How to Drive Manual Tacoma

Lots of opinions and I disagree with some of them, like skipping gears is bad. Main thing is DO NOT lug the engine. If you're leaving from a complete start, and the road is going down hill, skipping a gear hurts nothing.

One suggestion, keep your foot off the clutch as much as possible. If stopped at a light, put trans in neutral, wait on light with clutch out.
When yellow light comes on for the other traffic, THEN depress clutch and put it gear to be ready for light to change. Saves a lot of wear on the throw-out bearing. Also watch your tachometer when shifting, say from 2-3. If rpm goes up when you depress clutch, you're not getting your foot off of the gas soon enough.

 

Damn good advice, it's very much appreciated. And as I get better, the more I find that what you've told me is true. I do accelerate quite a bit in first ( up to 2500 rpms) just because it's easier to shift into 2nd.

I've also noticed that I shouldn't be afraid of the gas pedal when shifting into 2nd. The truck needs that quick acceleration as soon as it has shifted I've found.

 

Generally good advice but there are exceptions. For example, when accelerating on a freeway on-ramp running the 4th gear revs up to 3K+ its perfectly fine to skip 5th gear. It will settle into 6th right in the sweetspot. Saves a bit of wear on the clutch and throwout. Even keeps the engine in the torque curve possibly saving a tiny bit of wear on the engine.

 

Don't "learn to drive a drive a manual" in your '07 Toy, see if you can find a rental with a manual. I had to replace a clutch not long after trying to teach a girlfriend how to drive a stick on my previous Toyota truck.

 

I learned on one that looked just like this (except with 5 spoke Cragers, natch) with no instruction, decades before the Internet, and less than an hour of trial and error. Only burnt clutches by ruining tires. Was a darn good way to learn how to replace them. Comparatively our modern 6 speeds are a dream to use and dead simple to learn on.

 

2500rpm is the sweet spot for getting fairly clean shifts... also I highly suggest investing in a TRD short shifter ...and just shift slowly because those Transmissions do not like to be rushed by any means

 

You can read a lot on here about what you should/shouldn't do, and how to do things properly. Really learning will come down to becoming comfortable with your vehicle. Props for being willing to learn.

This is exactly how I teach people to drive stick, but in 2Hi. Find an empty parking lot (high schools on weekends are great), come to a stop and practice starting without the gas by just easing the clutch out. Drive down one row, turn to the next row and repeat. This will help you get familiar with your clutch engagement point without overcomplicating things. Once you have become very comfortable with this, then start trying to add gas at the same time. I say 2Hi because it will be more real world than 4low, since it is what you will be doing daily.

This is good advice for prolonging your throw out bearings life.

 

Thank you everyone! It's taken a few weeks, but I feel like I got the hang of it. Thanks for all the advice - it's what helped get me there.

 

Define lug the engine.. I have 4 banger that I lug around and it seems perfectly happy its like a mini tractor... Not going to get anywhere quick but it will get there

 

Lugging the engine is when you shift into a higher gear than you should at the present speed. For example, you shift into 5th going 20mph and give it gas. It will sound like someone is throwing rocks under the hood. Its not good for the engine at all - rough on the connecting rods and if you do it all the time you will wear the engine out much sooner than it was designed for. Every once in a while is not a big deal and everyone does it at some point. Basically avoid shifting into a gear where the vehicle will struggle to accelerate when you step on the gas.
Lugging does not mean towing if thats what you mean.

Something you can do is to shift through all of the gears without ever using the gas pedal. Simply let the clutch out slowly until the engine is idling in 1st gear. Then go to the 2nd and idle. You can go all the way to 6th gear idling the engine and it won't lug if you don't add gas. You'll probably idle at 25mph in 6th. Add a little gas when you're in 4th or 5th and you'll hear it lug.

 

Here's what you gotta do.

Push the clutch in, put it in first, rev er up to about 1500rpm. Then let the clutch out slowly until until you feel it start to engage. Once you feel the slightest engagement pop that bitch out while pushing the gas pedal through the firewall and into the engine bay. Job done

I don't know about the V6's but this ^^ is the only way to get a 4cyl moving.

Just my .02

 

It's pretty hard to lug the VVT-i engines unless you're under 1,000 RPM. The older trucks would knock/ping like crazy if you lugged them.

My tip: If you're backing up a trailer don't feather the clutch, and put it in 4lo if you have that option. The clutch will quickly smoke with even a small amount of feathering. DAMHIK

 

Ah i see what you mean. I keep mine at around 1500-2000 most of the time and I thought you meant that is lugging it. I know it isn't in the best power band, but I also know it wont hurt it at that RPM. However I usually shift at 2500-3000

 

Yeah I used to Lug it because it shifted "smoother," but was so hard to get good acceleration so I just accelerated to about 2500 - above speed and then shift - even more smoothe and no lugging.

 

Why does my exhaust have a rattling sound (really inexplicable) when I shift gears in my truck? It's a low sound coupled with some rattling... Doesn't make sense. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

right foot to the floor, left foot up quickly for starts, and my right foot never leaves the floor during shifts.... thats how i drive all my manuals.

 

Sounds like you're bogging the engine. What RPM are you shifting at?

 

Lots of good advice here. For most situations when driving in traffic, shifting below 2000rpm is not possible in most gears without bogging. Don't use the gas when pushing the clutch in. don't make a habit of down-shifting to slow down, this wears out your clutch faster which is mucho dinero whereas new brake pads are only $60. Getting the hang of starting up in 1st from a standstill is something to work at. To avoid rolling backwards at start-up on an incline, pull your e-brake and take your foot off the main brake, rev your gas and let the clutch a quarter of the way out, then slide the e-brake back in as you let the clutch the rest of the way out, once you can engage the gears with your e-brake on you will laugh in the face of hills!

 

NO..... i guarentee on most inclines you find on the street you dont need to TOUCH the gas to hold the truck with the clutch. Revving the engine and slipping the clutch at higher than idle speeds is a surefire way to kill your clutch quick.

Hold the brake with your right foot. clutch all the way in, IDLING, slowly let the clutch out till you feel it grabbing, then keep your foot at that same spot and slowly let out the brake, if you roll back, apply brake pressure to stop, slowly let the clutch out a little more and then roll off the brake. You would be surprised what you can idle out in 1st in even with the 2.7.... and slipping the clutch while idiling can be done for FAR longer without damage vs any extra revs.

I know my buddies old 5 lugger taco with the old 2.4L had no problem idiling out in 1st on our steep street.

 

Same... After 7 months I was still butchering shifts on rare occasion... This is after 4 years of ownership of a 6-speed manual WRX STI.