Ok. So if I downshift to 3rd, and if the car in front of me go, I can still leave it at 3rd gear and go if the car in front of me is moving ahead anyway? This is still possible if my car is not completely stop correct? And is it safe to downshift from 4th or 5th to 3rd if I slow down enough where it should be? Or do I have to downshift from 5th to 4th to 3rd to 2nd in that order?

Yeah I stepped on gas too much when I downshift. There's no need to step gas too much if the car is already rolling.

 

Yes, you can just start going, [if car ahead of you goes] as long as you are at the correct speed for the gear you are in, EG; if you shift from 4th to 3rd and slow down to 10MPH the engine will bog as you are in too high of a gear.

Keep in mind, the gear you are in depends on the speed you are at, the gear you neeed to shift down to depends on how much you slow down, just like when shifting up, you can go only so fast in 3rd gear before you have to shift to 4th. 94

 

A lot of this was answered already; but I'll give you all the information I gave my younger brother when I was teaching him how to drive my manual. Some of this may be useful to you, others might not be. But this is how I teach my friends kids how to drive shift.

First: Abandoned Carpark or equally wide area. No accidents that way.

Now what I like to get people to do is put it into first; lower the hand brake and without touching the accelerator let the car move itself forward while easing off the clutch. This teaches you the feel of first and will let you do hill starts much easier. I spend a lot of time getting people to practice this first. It stops people dropping the hammer while the hand brake is up on a steep hill and wheel spinning my car all over the show.

Once you've got the hang of that you should be able to fully release the clutch before accelerating without stalling the car. Its a happy median between the two that will get you moving nicely.

When accelerating start off by learning long shifts. First to second to third with nice smooth shifts forward. The same applies backwards. You'll notice though when shifting down that your car may lurch or judder forwards. This is because your revs are dropping while your holding in the clutch and releasing the accelerator. It takes some practice but with a bit of practice you can get the hang of making this a smooth transition. Too slow will make you loose to many revs and too fast will 'hop' your car forward. Once you get more practice you can shift much quicker but for a start learn to shift smoothly.

When slowing down I like to apply the brakes (only) and press the clutch nearer to when the revs are dropping down letting the gears to the work. As the car slows down I'll shift down a gear and engine brake. But there's no reason at any time not to just use the cars brakes to slow the car to a halt. A few people like using neutral and braking and people like myself like the engine braking.

If you shift down and you get a sudden massive rise in RPM you've shifted too fast (for this purpose) and you're applying engine breaking. This takes a little practice, but I highly recommend shifting down gears while breaking even if you aren't using it to slow you down. It makes it easier to accelerate again and if done right there will be no extra rev. You can do it while slowing down when your revs start to get low to keep a nice smooth brake.

Shifting into first (on the cars I drive) is nearly impossible without ramming the gear stick forward until the RPM is low enough. This is intentional. You should while engine breaking go down as far as 2nd gear. First gear will slide in once you get slow enough but you may find that once you release the clutch you will lurch forward / bunny hop / stall the car.

My advice? Brake slowly, push clutch in, shift down a gear, release clutch, continue to brake and shift down as needed. This means that if you are braking and the car ahead of you moves you can accelerate without fiddling with the gears. For instance if you've shifted down to 3rd gear you can then accelerate from third gear to continue your journey.

Oh and practice hill starts with the Hand Brake. Find a nice secluded hill and get the hang of giving a little bit of acceleration (so the car pulls) then lowering the hand brake. After a while you will get the hang of doing it seamlessly.

Some after thoughts, don't ride the clutch. If you find your car is lurching or you are going down a hill it is tempting at first to hold the clutch down and just ride it. I recommend shift up a gear until its comfortable with coasting instead.

Try not to accelerate hard while the clutch is down. Its a mistake of a lot of new drivers to give it too much gas and moderate the power with the clutch. Try to do the opposite; instead release the clutch before giving it gas for more power. If you get out of the car and get that smell of burned matches then you've been riding your clutch.


If your car brakes aren't holding you on a hill check the brakes. It sounds like a death trap to me. Your car should not move when holding down the brakes at all.



This is all opinion and experience. If any of this information is incorrect or damaging to the car I would like to know so I can fix my own technique.

 

Ah ok. Makes sense. I was going from 5th gear and was slowing down because I wanted to make a right turn, I downshift to 4th, then I right turn, but the car wouldn't go. I slow down too much and I wasn't at the proper gear for that speed. Wow very complicated and must think quick. I hate following cars and have to stop then go. I like it when there's enough time for me to put in gears, I don't like it when things happen quickly in front me when my speed already low and don't know what to do.