Proper way of driving a 6MT?

[bunnn]

Originally Posted by revster

For normal, relaxed street driving, rev-matching is not necessary.

I thought it was more like double clutching is not necessary, rev-matching is nice to have.

On another note, I got a lot better with 5-> 4.. 4 -> 3.. but almost killed my self going from 3 -> 2...

[CarForHire]

Originally Posted by bunnn

I thought it was more like double clutching is not necessary, rev-matching is nice to have.

On another note, I got a lot better with 5-> 4.. 4 -> 3.. but almost killed my self going from 3 -> 2...

What happened?

[Ken37.73]

Bunnn, I'm sorry if my replies sounds a bit mean but it's not intended that way. Fast cars are serious pieces of kit and so I think some of the answers you're been offered are sugar coating the message for you. I would say with regard to your points the advice a friend should give you is:

Bunnn"a school that teaches you strictly how to properly drive stick"

Correct, from your description they do so I think you should either go back for a refresher or start practicing what they taught you.

Bunnn"The way I was taught is to brake till a lower speed(20-30km/h), downshift if necessary, clutch in and continue braking till you come to a stop. Once stopped, THEN you put it in neutral."

As you say yourself they taught you properly but it takes practice as that figure of 20-30k is only a guide, and no substitute for good judgement. For example you can of course come to a stop from 2nd, 3rd or 4th depending on the circumstances.

Bunnn"The way I have been doing it since I got better at driving"

If you've been ignoring the driving school then I'd say this means you've been driving longer not better. As much as that's a tough message I promise you that you'll be better off for hearing it.

Bunnn"Can anyone enlighten me?"

I hope so and also I hope that the spirit of my answers is apparent. The only way to learn is the right way and the skills of matching your speed to your gear, appropriate use of engine braking, good safety habits ("coasting" is not safe dude), are essential elements to good driving. Enjoy your M3 but enjoy it all the more by making the effort to learn the things that don't come naturally.

Ken

[bunnn]

Originally Posted by Ken37.73

Bunnn, I'm sorry if my replies sounds a bit mean but it's not intended that way. Fast cars are serious pieces of kit and so I think some of the answers you're been offered are sugar coating the message for you. I would say with regard to your points the advice a friend should give you is:

Bunnn"a school that teaches you strictly how to properly drive stick"

Correct, from your description they do so I think you should either go back for a refresher or start practicing what they taught you.

Bunnn"The way I was taught is to brake till a lower speed(20-30km/h), downshift if necessary, clutch in and continue braking till you come to a stop. Once stopped, THEN you put it in neutral."

As you say yourself they taught you properly but it takes practice as that figure of 20-30k is only a guide, and no substitute for good judgement. For example you can of course come to a stop from 2nd, 3rd or 4th depending on the circumstances.

Bunnn"The way I have been doing it since I got better at driving"

If you've been ignoring the driving school then I'd say this means you've been driving longer not better. As much as that's a tough message I promise you that you'll be better off for hearing it.

Bunnn"Can anyone enlighten me?"

I hope so and also I hope that the spirit of my answers is apparent. The only way to learn is the right way and the skills of matching your speed to your gear, appropriate use of engine braking, good safety habits ("coasting" is not safe dude), are essential elements to good driving. Enjoy your M3 but enjoy it all the more by making the effort to learn the things that don't come naturally.

Ken

Don't worry, I'm really here to learn! I understand everything I learned was a basic general guideline and principle of how to "properly" drive stick. It probably wasn't the best idea to have this car as my first stick, but I take what I can get..and tried to compensate by taking some classes. But at least I'm 23000 and going strong Just gotta keep learning and practicing.

Originally Posted by CarForHire

What happened?

Wasn't as bad as it sounded..it's just I braked harder than I suspected so I threw my self forward..then engaged into 2nd poorly and threw my self forward again..just need more practice haha.


On another note, I've seen many people roll back and forth on an incline at a light...that can't be good on your clutch, can it?

[CarForHire]

^^ Nope, that's why you should not use your clutch to hold yourself on a hill.

[CeeBoogie]

I downshift and ride the clutch while braking lightly always, been doing that for years and nothing bad has happened so far! Also when in high gears like 5th or 6th I go from 6th to 4th to 2nd then 1st if needed.

[GewoW]

Originally Posted by bunnn

On another note, I've seen many people roll back and forth on an incline at a light...that can't be good on your clutch, can it?

LOL I do that all the time, but not on really large inclines. I am sort of impatient haha and don't usually stay stopped. There is excess riding of the clutch and it will wear faster, that's for sure. Mind you though - my 335 has 87000 km and the clutch has not been changed, nor does it need to be any time really soon .

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by revster

For normal, relaxed street driving, rev-matching is not necessary.

To some extent that is the case. But as long as you are down shifting to an RPM of, say 2k or higher, a rev match is required to keep from making the car decelerate in a violent way. Bearing your point out - the less aggressive DCT modes don't always rev match, but the shift also takes a long time and the computer slips the clutch. I don't know that I've ever messed with multi-gear downshifts in, say, S1. I'll bet it still rev matches - if it didn't it would be one jarring experience. I'll give that a try sometime this weekend and see.

[ND40oz]

Originally Posted by CeeBoogie

I downshift and ride the clutch while braking lightly always, been doing that for years and nothing bad has happened so far! Also when in high gears like 5th or 6th I go from 6th to 4th to 2nd then 1st if needed.

You ride the clutch, or do you just keep it in? I typically brake in the gear i'm in, then put in the clutch, continue braking and go back down through the gears as I come to a stop. Once I'm fully stopped, I go from 2nd to 1st. I figure this way, if I do need to hit the gas for some reason, I'm in the correct gear for the speed I'm going, I just let out the clutch and rev match. Theoretically, it should take the same amount of time to do that then if I was already gear and braking, I'd still need to transition from the brake to the gas pedal, I'm just adding in letting out the clutch at the same time.

[Leozap]

Originally Posted by Krozi

Your just mad that you can't do it

Sour grapes my friend

Well, I do it sometimes but I admit, I am not good at the heel to toe. My question is that why do you need to do heel to toe when approaching a stop sign...? Where are you going? If you do it around the curve where you have to slow down then I can understand but it's a stop sign for crying out loud. Isn't it overdoing?

[bavarian19]

I don't buy the save your brakes argument by those that say downshift and engine brake. Over time, I would imagine that would lead to more clutch wear than brake wear.


I would rather replace brake pads 100 times over than a clutch. If I am going to coast up to a stop, I will put it in neutral and just use my brake.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by bavarian19

I don't buy the save your brakes argument by those that say downshift and engine brake. Over time, I would imagine that would lead to more clutch wear than brake wear.

You're right, it probably doesn't save brakes much since really you should be using the brake regardless of how much braking effect the engine might also provide (though as I admit above, I am guilty of not doing so).

However, I don't think it causes any additional wear to the clutch as long as you properly rev match. Clutch plates wear mostly because they are slipping against one another and they won't really be doing that much if you rev match. To wit, my last M3 went 125k miles on the original clutch, and I drove it exactly the way I describe driving my current cars above.

So, my position is that equipment wear is neither a reason for nor a reason against downshifting when slowing down or coming to a stop.