How To Drive a Manual Transmission Properly?

Im trying to figure out how to "properly" drive a stick shift and my question basically narrows down to: Can I have the clutch engaged halfway and the gas as well (halfway too)?

Say Im driving on a freeway where theres a butt load of traffic; its pretty much a dead stop and I move a little every 30 seconds. If Im stopped, and traffic moves forward, I dont wanna fully let go of the clutch pedal and use the gas because its too much speed and theres too much traffic. So, could I release the clutch halfway and give it gas a little so I get a more controlled speed and acceleration movement without damaging any part of the driveline? If not, WTF do I do?

 

yes, but the best method here is the give yourself lots of space and keep the clutch fully engaged to avoid excessive wear. There are many mays to drive a manual depending on the situation at hand. The main goal is to drive it as smoothly as an auto

 

I have always fully engaged the clutch to the floor. With several people driving my manual vehicles it was best if everyone used this method. I have driven manuals that were owned by someone that didn't adhere to this practice and they had clutch problems.

 

Indeed, you don't want to ride the clutch. I generally end up clutching out quickly to get the truck rolling, and then going back to neutral and coasting. Not sure if this is the right thing to do, or if constantly getting into gear and out again is going to break something, but it seems to work OK.

 

That's what I usually try to do, but then when you leave space between yourself and the vehicle in front of you, even just a carlength, some moron butts himself into that space. usually without blinker or courtesy wave either.

 

What you're describing is called "riding the clutch." A very bad habit that will significantly shorten the life of your clutch if you do it very much. What I do is let the clutch out just slow enough to keep the motor from stalling and then let it crawl along at idle until I have to stop again. It won't stall in 1st gear as long as it's moving.

 

having the clutch only partially engaged will cause the clutch to slip. a little slipping here and there is ok. lots of slipping of the clutch will cause the clutch to slip on its own.

At lower rpms, the slipping isn't as hard on the clutch, but still not the ideal method.

Unfortunately that's one of the down sides of a manual trans.. stop and go traffic. No real easy way to get through it.

 

Technically, yes you can but with a car or truck you have a dry clutch. If you partially disengage the clutch you can burn the clutch. It would have to be excessive though.

Have I done it? Yes. I never had clutch problems.
On a motorcycle you can do this because they have a wet clutch. Meaning the clutch is bathed in oil so it won't burn. You could slip the clutch all day long.

 

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When crawling in heavy traffic, I tend to leave it in neutral as much as possible. This works even better in downhills. This way im not adding any unnecessary wear and tear to the clutch components. Then when it's time to move, I put it in gear and creep forward by slowly releasing the clutch, and usually don't even have to apply the gas at all. If you space it right, you can just let 1st gear creep you along without problem.

 

Not helpful to the OP but if I'm ever in stop and go traffic like that I put it in 4 LO and let it crawl me along in 1st gear. I just leave a bunch of room in front of me. Since its a truck I don't get as many angry people.

 

As stated riding the clutch is bad. My mom used to do that with the car my parents had when I was a kid and her clutch would go out in 10k miles. After that my dad bought an automatic. You really need to only use the clutch pedal as you shift and not ride it. Changing clutches is a pain in the ass. Paying to do it is more expensive than something you want to do as regular maintenance. Driving a stick in stop and go traffic regularly is a bitch. You're going to have to get used to using that clutch pedal hundreds of times if you sit in stop and go traffic. You don't have to worry about damaging anything else in the driveline though if you do decide to ride the clutch.

 

All good advise here. The less you use the clutch the better. Put it in first and leave plenty of space and just crawl. Do not ride the clutch! My last Yota was a 88 4runner with a stick and in the 350,000 miles I put on it I never had a clutch issue. Try to get in the habit of useing it as little as possible.