Turning corners with stick shift

Hey guys, I wanted to ask you a question about turning corners. My friend told me to put it in neutral, then when I am out of the turn, put it into the right gear(depending on the mph). Is this the right way to turn corners or should I downshift? My friend says he never downshifts and that is bad for the car. What should I do when making a turn? The turn has no red lights, just requires slowing down so the car won't flip, what should I do?

 

Push the clutch in as you are going around the corner, and downshift (usually to second gear) and just as the truck starts to slow down near the end of the turn, give it a little gas and let the clutch out. It's kind of a "learn as you go" type of thing. You'll be fine and after a while you won't even think about the clutch or the shifter, you'll just drive.

 

You need to listen to what the car needs before what your friend tells you. It's obvious that the car needs to be going slower to make the turn than the speed you approach it at. So step 1 is slow the truck- You cna do it by progressive downshifts or by clutching and coasting into the turn.
Next is getting going outta the turn again- you'll be able to sense/see the speed of the truck and then decide what gear is the right one for the turn.

Like OTG said- it's a learn it as you go thing. You'll know how your truck/transmission acts when you drive it- Use that knowledge and a healthy dose of caution and some common sense...You'll be all set man!!

 

I must drive my Jeep wrong according to your friend, because I down shift before the turn and use the brakes and engine braking to slow down before the turn then power through the turn.

 

This is to me the right way, because what you are doing here is keeping the front/rear weight load balanced throughout the turn, and as you deliver accelleration, you are planting that rear weight for stability, at the same time leaving the rookies all alone back there

 

My dad taught me to be in gear (usually 2nd in town at intersections) and under power during turns especially in slick conditions like snow and ice because there is no traction when you are in neutral. If you do need to neutralize quickly, you can always use the clutch.

 

I agree with the last few posts...shift prior to the turn.
My last manual car was a VW Fox. I would shift while braking for the turn. With my foot on the brake, I would roll my foot to the right to bump up the RPMs and it would drop right into the lower gear...then make the turn and accelerate out of it.

 

I usually gear down then shift into 2nd gear. I have noticed that sometimes in second it is to slow a speed and the truck will start to shutter wanting more power. I gear down to 1st give it some gas then up to second. The main thing to remember is do what you feel is comfortable and still be in control of the truck. Putting it in neutral could cause you a lot of hardships especially if something or someone comes out of nowhere and you try to avoid it you put your foot on the gas and diddley squat happens except a whole bunch of revs


FIIGMO - FUCK IT I GOT MY ORDERS

 

Coasting through turns is not a good thing, you have less control with the clutch in. Like several others have said, downshift coming up to the turn, maintain your speed or accelerate slightly through the turn and keep a smooth line. Trucks aren't really any different than cars or bikes, just bigger and don't corner quite as well.

 

I agree... you should be in the proper gear with the clutch out BEFORE making your turn. If you go coasting into a turn in neutral and select too low of a gear in the middle of it and/or pop the clutch out abruptly, it could upset the vehicle just enough to send you into a skid if the road is wet/icy (with a RWD vehicle anyway... not very likely with a FWD one). When approaching a turn, I usually push the clutch in, while blipping the throttle to get the revs up close to where I think they'll be when I down-gear, then shift to the lower gear (usually 2nd), and then ease the clutch out (no throttle). That'll make for a nice, smooth downshift - and then you just keep your foot off the gas and let the engine braking slow you down. Sometimes that'll be all the braking you need and you won't have to use your brakes at all. Then you just drive on through the turn and accelerate out of it. When you do it right, it's nice and smooth... not jerky at all. It just takes practice. Pretty soon, you do it without thinking about it.

I drove a school bus when I was in high school (early 80's - back when they used to let students drive them here) and everyone had to train on a manual transmission/manual steering bus because there were still quite a few like that in the fleet at the time (and of course I ended up with one of them for my route). The instructor made a big deal about this very point. You HAD to be in the proper gear with the clutch out BEFORE your turn or he'd yell at you.

 

x20 Always gotta have power and downshift before the turn.

 

LIke everyone else has said, downshift before the turn. i let the engine/breaks slow me down before getting to the turn. And if you need to gear down again while you're in the turn, you know what gear you need to go to instead of guessing what would be best.

 

what if you are in 4th gear and need to go 2? can i go straight from 4 to 2? how do you guys do it so fast?

 

its not a sports car, dont brake so late and it wont be a problem. look up youur owners manual it has shift point guides try to shift close to that. but ya u can skip gears up or down.
ps when i did my 18wheeler license the instructor said if you ever coast in N in a rig you'll fail the DMV exam, cause your not in control of the rig.

 

You can skip, but make sure your RPMs are low enough to shift from 4th to 2nd. I just shift from 4 to 3 to 2. Just start slowin down a little sooner. But yea if you have to you can go from 4 to 2. I almost always go from 4th to 6th and vise-versa.

 

What, You taking a turn at 40Mph?

 

As long as your speed is appropriate for 2nd, it's not a problem to shift to 2nd from any other gear. Obviously, if you're doing 70 MPH in 5th or 6th, you don't want to just throw it into 2nd and pop the clutch. Slow down first. Just leave it in whatever gear you're in, slow down as you're approaching the turn, then push in the clutch, blip the throttle to get your revs up a bit, grab 2nd, and ease the clutch out - engine brake (and use your brakes if you need to) to slow down more as needed - and make your turn.

Downshifting is not bad for the transmission at all if you do it smoothly with rev-matching. That way it's no different than simply letting off the gas while in gear and coasting down. It would be so much easier to show you than to describe it in text here, but just get out and experiment and you'll figure it out.

 

Never put your car in neutral through a control. You never know if some asshole will miss the redlight and destroy you and your truck. You need to have power to get yourself out of harmful situation.

I never keep my car in neutral at the light either. I'll have in first gear with the clutch in and I always keep an eye on my rear view mirror to see if someone will miss the light/stop sign and rearend me.

just my 2cent.

 

hey thanks for all the help. i wanted to ask one last thing. what do you guys mean by engine braking? this is different from the brake pedal? what do you guys mean by this?

 

The same is true in any vehicle. It is illegal to coast in neutral or hold the clutch in for more time then it takes to shift (except when stopped of course). If you were ever forced to react coasting or being in neutral would greatly increase the time it would take. If you coasted around a corner on an exam you would probably fail.

You should always downshift and allow the engine to compression brake for you. It is NOT harder on the car and in fact it is easier on it because you are not wearing down the brakes so quickly. My last set of brakes lasted over 100,000km and only failed then because a wheel bearing went and caused premature wear.

This reason #2. If you don't know what gear the vehicle requires you loose the ability to react quickly. After a while of driving a stick you will know what gear to be in without even thinking about it consciously. If you take the time to a.) be in the correct gear for the speed that you are going and b.)slow down to a speed to safely turn the corner then you will always have the correct speed and gear for a given corner. As was mentioned before most 90 degree corners require 2nd gear.

Another note is that your vehicle's friction with the road surface is limited. Friction is required to brake and friction is required to turn, but the same force cannot be used to do both at the same time. This why you should always brake before you enter the corner. If you need to brake while turning, then you are travelling to fast to safely navigate that corner and something will have to give.