Ive got the regular driving part down and racing part But this is my first car (SS/SC) and im still kinda having trouble taking off hills. i roll back a little but not alot.. do u guys and gals roll back at all????

 

little bit, but no more than a couple inches

 

i take it your new at the manual thing. if its a steep hill there is really no getting around it, unless you toe and heel it, but that takes a lot of time to learn. treat a hill just like flat ground. its absolutely possible to get going without giving it any gas at all, its just being very very light on the clutch. thats how i've taught a few people to drive a manual, take off without any gas at all.

 

thx alot ill try it out

 

if you are really getting stuck, just use the e-brake to hold the car, raise the clutch until you feel it engage a little, then do the regular take off while releasing the e-brake.

 

exactly! Ive been driving a manual for like 5 yrs now and i still have to do the ol e brake trick on some hills in seattle.

 

Probably not rolling back as far as you think...even autos roll a little on a steep hill. You'll get it down pat before too long.

 

This absolutely does not work for me.

I can pull the e-brake handle all the way up and the car still rolls back down the hill. I thought all cobalts had e-brakes that were practically useless, but maybe it's just my car....

 

Thankfully we don't have a lot of hills here in town. Though my folk's driveway is like 45 degrees LOL. I took it there and just practiced until I could hold the car still by balancing the gas and clutch. Now I probably ride the clutch a little bit too long... but it gets me going without rolling back too much... and thankfully I don't have to do it that often.

As far as the e-brake goes... I give mine a good yank to set it and it's never given me any problems. But if I'm parked on a steep incline... I do like to put the tranny in gear for some extra protection... too many horror stories of run-away Cobalts.

 

I roll a lil bit, but not much, my mom uses the e-brake trick its works for her, but I jsut reather be fast at it, lol

 

Your not one of the people that whine about the clutch being crappy are you? As for starting on a hill if your not good use the ebrake and if you are a good driver then just use your brake and when traffic starts to move slowly bring the clutch up and once it starts to grab release the brake and start to get on the throttle.

Don't sit there like rain man said you'll just be slipping your clutch and that will ruin it faster and then you will come on here and start complaining about how **** it is.

 

Yeah, I sometimes have to use the e-brake when someone pulls right up on my ass. The worst offenders are 1) people on motorcycles, I had one actually pull so his front tire was BESIDE my bumper on a HUGE incline no less. Like he was BEGGING me to hit him and 2) Soccer moms in minivans who seem like they've never even HEARD of a manual transmission 3) guys in full size pickups who get right up on your ass at a light then floor it as SOON as it turns green and almost take out the whole backend of your car then LAY on the horn like how dare you drift back 1/2 an inch and 4) yuppies in fancy cars who deem themselves SO important that they can't give up even an inch of space on the road for fear they'll be 4.325 seconds late getting their quadruple tall mocha docha frappucappalatte espresso at Starbucks.

 

Well... thanks... it's not like I sit there for a half hour doing the little balancing act. It's just for 30 seconds or so when traffic starts moving.

I can honestly say that the only time this clutch has ever slipped is when I was playing around and launched from like 3 grand when I first got the car. That was totally my fault for being a n00b driver. I drive this car practicly every day and haven't had a single problem out of the clutch... ever.

 

PLEASE DONT SIT THERE ON A HILL BALANCING THE GAS AND THE CLUTCH!!!!

and you cant start on a hill with no gas at all.. you will stall

the e-brake trick works great.. pull up the brake.. let off the clutch, feel the clutch start to grab, give some gas, let go of ebrake and clutch... dont be afraid to pull up on the ebrake

i have hills everywhere and i just do it fast without hardly any rollback, but i hate it when people get on ur ass.. if they are too close i use the ebrake just in case cuz i love the ass of my car to stay intact

and that is too much.. the only time u should have ur foot on the clutch is when your shifting.. u should only do ur 'lil balancing act' for .. o... give or take 1.5 seconds when starting off in first.. not 30 seconds..

