Not great

keezer

Hi, have my provessional liecence a year and half......have had about 4 lessons but they where last year got insured for 5-6 months in an 08 auris and didnt make much use of it only in and out a new road......changing the gears stoppin and startin. This time i said im goin a use it but i havent really done much, the only problems i have are getting in to 5th gear and comming down the gears and i kinda panic if i go it to wrong gear and then pull in and stop.....so i am wondering have you any ideas/tips for me to keep in mind and how long should it be untill i am able to go around town etc bear in mind i am a bit slow to start again once i stop.

Alanstrainor

Practice practice practice....;)
I think we've all been in a similar position when we started. As for changing gears, take your time, and be sure of where the gears are, example:
1 3 5
2 4 R

Dont worry about stalling, just try and learn something when you do. Try understand why it happened, ie you brought the clutch out too quickly, you didn't give enough revs...etc
But as i said it all comes down to practice, you'll get there. Best of Luck!

keezer

Thanks...it just feels like ill nevr get it

DrivingMad

You could also try letting the clutch up verrrry slowly when changing, for example 5th to 4th gear. If the car starts to rev highly and start to slow down sharply then it is likely you have changed into 2nd instead.

dr.bollocko

After the basics, gearing down can be a real bitch to figure out. A lot of new drivers fall into the bad habit of going into neutral or keeping the clutch down and just braking to a stand still at roundabouts and traffic lights. You really have to keep behind the wheel a little more, just practice with the gearknob. Practice changing up and down when the engine is off just to get the muscle memory working. But it is something you can conquer once you get more time behind the wheel.
Dont give up! You have already spent so much money!!

bonkey

keezer wrote: »

have had about 4 lessons but they where last year
...
the only problems i have are getting in to 5th gear and comming down the gears and i kinda panic if i go it to wrong gear and then pull in and stop.....so i am wondering have you any ideas/tips for me
...
bear in mind i am a bit slow to start again once i stop.

This might sound harsh, but have you considered that maybe more lessons might be what you need?

challengemaster

Best advice I can give for this as a learner driver myself:

Try to relax.

Go out into the car one day, with it off - and get a feel for the position of each gear and changing gears without watching where your hands are. Try to not grip the gear knob too firmly/jerk it too hard, as you'll probably pull it in such a way it'll be awkward trying to get into 5th. It doesn't need all that much effort.

For me - changing into 5th in my punto - Firstly I'm listening to the revs (there's no tachometer :pac:), and secondly I'll want to be going somewhere around 40-50mph for it to be at the right speed for 5th nicely.

As for changing down gears. Going from 5th - Best thing you can do here is: come off the accelerator and start slowing til you're where you think you should drop to 4th - clutch in, and as loosely as possible with the gear knob, just move it out of 5th and let it come to rest in the middle (neutral) - then just move it straight back. If you go pulling it across, you'll probably over-shoot and end up in 2nd. The key to it is looseness / fluidity. You've plenty of time for changing gears, the car is still moving, so its not like it'll stall if you take 2 seconds taking your time, instead of the 0.1ms in your head you want to do it in. Don't worry about that.

Alanstrainor

DrivingMad wrote: »

You could also try letting the clutch up verrrry slowly when changing, for example 5th to 4th gear. If the car starts to rev highly and start to slow down sharply then it is likely you have changed into 2nd instead.

Wouldn't be so sure of that advise tbh, should you go into second from 5th, you're in, ruining your transmission territory. Just be sure of your gears, ie when you take the car out of 5th, the gearstick will default to a centre position
1 3 5
2 4
then 4th is easily found. Although it takes a lot to explain it in text, it should be a quick thought process.

I actually have heard of someone going from 5th to first in one go. Apparently they were trying to change from 5th to 3rd and "missed":eek:. Needless to say they got one hell of a shock! Somehow the car survived.

timmywex

Question i have, is it ok to go from 4th to 2nd or do i have to go 4th, 3rd, 3nd, cause when i do this i tend to concentrate more on that and getting the cluch in and out, not enough on braking and end up slightly fast! Also, when letting the clutch out, how long down it have to stay out before changing down into the next gear?

Thanks

Alanstrainor

"Block changing" from 4th to 2nd, is perfectly fine, probably preferred by most. And better for your clutch too!
As for how long to stay on the clutch, i suppose the best way to explain it is to go through the gear change process.
Eg, say you're slowing and changing from 4th to 3rd. Begin to slow, clutch in, change gear, and when you've found third release. When you should move down to second is Dependant on your engines revs really, which will be affected by speed.

Posy

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I actually have heard of someone going from 5th to first in one go.

When changing from third to fourth, I often hit second instead of fourth when starting my lessons. It hasn't happened in ages now but I'm still a bit paranoid regarding fourth gear. Bad memories and all!
My car doesn't have a 5th gear.

RedzDrivingScho

The best way to protect the gear changing is to use the palming method......there should be a video available on some site how to do it.....found one.....http://www.2pass.co.uk/gearsinuse.htm

Hope that helps.....

bonkey

challengemaster wrote: »

Try to not grip the gear knob too firmly/jerk it too hard,

This is slightly tangential to the OP's question...but are you taught to grip the gear-shift?

I ask, because here in Swissville, I was taught to do all gear-changing with what the previous poster refers to as "palming". At no time, should my hand be touching more than one side of the gear-shift.

I accept - before someone tries to argue the point - that this may not allow the fastest possible gear-shifts.

Wishbone Ash

bonkey wrote: »

I was taught to do all gear-changing with what the previous poster refers to as "palming". At no time, should my hand be touching more than one side of the gear-shift

In my experience (and driving instructors may disagree) in small vehicles, it is easier to change gear by avoiding the tight grip on top of the gearstick but allowing one's fingers to delicately encourage entry to the gear to be selected.

For example, if changing from 3rd to 4th, if one places the fingers behind the gearstick with minimum pressure, it will naturally find the 4th position.

Larger vehicles, on the other hand, especially when cold, can be very difficult to 'find' gears. it is often necessary to bring the gearstick to neutral, declutch again, and then attempt to find the new gear.

bonkey

Sorry...I should have made it clear I was only referring to the driving of "regular" cars....not commercial vehicles (nor sports-cars or anything else).

keezer

Thanks for all your help.......i have considered everything ye have said and have decided on getting a few more lessons aswell and goin to try and get driving as much as i can do and hopfully it will all work out. Thanks again ye have been a great help