Please Help Me With Gear Switching

[baller]

Hello
i am 18 years old and i never drived on stick (clutch) but my first car that i bought is 2004 Toyota Corolla S and it is on clutch, its not automatic

My questions is how to properly switch gears so i wont damage anything?
like HOW MANY MILES PER HOUR FOR 1st Gear
like 0 mph - what until i have to switch to second gear and then from what mph to what untill i have to swith to the thirds and all the way MY CAR IS GEARS
SO I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHEN IS TIME TO SWICH GEARs until i become a pro at is like how fast whould i go till i have to switch to 2nd then how fast till i switch to 3rd and so on
PLEASE HELP ME
THANK YOU ALL
mike

[519]

you need to pay more attention to the rpm than the speed you're at

[drift_ae86_91]

ok, does the corolla have a tachometer?

Ok well i am 15 but my mom has been teaching me to drive manual so heres the basics

(I wrote a long ass write up like a minute ago but stupid forums sign me out after like 10 minutes so i lost it GRRR)

Starting car

1) Press in clutch pedal, and crank over car. MAKE SURE CAR IS IN NEUTRAL SHIFTER POSITION!

thats all.

Taking off
1) Ok so, press the clutch pedal in and take gear shifter/lever and put it into the 1st gear position.

2) With clutch pedal still pressed in, and car in gear, start to VERY EASILY AND GENTLY take out the clutch pedal at around half way out, the car will start to move, once the car is moving a bit, you are safe to take out the clutch pedal do this fairly slowly and smoothly though. Then just press on the gas pedal a bit and the car starts moving like it should.

Shifting Gears

1) Ok this is the easy part. Once you start gaining speed, any sane person will realize that the engine note is getting louder and you will figure out the car is gaining rpms (revolutions of the engine, RPM is short for revolutions per minute), so once you find it appropriate to shift (Usually around 3000 rpm or so, maybe even less 2500 rpm even) what you do is..

2) Take foot off of gas pedal completely
3) Now press in clutch pedal all the way down.(With left foot)
(Dont leave too much of a time period between these two remember, driving a manual car is all about fluidity and smoothness you want everything to be as seem less as possible, so once your foot is off the gas press the clutch pedal (WITH YOUR LEFT FOOT) )

4) Now take hold of the gear shifter and pull down (not so much of a pull as it is more Ease it down) until the car goes into the 2nd gear position.

5) Now take your foot off the clutch pedal smoothly /slowly, dont pluck it out, other wise the car jerks back and forth.
6) just like step 2 & 3 reversed now you put your foot back on the gas pedal.
7) you have just completed your first gear shift.
8) now you will realize the engine is increasing in rpm again, so now time to go to 3rd gear from 2nd gear.
9) Repeat steps #2 & #3
10) Going to 3rd gear is actually not to hard, when you put the car in the neutral gear position, you will notice that the gear lever self centers itself, and if you just push the gear shift up it goes into 3rd gear.
2nd gear to 3rd gear is a diagonal type of shift, not much square, like Up^ over> and Up^ its almost a straight line, and is fairly easy.

11) So once you have the gear lever into 3rd gear position, Repeat step #6, taking out the clutch and pressing the gas pedal.

12) 3rd gear to 4th gear is just like a 1st gear to 2nd gear shift. it is just vertical up and down
13) Repeat steps #2 & #3 take foot off gas, press in clutch
14) switch gear shifter down into 4th gear position
15)Repeat step #6 taking foot off clutch gently and pressing down gas pedal.
16) 4th Gear to 5th Gear shift is just like 2nd Gear to 3rd gear,
17) You know the deal now, take foot off gas, press down clutch
18) push shift lever up into 5th gear position
19) take out clutch easily, push down gas pedal.

There, its that easy

Downshifting
Ok well say you're cruising around 35-40 mph (70 km/h) in 5th gear, you can without any problems you can switch down into 4th gear. The engine rpm will increase and you will be more in the power area of the engine (In car speak, its the "Power Band")

Now if you go 5th to 4th to 3RD gear cruising around 35 mph, it will make the car jerk back and forth due to the abrupt change in engine speed but you will probably still be safe for engine revs.

What ever you do always slow down before you go to downshift (If you are going at a speed that you KNOW is not within the next lowest gears speed). If not, you will end up bouncing off the rev limiter and bending valves and probably (read: will) blow up your engine.

Remember, do not rest your foot above the clutch pedal, or on it, it will become a bad habit, that is what the foot rest to the left of the pedal is for.

My dad has told me and my brother this "The engine is made for accelerating, not braking the brakes are made for slowing down.(yes you can brake using the engine it means just leaving a car in gear and letting it slow down like that. Definition from Wikipedia -"Engine braking is the act of using the energy-requiring compression stroke of the internal combustion engine to dissipate energy and slow down a vehicle.") It is easier and cheaper to replace brakes than have to replace transmission parts."
and its a pain, for the mechanic and your wallet.