 

I suck at drivin stick. Got the car yesterday. I dont gas the car from a stop and i let it roll from slowly lettin off the clutch. I need help I keep on stallin at lights Any good advice or anything...

If someones on my ass i put the two way blinkers on and wait for them to pass cuz i would definitely hit them

 

OH YEAH!!!! I dont know about where you live, but if ur on a hill in washington and u roll back less then like 8 ft and hit the car behind you its THEIR fault and they will get a following to close ticket!!!! so dont worry to much, lol.

as for paul... use the gas a little... itll help u from stalling... i know it sounds weird... but when i was taught to drive a stick i was told to do it in my socks... that way u could totally feel when the clutch grabs.... and remember not to get in a huge ass hurry or look stupid because everyone at there has killed it, hopped it, stuttered it and anything all u can do to a stick when starting out... i highly doubt that many people got it correct the very first time

 

Well i got it right the first time i drove a stick, it was a 1999 S-10 5 speed 2.2. i was 15. But on hills, just let the clutch out slow and when u start to feel it grab a lil, take ur foot off the brake pedal and get on the gas a lil and go. its really easy once ur used to it. Just get out there and drive. ur not gonna get better sittin here on the computer talkin about it.

 

^^what he said.
This car was my first manual, when i got it i just went behind a safeway parking lot one night and just practiced for about 2 hours. After that i only had a little trouble with it, only cuz i was new, but that definatly helped

 

oh dear lord, balancing on a hill using your clutch.

what is it about driving that people get so offended at anyway?
is there ANYONE out there with enough self confidence and comfort in their masculinity that they can admit they arent a great driver yet?

this is why we have so many "zomg this clutch is crapppzors" threads.

Ill let you in on a little secret.

Its not the clutch.

(Props to the OP for admitting you dont have it sorted out yet and asking about it.
though i gotta admit....you should know how to hillstart before you race lol. kinda like running before you can walk

 

well there arent that many hills in texas so i really didnt worry bout it

 

I am gettin a lil better but im scared to use the gas. Im not gonna drive wit anybody but myself tonight. Im gonna go to a parking lot wit nobody for the first time tonight. I got my cousin and than later my friend to teach me, but i still need more practice.

Does anyone else think this car goes too fast in reverse when using jus the clutch? If i use the brake it stutters or sumtin like that. I also cant downshift because its so jerky, especially from 2nd to 1st. My cousin said to give it a lil gas and itl be smooth but i aint good enough to do that yet.

Now i am gonna have to learn on my car but im worried about it. Am i messin it up by stallin it a lot? Iv stalled it like 50 times and i got the car yesterday. The dumbest thing i forget to do is put the ebrake back down. I tried to drive wit it four times. I love that warning when u goin over 5mph. And wat about jerking the car, especially when i launch it and it stalls and jerks forward and back?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for all the help so far...

 

it isnt the best thing for the car, but oh well... u gotta learn sometime. I would predict that you will do better when your by yourself learning. Reason being is you shouldnt then feel pressured by anyone/anything else.... as for reversing.... i never really payed that much attention to it, so i cant give any help there.... i do know that in my dump truck if im riding the clutch at all while reversing it seems to want to go faster and be more jumpy... so i jus get going and let go of the clutch all the way and then start to play with the brake.... but thats a dump truck and not a car...

 

wow, i'm really amazed how many people have problems with this. i could completely understand it if it was the ls drivers having the problems, young high school kids getting their first car, i can totally see it. but its a lot of ss/sc people, which is ok but I would assume most people getting a car like that would know how to drive a stick.

