Hey guys,

I just bought a 2010 Evo GSR and am having problems starting the car from a dead stop while in 1st gear. This is my first manual car. My parents never owned manual cars growing up and a lot of my friends in hs/college never had manual cars, so I never really had A LOT of experience driving one.
Right now, I would say that 80% of my starts get the car going but 50% of those starts are "jerky". The other 20% result in the dreaded stall.
I just wanted to ask some of the members who own GSRs on what some pointers are that may help me. Right now when I come to a stop, I rev the engine to about 2,000 RPMs and slowly let the clutch out. That seems to work pretty good. Sometimes I'll let the clutch out too fast and stall and sometimes I'll let the clutch out just fine but while doing that, I'll unknowingly let up on the gas and stall.
I've asked co-workers and looked online but there are many techniques that are out there. Just wanted to know what "YOU" guys suggest. This weekend, I'm going to go to another parking lot/empty street and practice until my legs hurt.

Thank You,

Lando

 

My friend has a Scion TC and I took that out once a few weeks before buying the Evo and didn't stall it ONCE. It seems to me that since the Evo is a high performance car and AWD, that may be playing a role in me stalling as much as I do.
I used the same technique on the Evo (reving the engine to 2K RPMS and when I get to that "friction" zone on the clutch pedal, I slowly let it out while applying more gas) that I used on the Scion but it's not working the same.

 

PM'd you

 

Yea Im pretty much a beginner myself. I drove some manuals before but never owned on. I just got my evo 2 weeks ago. I basically just let the clutch off slowly while giving it some gas, once I get the car going a little faster then I let off the clutch completely. Hill starts is what freaks me out lol.

 

When you're first learning and you're on a hill, a trick you can use to prevent from rolling back is to:
put it in first
yank up on the ebrake holding the lock button in
roll onto the throttle until you feel the car pull against the brake
slowly drop the ebrake down

 

Thanks man. Yea I tried that, kinda hard when doing 3 things at once lol clutch, gas and ebrake.

 

try slowly letting off the clutch until you feel the car start to move a little. as soon as u feel the slightest bit of movement then press the clutch back in. remember the spot where u felt the car start to move and that's when u wanna give it a little gas and let off the clutch more. this seemed to work when i teach people how to drive a stick. oh and another helpful tip when shifting, after you've selected your next gear, let off the clutch completely before giving it gas. hope this helps

 

easiest thing to do I think is to first get in to your head where the release point is...its VERY high in our cars...so first things first...put it in first..dont touch the gas...and SLOWLY start releasing the clutch...you will feel where it starts to grab..its right near the top..once you figure out where the release point is and engrain it in your head...the do as you did before, about 2k then slowly release..some cars you can pop the clutch at the end b/c the release point is so low..since ours is so high you can NEVER pop the clutch unless you are WOT shifting fast....practice makes perfect dood!! good luck

 

My first car was a 1992 Ford Tempo 2 door. Technically it was a sports car. I had a difficult day or two when I was first learning how to drive the stick shift.

What was helpful for me was when I realized that the clutch engages (or is it disengages) towards the end of letting it up. I was picture the clutch engage from the floor board all the way to when I take my foot off of it. But when I realized that it didnt engage until about halfway up it become easier.

I also found it easier at first to learn with my shoes off. I felt the clutch better for some reason. You can also start letting off the clutch without giving it any gas. Obviously if you keep letting out without giving gas it will stall. But maybe start letting off the clutch and then when you feel the car starting to move and you can hear/feel the engine starting to bog then give it some gas.

You are on the right track though. It just takes practice of course. And before you know it, it becomes second nature and you dont think anything of it.

 

+1. He put it in better words

 

Not to mean to steal the thread but if you are in low RPM and when selecting say 2nd gear, let off the clutch completely before giving it gas it kinda jerks a little so I would have to hang on the clutch for a little bit while giving it gas to make it not do that. Or is it because it needs to be in higher RPMs before let off the clutch completely before giving it gas?

 

On mine the second gear needs a little gas while letting off the clutch if you are in the lower RPM's. If rpm's are higher then it really doesnt. The other gears really dont though.

The RPM's on the Evo stick longer then other cars I have driven. On my other cars the rpms would drop quickly when putting in the clutch. Because of this I would have to give it gas in 2nd and 3rd shifts. When I got the Evo it took me awhile to get use to not doing this since the rpm's hold.

 

^^^ Cool thanks man

 

Just remember if you panic, it's always better to give it too much gas than not enough. That way you wont kill it, you'll just start a little quick.

 

I wonder if you can tell a cop that??? "officer I panicked and hit the gas"