A-Z guide to driving a manual transmission car

Manual transmission cars are the most popular type of car ever. First, you need to know some basic techniques.

Basic techniques for driving a manual transmission car

Nowadays, car manufacturers are increasingly focusing on automatic transmissions. However, manual transmission cars do not lose their "place". In today's article, we will guide you through some techniques to drive a manual transmission car properly.

In most driving schools in Vietnam today, manual transmission cars are always used to train students. However, not everyone knows how to drive, so it is easy to make mistakes.

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One of the common mistakes is that when entering a corner, the driver puts the car in neutral for too long. When entering a corner, do not disengage the clutch, just release the accelerator to reduce speed. When entering a corner, if you let the car run on inertia by disengaging the clutch or shifting to neutral, the wheels will have less grip than when you press the accelerator lightly and let the car run slowly.

The second mistake is to put the car in neutral or disengage the clutch when going downhill to save fuel, but in reality it is unsafe. When the car goes downhill without the support of braking force from the gearbox, the brake system will have to work continuously. When the brake system overheats, the brake will lose its effectiveness and an accident will occur.

Another mistake that even driving instructors sometimes make: to avoid stalling when braking, you need to depress the clutch before braking. This is a very dangerous move as you lose the ability to handle unexpected situations. In fact, the move should be done in reverse: first, depress the brake, and when the car is almost completely stopped, depress the clutch.

Many drivers do not use low gear when overtaking. When driving in the city, you often have to change gears continuously, but in bad weather, low gear is an additional guarantee of safety. Of course, when changing gears, the car should not shake or jerk. Correct operation when changing gears is one of the measures to evaluate the driver's experience.

When overtaking, you can also use the “short-shift” technique (that is, when shifting from a lower gear to a higher gear and skipping some intermediate gears). For example, from 3rd to 5th gear to save fuel. It will be more complicated if you need to quickly shift to a lower gear, such as 4th to 2nd. In this case, to avoid damaging the engine and clutch, at the moment of releasing the clutch, you need to press the brake pedal harder than usual.

Notes when driving a manual transmission car

To be able to proactively control situations on the road as well as achieve more reasonable fuel consumption when using a manual transmission car, you should pay attention to the following driving operations:

1. Shift in and out at the correct speed

In addition to knowing how to drive, you must know how to drive the car best, such as avoiding clutch wear and shifting gears when the engine is still weak. The reality is that most drivers in Vietnam often shift gears when the engine is not running at full speed, causing the car to be sluggish and unable to release the engine. If you shift into a high gear before reaching the speed limit, the car will be sluggish and when you step on the gas, the car will not be able to accelerate (running with a forced gear).

Normally, car manufacturers have different reasonable gear shifting thresholds, but on average it is around 2,500 rpm when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. If you shift gears properly, the car will be strong enough to shift into the following gears and keep the engine more durable. Combined with quick gear shifting (reduce throttle and cut clutch quickly - shift gears - release clutch slowly combined with increasing throttle), and handle obstacles on the road well, you will go faster and smoother.

2. Use the clutch pedal properly

When using the clutch, what makes the clutch wear out quickly is not due to frequent use or running the clutch, but rather you let the clutch contact the flywheel of the machine suddenly or the speed of the flywheel of the machine and the primary clutch when contacting is not at the same speed, the speed of the vehicle with the engine rpm is not suitable. When pressing and releasing the clutch, if your vehicle does not stop or jump forward, it means you are operating correctly, when releasing the clutch the engine sound does not change, the speed of the vehicle still moves smoothly.

Manual transmission cars have a disadvantage compared to automatic transmission cars in the clutch pedal, but also have an advantage over automatic transmission cars thanks to the clutch pedal, you should use it more or it will not be able to show its advantages. Only pressing the clutch pedal when changing gears is not taking advantage of its advantages. When driving on bad roads, you should release the clutch at the right time to avoid the car jerking. When overcoming obstacles in crowded streets, you should use the clutch for safety.

