How to properly drive a stick...
09-09-2005, 12:43 PM
#21
I think the LS1 is incredibly easy to drive.. it's so hard to stall! It reminds me of driving a cummins turbo diesel truck, the only relation being how hard it is to make it buck/stall. My 4cyl Honda is easier to stall, especially when there are four people in the car.. I have to give it a lot of gas to make that 102hp 1.5 liter move forward! 
09-09-2005, 01:50 PM
#22
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After reading many of these posts I think one thing has been missed, the type and conditon of the clutch you have. I have a stock clutch and I have owned the car for about 10 months now. While I have been getting used to the car, the clutch has also changed. I think the previous owner was either abusive or ignorant with the clutch. After driving normally for ~30 minutes the clutch used to get grabbier to the point of being really hard to smoothly move out. It was always much smoother when cold. After reading several posts where people often ignore the throttle in stop and go traffic I have been trying the same thing. Although I can do it, its hard to do without a big RPM dip as it finishes engaging. My clutch was a real bear and is now much better. My old Mazda MX-6 was much easier to use. My wife's Corrola was the silkiest clutch I have ever used, my LS-1 clutch is nowhere near as nice. If your clutch is nice and smooth, take care of it because someone buggered mine.
10-03-2005, 01:00 PM
#23
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My 2000 LS1 is hella easy to drive. My 96 GT was a lot tough to get the hang of. The clutch was much more stiffer.
My girlfriend could never get the hang too well of the Mustang. But she got the hang of the Camaro the first time she tried it lol.
My girlfriend could never get the hang too well of the Mustang. But she got the hang of the Camaro the first time she tried it lol.
10-03-2005, 11:11 PM
#24
This is what I do:
Never sit at lights with the clutch in, unless the light is changing.
Never downshift to come to a stop, only use engine braking on long steep downhills.
When I do downshift, always revmatch, and usually double clutch. I always double clutch when downshifting more than one gear.
When I'm driving slow in traffic sometime's i'll skip gears, as in 1-3-5, etc. People who suck at driving stick will look at me weird like it's against the rules or something. It's fine.
When upshifting multiple gears like 2nd to 5th, etc, i usually double clutch, letting the rpms fall in neutral.
This one seems obvious, but don't hold yourself at a stop on a hill using the clutch instead of the brake. Some people actually don't know that.
And yes, my car is much easier to drive than most 4-bangers, but i don't think i would have wanted to learn on it.
Never sit at lights with the clutch in, unless the light is changing.
Never downshift to come to a stop, only use engine braking on long steep downhills.
When I do downshift, always revmatch, and usually double clutch. I always double clutch when downshifting more than one gear.
When I'm driving slow in traffic sometime's i'll skip gears, as in 1-3-5, etc. People who suck at driving stick will look at me weird like it's against the rules or something. It's fine.
When upshifting multiple gears like 2nd to 5th, etc, i usually double clutch, letting the rpms fall in neutral.
This one seems obvious, but don't hold yourself at a stop on a hill using the clutch instead of the brake. Some people actually don't know that.
And yes, my car is much easier to drive than most 4-bangers, but i don't think i would have wanted to learn on it.
10-04-2005, 02:37 AM
#25
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Originally Posted by DeepBlueZ
I agree...when pulling away from a light when the road is crowded and moving slowly i usually don't even touch the gas pedal in my GTO until the clutch is all the way engaged. Torque is a beautiful thing. 
try that in a gutless 4 cylinder.
as for waiting at lights.....i usually coast down to the light in whatever gear i was last cruising in (except 6th of course, i'll drop it to 5th) and then throw it into neutral at around 20 mph (when the tach drops to around 1000-1100 RPM).
try that in a gutless 4 cylinder.as for waiting at lights.....i usually coast down to the light in whatever gear i was last cruising in (except 6th of course, i'll drop it to 5th) and then throw it into neutral at around 20 mph (when the tach drops to around 1000-1100 RPM).
10-05-2005, 11:55 PM
#26
Originally Posted by BJM
After reading many of these posts I think one thing has been missed, the type and conditon of the clutch you have. I have a stock clutch and I have owned the car for about 10 months now. While I have been getting used to the car, the clutch has also changed. I think the previous owner was either abusive or ignorant with the clutch. After driving normally for ~30 minutes the clutch used to get grabbier to the point of being really hard to smoothly move out. It was always much smoother when cold. After reading several posts where people often ignore the throttle in stop and go traffic I have been trying the same thing. Although I can do it, its hard to do without a big RPM dip as it finishes engaging. My clutch was a real bear and is now much better. My old Mazda MX-6 was much easier to use. My wife's Corrola was the silkiest clutch I have ever used, my LS-1 clutch is nowhere near as nice. If your clutch is nice and smooth, take care of it because someone buggered mine.
Nice and smooth when I first go..But after a while it starts getting grabbier. I guess it isn't a bad thing, but I feel like a jackass when the car jerks or anything going from a stop. I really like smooth takeoffs and shifts. Some guys I know dont really care and just do it...whether it jerks around or not.
10-16-2005, 09:29 PM
#28
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with a stock style clutch its easier to drive a car, get a twin disk, exedy, ram Hd, then go for it. its fun.
I like driving a car with a stiffer clutch because im used to it. I drove a car with a spec 3 last night and i wanted to put my foot through the floorboard....
but the other day i drove a car with a "ram hd" (dont really think it was the hd, it was so friggin light with no adjustable master) and hated it, because engaugement is near the floor.
I pull the car out of gear when comign to a stop, or sittin still all the time..
driving 4cly cars is weird to me because the shifters feel alot mroe sloppy...
I like driving a car with a stiffer clutch because im used to it. I drove a car with a spec 3 last night and i wanted to put my foot through the floorboard....
but the other day i drove a car with a "ram hd" (dont really think it was the hd, it was so friggin light with no adjustable master) and hated it, because engaugement is near the floor.
I pull the car out of gear when comign to a stop, or sittin still all the time..
driving 4cly cars is weird to me because the shifters feel alot mroe sloppy...
10-17-2005, 12:33 AM
#30
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Depends on how froggy I'm feeling at the time. It all depends on the clutch though. I run an 11 inch street/strip Zoom and it can be a real pain in the butt when I'm in heavy traffic, the clutch is gettin' hot so its grabbin', and the cam keeps making the car surge even when giving it gas. And oh yeah, it's a manual clutch!