Ok well, anyone that reads this, feel free to correct me, i have a feeling i missed something. But im only 15 so dont give me a hard time about, im pretty sure i have grasped the concept pretty good in the last two or so weeks i was born to drive.

I hope this helps you out baller.
Remember, you will make mistakes, it will be fustrating, but you will learn!


Oh and my parents say that learning to drive standard on a toyota is the best because the quality of the transmission is much better than most cars (including the 2002 kia rio beater my dad is driving now =/ )

[freakinbox]

if it has a tach people usually say 2500 - 3000 rpm is a good place to shift at for regular driving. And btw learning to drive standard and not damaging anything doesn't work. Espicially on a newer car as the cluch will probably be pretty tight compared to an older car

[Flashmn]

And btw learning to drive standard and not damaging anything doesn't work

What do you mean, I never damaged a car when I was learning stick... infact I didnt drive an automatic till just lately. Parents got two cars for retirement with automatics, all other cars we had were manuals. even the one I took lessons with.
Its a pre-requisite here for a DL, you have to learn with stick, or you get a marking on the DL "automatic transmission only".

[REN69]

you sir need someone to teach you IN PERSON! the internet can teach you a lot of things, BUT DRIVING IS NOT ONE OF THEM. Find a friend who drives standard OR go to a driving school that will teach you in this car.

The way I learned, watched my cousin driving manual for a couple of years, then finally my dad got a manual car and we both learned in a couple of days, it's fairly easy once you get the hang of it.

[drift_ae86_91]

yeah in person is much better, even though i did type that thing up oh well :P

[rice]

definitely go with a person/friend or relative that can teach you, my cousin taught me when i was like 16 or 17

i keep my eyes on the RPM more than the MPH, once you get the hang of it, you'll know what i mean

[toyomoho]

Some great advice from TN members here.

Suggest you first learn how to drive with a manual trans. Then practice to improve your shifting, to be like the “pro.” Otherwise, you will be too distracted to get down the basics of driving a manual.

Having a tach helps, but is not required. You will not damage the trans by shifting late or early on the MPH. If you are just learning, your main concerns are making smooth shifts (no gear crashing), not lugging the engine (to high a gear for the MPH), not ridding the clutch with your foot (keeping it neither fully engaged or disengaged). And not stalling the engine when first start out.

Like riding a bike, it takes some time to get coordinated.

Suggest you find someone who really knows how to drive a stick to show you, then advise you when as you are driving. Find a quiet and safe place, a stretch of road with no cars, large empty parking lot, etc. Practice starting and stopping the car to get the feel of the clutch system and stick shift.

Using a driving school is an excellent idea! These folks are pros at teaching this, they are also pros at advising their students how to survive in a world of crazy drivers. Drivers who at times seem hell bent on trying to kill other drivers including me! Going to driving school may also lower your insurance rates.

[freakinbox]

yea I learnt my second day of having my G1 ( learners permit). not the greatest idea but I am stubborn lol.
As for not damaging it... well learning you typically aren't being very nice to the clutch. New people tend to ride it and shift messed up and so on until you get good. I find typically people usually are good by about the 3rd time out.

[519]

i learned on my friend's 240sx. lets just say that i left my mark
stalled it about 10 times in one hour. launching is the hardest part for me, after that second to third and to fourth is a breeze.

[REN69]

The funny thing about this, I let a friend of mine at work borrow my car to go out in the parking lot and "learn" on his own. I didn't care much about the car as it was one of my old civics and I was getting rid of the car anyways. He learned on his own in about 2 weeks or so, and actually never burnt my clutch.

[punter]

Its easy.

1) start car
2) push right hand pedal all the way in (leave it there)
3) push left hand pedal in
4) select 1st, the quickly remove left foot from pedal.
5) When the car hits the revlimiter think about changing to 2nd

Please note: the above may or may not be a good idea. Please appy common sense as required.

[thespud]

Originally Posted by punter

Its easy.

1) start car
2) push right hand pedal all the way in (leave it there)
3) push left hand pedal in
4) select 1st, the quickly remove left foot from pedal.
5) When the car hits the revlimiter think about changing to 2nd

Please note: the above may or may not be a good idea. Please appy common sense as required.

All this is good, but you got the order around the wrong way. The clutch must be in before the right foot goes anywhere

[drift_ae86_91]

i keep my eyes on the RPM more than the MPH, once you get the hang of it, you'll know what i mean

oh my god, i cant imagine if some of the members didnt have a tachometer in their car, you'd be bouncing off the rev limiter, seeing as they keep such an eye on the tach.

you should be able to just listen to the engine and know when to shift, especially during street driving, its not like you need to go all through the rev range and shift perfect at the red line everytime