I've been driving a manual in one for or another since i was about 10, I learned on a dirtbike, and if anyone can do that I strongly suggest it. but for many people thats probably not an option. So someone said they learned to drive in their socks, thats great and I really like the theory, i've never heard it before but I like it. Its all about having a feel for the clutch, which by the way is a great clutch. Its one of the smoother clutches i've felt, take your time, learn how to drive right and that clutch will stay just as smooth and will last forever.

heres my pointers I have to offer:
-Try the sock thing first of all.
-go to an open, flat parking lot and try to take off with only using the clutch. that will teach you to feel the clutch. if you let it out too fast the car will die, let it out too slow and its hard on the clutch. as soon as the car is rolling and it feels like the clutch has "caught" let out of the clutch and put your foot on the foot rest DO NOT REST YOUR FOOT ON THE CLUTCH.
-once you have that then try doing the same thing with a little gas, you will have to be faster on the clutch, once it grabs, get off it.
-stoping is simple but i've seen new stick drivers make a big deal out of it. remember, if all else fails, go to neutral and just use the brakes like normal. idealy you want to work your way back down through the gears letting the engine slow you down. For a new driver i don't recomend this because as Paul had found out its jerky (you shouldn't go from 2-1 while driving since 1st is not synchronized, it can be done but you should avoid it) , and the only way to smoothen it out is to let the clutch out slowly, which means slipping it, which in turn reduces its life; so just use the brakes. The alternative is double clutching, but thats a whole different topic and not something someone new should be concerned with. but its a great thing to do when downshifting and it really saves the clutch, maybe i'll expand on it if someone is interested.
- PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!

I would rather see someone who is jerky and not over using the clutch than someone who is slipping the clutch to make everything nice and smooth.

 

explain to me your way of double clutching in a pm if u want....... I dont do it in my car, then again I dont drive my car beings its in the body shop for another 25 days.... :-( but it is damn near must to double clutch in a semi/dump truck unless ur going to float through the gears... pretty much im wondering if its the same techinques.... by saying floating your gears i mean.... shifting without ur clutch... idea for this is; to go up a gear, u go down in rpms and to go down a gear u go up in rpms... make any sense?

 

Ok, so I'll explain it. If your new to the whole manual thing don't worry about this, get the basics first, this is more involved than you need to worry about.

yes, I've driven a few semi trucks, not legally but that didn't stop me. the theory is very similar but uses the clutch for shifting. up shifting is cake, but slow. lets say your going from 2-3. so your at about 3k rpm, i push the clutch in, put it in neutral and let the clutch out. I don't touch anything until the rpm drops to around 1.5k, which is where 3rd gear would put me at that speed, so the gears and the rpm all match, i can drop the clutch quickly and not feel the slightest jolt. I'm using arbitrary numbers here, if the numbers i give you actually work thats just dumb luck.

down shifting is the exact same theory only while lets say going from 3-2 i'm at 1.5k rpm in 3rd gear, i would go to neutral and bring the rpm up to lets say 3k rpm or whatever my rpm would be at that same speed in 2nd gear.

The reason for not just raising or lowering the rpm while the clutch is in is inertia of the clutch disk, which in a little car doesn't make beans. but in a big semi truck where they can weigh a few hundred pounds its considerable. its good practice to let the clutch out in neutral but doesn't have to be done.

the theory is simple as can be. actually making it work and being smooth at it is another story. It was necessary on old old cars with unsynchronized trannys, but its not something that needs to be done on any newer car as all the gears mesh up properly, aside from 1st gear. and this is the trick to getting into 1st gear smoothly while moving.

the only real reasons to use it are to prevent wear on the clutch and racing. NO its not a drag racing thing. every copy of fast and the furious should be burned, someone everything they have to say about racing is wrong. it slows you down when up shifting. Its great for road racing when down shifting though, just dumping the clutch is fast but not smooth and could cause you to lose traction coming into a turn and that doesn't typically end well. a good double clutch into a turn will put you in the right gear smoothly and quickly. But that gets into heel toe braking, which is using your heel on the brake while you bring rpm up with your toe so you can go into a lower gear. it also sounds simple but its a tough one. if your racing, keep it at the track.