re: How do you down shift?

Quoting m. ;):" YES. I love it!! I don't ever want to go back to an automatic. I pay much more attention and I feel ... [snip!] ... exactly like what you do with the gas pedal, but you're doing it with the brake. You will get it down, it just takes practice. "

Agreed.
My hubby has a manual and I have an automatic. After using his for a while I would get back in my automatic and hear the engine thinking I need to shift so without thinking I would use my left foot on the break thinking it's the clutch to shift. My car would jerk hard too lol.

I do like an automatic better in traffic though. I hate manual when you are stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. urgh!

<blockquote><b>Quoting myr-a-myr:</b>" Agreed. My hubby has a manual and I have an automatic. After using his for a while I would get back ... [snip!] ... too lol. I do like an automatic better in traffic though. I hate manual when you are stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. urgh!"</blockquote>




Ya bought a new car cause we needed a second one hubby loves that it's great on gas especially since its a stick. So it's his car but if he ever wants to use the gran am I'm stuck with the fiesta so I wanna learn it. If get it down we'll take it to the San Francisco air port where we have to drop mil off on Saturday. Def. won't take it into San Fran. Our gran am is having tire problems and we need to take it to a different tire shop since wal Mart couldn't figure out why it keeps going flat ;/. Do you ind it hard getting it on and off the highway? We are waking up at 4 and taking off just don't want dh to get tired and can't drive home.

Driving a manual transmission can be tricky at first, but as you get used to it, you will come to enjoy it much more than an automatic. You have morecontroll ocer the vehicle, as well as you tend to have more fun.

There are a few things to remember, one, more important thing to remember is that the clutch is ONLY to be pushed in when changing gears, and only left pressed down long anough to change the gear quickly.
DO NOT go around corners or curves with the clutch pressed in.
DO NOT press the clutch in, in order to come to a complete stop. Only press the clutch in at the last moment so that the vehicle does not stall/shudder. Many people press the clutch in and think that will stop the vehicle. It actually makes the vehicle go a little faster, as the gears are not helping the vehicle slow down.
I see many people press the clutch in when they go around a corner, turn into the parking lot or go around a sweeping curve. They are actually losing controll of the vehicle, as well as wearing down the clutch prematurely. Reason being, every time you lift your clutch pedal off the floorboard, you are engaging and there is some slippage as the clutch plate engages with the flywheel, thus causing tiny bits of wear and tear. The less movement the longer your clutch will work. Same way as you can make your brakes last longer by using your gears to slow you down.

A good thing to do is to go out in a parking lot or a street that you won't be a bother to people. In 1st gear, get your vehicle up to about 5 mph, let off the gas pedal and step on the brake pedal lightly to bring the car to a soft stop. You will feel the car slow down. Get used to the point where your engine starts to bog down just ever so slightly BEFORE you PUSH IN THE CLUTCH. Push in the clutch so the engine will not die and continue to stop as you normally would.

Do this several times until it becomes natural for you to "feel" how the car is reacting. You will become one with your car.

Now, as for the downshifting, this is where it gets to be a lot of fun. You are going to want to feel the car as I said before. Many cars are different, so ground speed (MPH) and engine speed (RPM) varry and are not as important to this explaination. But your intuition/feeling from the car is the most important thing here.

We'll start at a normal speed, aprox 45mph in fourth gear. You see in the distance a stop sign. lift off the fuel, press the brake pedal to initiate the slowing. When you feel the vehicle slow down considerably, press in the clutch, down shift into 3rd gear, tap on the fuel pedal ever so slightly and release the clutch smothly. Press on hte brake pedal again to slow the vehicle some more. Repeat this until you are in second gear. or if there is enough space, go on down to first.

The reason you tip the fuel is to bring the RPM's up to better match the MPH. If the car is going too fast and you let the clutch out in a lower gear, there will be the lurch, or tire chirp some have described. So, as I explained before, bringing up the two speeds to match, or closer together, will make your driving smoother.

Now, that is not to say you will/should have to tip the fuel pedal every time. It all depends on the "feel" of the vehicle under your butt and through your other sensory organs.

Now, the good thing about downshifting vs. coasting to a stop is that you are usually already in first or second gear, and can take off and do not have to move around and do any extra/un-necessary movements.
If you were driving toward a stop light instead of a sign and the light changed from red to green, you would also be in the right gear along with the proper ground speed/engin speed and could simply continue on by pressing on the fuel and then upshifting as you go faster. This action will save fuel, wear and tear on the vehicle as well as keep you at a more constant speed.

Down shifting is also safer in turns and curves because again, you are in controll of the vehicle. You should take turns in second gear "with your foot off the clutch." I do not know how many times or how much I can stress this action. It is very important that you understand this.

If you have any more questions, please let me know.