3. Be careful when using the handbrake

Many drivers often use the handbrake when starting on a slope and if there are signs of rolling back, they tighten the handbrake again. In fact, the handbrake is not designed to stop the car when it is moving, but only to keep the car stationary when it is stopped. If you try to stop the car using only the handbrake, you will see how inappropriate and dangerous it is.

If the handbrake is not fully released while the vehicle is running, it will lead to premature wear and tear, the brake pads will be shiny due to the phenomenon of brake pad slippage, but what is more dangerous is that the heat generated can boil the brake fluid, resulting in the brake losing its effectiveness. You should use the traditional way of starting when learning to drive, it will be safer and easier to use.

4. Starting uphill in traffic jam

If you use the same method as when learning to drive, using “clutch - handbrake - accelerator” or “clutch - footbrake - accelerator” continuously when stuck in traffic on a slope, it will make you sweat and your limbs will be tired. To continuously start uphill when stuck in traffic on a slope, you need to practice “clutch - accelerator” more smoothly, to be able to keep the car standing on the slope using only the clutch - accelerator, that is, to depress the clutch and apply moderate acceleration to keep the car standing on the slope, if the car shows signs of going backwards, you should add a little more accelerator, if the car moves forward, you should reduce the accelerator a little.

5. Mistakes that lead to a slowdown when starting off

The mistake that leads to drivers slipping when starting off is the process of releasing the clutch:

- Unable to control the clutch pedal, resulting in releasing the clutch too far, causing the engine to stall.

- Before releasing the clutch, you must accelerate to around 1,500 - 2,000 rpm, but while releasing the clutch, do not keep the accelerator pedal steady, causing the front of the car to not lift up.

- When releasing the clutch, the front of the car has not yet lifted up and the handbrake is cut, the possibility of going downhill is 95%. You can only save yourself if you release the clutch a little more and accelerate.

- After releasing the handbrake, do not keep the clutch and accelerator pedal pressed when releasing the handbrake. The possibility of going downhill is 98%, 2% for you to calmly press the clutch, coordinate with the brake and pull the handbrake to start again.

In short, during the process from the beginning of your spectacular start, your right hand always holds the handbrake and stay calm. For motorbikes that are still in good condition, you can start as follows without pulling the handbrake:

- Use the clutch and brake to stop on a slope.

- When driving, release the clutch very slowly, when you feel the car vibrate, switch your foot from the brake to the accelerator, accelerate up, make sure to go uphill 100%. This method is only used for short parking times, otherwise your legs will get tired.

6. When should I shift into "neutral" gear?

- When driving on the road, shifting the car to 0 is not recommended, because in reality it does not save much gas and also causes the car's inertia to increase suddenly, making it difficult for you to control the speed, easily losing control, and if you encounter an obstacle at that moment and need to brake immediately, the brakes will not be very effective.

- Shifting to zero when going downhill is extremely dangerous, because the vehicle's speed increases with acceleration, and the brakes are not effective.

- When the car is about to reach a red light, you should not put the car in neutral to let the car roll freely to the red light stop line, because if your brakes do not work, your car will crash into the car in front, or if an obstacle suddenly appears in front, it will be difficult for you to avoid it because at that time your car is in neutral and your car no longer has the kinetic energy to move further.

In short, when moving, you should limit yourself to zero. If you are approaching a red light, you should proactively shift to a lower gear to both reduce speed in preparation for stopping, and still be able to maintain an active speed when needing to avoid obstacles that may suddenly appear.

7. In the morning, do not start the engine and go immediately.

This is the time when the engine is most susceptible to corrosion and damage. After a long period of inactivity, most of the engine oil has settled to the bottom of the engine. The cylinder system and combustion chamber now have almost only a thin layer of oil on the surface.

Starting the engine at this time requires a certain amount of time for the oil to be pumped into the cylinders fully. Then turn the ignition key and let the engine idle for about half a minute to a minute before operating.

According to VNN