Motoring corner With Carlover

“Driving a Manual Transmission Vehicle”Driving a manual transmission vehicle takes more than training, it takes experience as well; but it can be attained by anyone who puts their mind to it. Driving a manual transmission vehicle smoothly, especially one in a truck or other large vehicle which may take some knowledge and subtlety. These larger vehicles are more difficult to drive smoothly because of a larger engine, more rigid transmission, and heavy flywheel. When Starting, compress the clutch fully, Start the car, Put the gear lever stick into first gear and then Slowly release the clutch until it begins to engage slightly. This will be indicated by a slight decrease in the engine’s RPM (revolutions per minute). Press on the accelerator, only rev the engine a little above idle. Continue to slowly release the clutch as you press on the accelerator. Keep the RPMs only slightly above idle: manage this with the throttle as you consistently release the clutch. Continue slowly adding more throttle and fully release the clutch. Accelerate normally. Up shifting the gears (determine when you need to up shift by the engine’s speed). When your engine RPM starts to get above the normal range, you usually need to upshift. It is important to note that when you need to accelerate quickly or climb a hill, you should usually let the engine rev higher than when traveling a constant speed or on a level surface. Begin the upshift process by removing your foot from the accelerator and depressing the clutch. Make sure that clutch is fully depressed before moving the shift lever or you may grind the gears. Move the shift lever to the next highest gear. Release the clutch and add the throttle. As with starting out, the clutch and throttle should be managed together to ensure a smooth shift, although generally when the car is already moving, you can release the clutch a little more quickly than when starting out. Downshifting- As with upshifting, you should use the engine’s speed to determine when to downshift. When your RPM start to get too low, you will feel the engine lag a bit, and the accelerator will become less responsive. A common time you will need to downshift is after you have decelerated for a corner. In general, you should decelerate with the brake before you enter the corner. Once you have decelerated, downshift, and use the engine to pull you smoothly through the corner. Do not coast through corners, as this greatly reduces your ability to control the vehicle. Begin the downshift by removing your foot from the accelerator and depressing the clutch. You want to remove your foot from the clutch a little ahead of the clutch movement to avoid the engine from revving up as the clutch releases. Depress the clutch fully, and then move the shift lever to the lower gear. Slowly release the clutch. This will begin to bring the engine up to speed. Gently use the accelerator pedal to match the engine’s speed to that of the transmission. When braking, always leave the vehicle in gear, and begin braking. Decelerate until the RPMs are just above idle. Depress the clutch and bring the stick into the neutral position. Once the stick is in the “free” neutral position, you can release the clutch (to rest your foot and save wear on the clutch bearings). Continue braking normally until you are about to stop. Just before you stop (usually less than a mile-per-hour) release the brake more until you have no pressure on it. This removes the last little jerk the vehicle does as the weight transfers from being mostly on the front suspension back to the rear and front suspension evenly just before the vehicle stops. Don’t release too early, or you may roll past where you wanted to stop. Apply the brakes again once stopped. This is for safety or if you are on a slope, so you don’t go somewhere you didn’t intend to go. In addition, you want traffic behind you to see your brake lights as an indication that you are stopped so in case the driver behind you is distracted, he or she will not plough right into you. motoringcorner@live.co.uk

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Motoring corner With Carlover