JoeCool12350 0 Report post Posted October 12, 2015 Hi I am a relatively new driver, i work at a car shop and everyone drives manuals, saying how they are more economical, fun, and overall a better experience. I want to learn manual but its hard to when people are reluctant to handing over their car to a beginner. One of my biggest concerns is knowing when to up-shift and down-shift, often times people say "listen to your engine" but i don't know what that means. I am looking into getting a 08' Scion tC as my first manual car, would that be a good car (Even if its front wheel drive) ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cliffy 0 Report post Posted October 12, 2015 You should know through instinct when to change gear, if you lack this instinct, look at the rev counter (all new cars have them and most older ones still on the road do, too). Failing that, as a basic rule, you should change out of 1st gear pretty much as soon as you start off (so around 10-mph as a rough guide), then from 2nd to 3rd at about 30mph, 4th at 40 - 45mph and 5th at about 50. If the car has a 6th gear, then this is generally a cruising gear and if you use it at all, you're not going to get any benefit in shifting from 5th to 6th unless doing 60ish mph+. 6th gear is good for fuel economy as it brings the revs down sufficiently at higher speeds which obviously reduces consumption. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeCool12350 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2015 thank you alot! What do you mean by instinct? Like the feel and noise of the car/engine? Also if you are trying to get a quick start of a light, stop sign, etc. can you shift from 1st to 3rd to increase speed or is that bad for the engine? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeCool12350 0 Report post Posted October 13, 2015 You should know through instinct when to change gear, if you lack this instinct, look at the rev counter (all new cars have them and most older ones still on the road do, too). Failing that, as a basic rule, you should change out of 1st gear pretty much as soon as you start off (so around 10-mph as a rough guide), then from 2nd to 3rd at about 30mph, 4th at 40 - 45mph and 5th at about 50. If the car has a 6th gear, then this is generally a cruising gear and if you use it at all, you're not going to get any benefit in shifting from 5th to 6th unless doing 60ish mph+. 6th gear is good for fuel economy as it brings the revs down sufficiently at higher speeds which obviously reduces consumption. sorry im new to the forum so i dont know if you get notified of my reply above^^^ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cliffy 0 Report post Posted October 30, 2015 sorry im new to the forum so i dont know if you get notified of my reply above^^^ Hi, sorry I forgot to respond as I don't get notifications! Basically, the engine noise will tell you when to change up a gear, and you shouldn't need to change down that often once up to speed. When slowing to a stop, you can stay in whatever gear you're in quite late, and either change down in stages (5th to 2nd), or all at once to 1st, as you come to a stop. This is known as 'box changing'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanE 0 Report post Posted November 27, 2015 When in neutral just rev the engine and watch the rev counter, Get to know the sound of the engine at the different RPM‘s for economical easy driving, keep the revs under 2000/2500, when over taking and the like rev her up till you hear the limiter kicking in lol. you up shift when you want to go faster, and don't want to push the revs any higher. you will know by watching the counter, and will very quickly get a feel for the engine. why wouldn't you use engine breaking cliffy?. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
