Driving with manual transmission questions

I don't get to the point where I tell someone else that they HAVE to do the ADM on their truck, but your point is exactly why I did it to mine.
It's the same with tuning.. if you're ok with how it drives stock, have at er.. there are plenty of ppl who do just that and I'm happy they're happy lol.

I thought the driving experience could be made "better" or more to my liking, so I paid up and did just that. Hell, I even put a Core short shifter in this thing to further customize my driving experience.

 

Not much I can say that hasn't already been said, but let me throw this out there...

Years ago, there was a popular NPR call-in radio show called CarTalk. The hosts of this show were no dummies, despite sounding like a couple of clowns.

A guy calls in with some question concerning proper use of the clutch. The exchange went something like this:

Caller: "How do I know I'm not causing excessive wear on my clutch?"
Host: "Do you ever stall it when starting out from a stop?"
Caller: "Never."
Host: "Never?"
Caller: "No, never."
Host: "Then you're abusing your clutch."

I was so struck by the simple truth of that statement.

Doesn't really apply to the OP yet. More important to get comfortable with the basics, even if it means slipping the clutch a bit more than necessary for a while.

#SaveTheManuals

 

QFT

 

Cartalk was the bees knees back in the day

 

I see where you're coming from and that's 100% fair. If you're going as far as tuning and the sort, though it's hard to tune out Rev hang, it makes sense to really dial in that thing. Especially I you're going short shifter and the sort. I'd still say that for the benefit of someone who is still developing stick shift proficiency, to put all that to the side for now.

 

I just thought of something...

@Nuova You do know to leave it in gear AND apply the parking brake when you park, right?

Buddy that showed me how to drive a manual insisted on leaving it in neutral. In his defense, this was before the invention of the clutch safety switch.

 

Yes, indeed parking brake on and tranny left in first or reverse. If the vehicle is parked facing downhill, leave the tranny in reverse. If facing uphill, leave it in first. If parking on level ground, either first or reverse, but I find it simpler to leave it in first.

 

I let my 16 y/o son drive my 85 manual pickup yesterday. He has driven it on the farm but not on the road. We went on a pretty good loop. I made him stop on hills and start back in 1st. He did really good. The reward was letting him drive my new Tacoma. He didn’t do as well with it. He was too quick on the clutch and couldn’t get the feel for it. He liked driving the old one better.

 

If you had started him off on the new one, would he have had the same trouble getting the hang of the '85?

 

You can easily roll in 6th with DFCO engaged, without slowing down much. I do it all the time and can see my mpg go up.

 

That's all the "hill assist" and "hill hold" type features do in cars with electronic parking brakes. Then when it senses you're giving it gas and letting off the clutch pedal it releases the brake. Hell, I'm pretty proficient driving stick and can do without those features fine, but you'll slip the clutch less and I use it on the steep hills in parts of Seattle haha. Also takes the "urgency" out of getting the clutch engaged before you start rolling back!

 

Hm. I found the 3rd gen taco pretty hard to stall, first gear is nice and low. I’ve stalled maybe 3 times in 3 years?

90% of the time I only need 1000-1100 rpms to get moving. I cringe when I let my buddy drive and he gives it like 1500-2000…

 

True words! One of the very first things I have someone do after having g them teach me about what's mechanically happening with the shifter and pedal (a very base version), is have them keep their foot off the accel, and let off the clutch until it stalls. If they get it going without it stallings they let it slip to much. Then as they get faster and it starts to stall, and then stall, I start letting them use the accelerator. Really drives the point home about developing a muscle memory on where that pedal needs to travel.

 

Your MPG goes up because if you're rolling in gear you're not actually using fuel. Or the amount of fuel you're using is so minuscule compared to being a neutral in the engine needs to keep itself fed.

 

Umm that’s exactly what I said. DFCO=deceleration fuel cut off.

I wouldnt call it minuscule though. I coast in gear to every red light or on any hill. Feels awesome knowing I’m using absolutely no fuel.

 

Yup, always in gear when parked.. and always use the parking brake even when I was in an auto. Better safe than sorry ;p

 

2 months later and the truck hasn't blown up yet and we even got a weighted shift knob (I like how it handles more than OEM).. thanks for anyone who suggested that. Very fun.
Doing significantly better with much more confidence.. including painful densely populated city driving here and there.

 

It always bugs me when my wife doesn't use the parking brake in her Rav4.

It always bugs my wife when I use the parking brake in her Rav4.

 

Lol! I let my coworker test drive my auto taco earlier this year and he tried to take off with the parking brake on... I coulda cried.

 

Shift knob looks great!