooth and controlled fashion to put the engine in the neutral gear.
Be careful not to press the clutch to the floor after you try to move the gear shift or you could stall the engine and cause the vehicle to jolt and shake. Release the clutch slowly when you use the gear shift to transition smoothly. The gear shift is the stick in the center console of the vehicle that allows you to choose the gear you want to transition to.
When it comes time for you to change gears, press the clutch to the floor to put the engine in the neutral gear, and slowly release the clutch as you switch the gear shift into another gear.
Practice shifting gears in an empty parking lot or a quiet road so you can get used to releasing the clutch and transitioning smoothly. Let the clutch all the way up once the gear is engaged.
Keep your left foot gently pressed against the clutch so you can engage it when you need to change gears again. Method 2. When it comes time to shift gears, use your left foot to engage the clutch by pushing the pedal to the floor. Push the pedal down smoothly rather than stomping it. This will put the engine in neutral so you can transition between gears.
Move the gear shift into the neutral position. The gear shift in the middle console has a center position that allows you to put the engine in the neutral gear. Shift into the next gear when the RPM reaches On your dash is a gauge that shows the RPMs.
Release the clutch slowly and gently press on the accelerator. With practice, you will feel the engine change gears smoothly. Practice changing gears to make the transition smoother.
Remove any pressure from the clutch once the gear is engaged. Once the engine has transitioned to another gear and the accelerator is pressed, you can let up on the clutch. Keep your foot near the clutch in case you need to change gears again. Method 3. Avoid removing your foot from the accelerator suddenly, if possible. If you suddenly release all of the pressure from the pedal, the car will jolt forward and could cause the passengers to lurch forward in their seats.
When the engine is in gear, to increase your speed smoothly, continue to apply pressure with your right foot to the accelerator pedal.
0コメント