Manual transmission questions...

[zohaibrose]

Hello everyone i have recently picked up a standard transmission bmw and want to know some answers to the questions i have just so i dont wear thinges out. what ive noticed is the older bmws like before 05 will stall if you try to release the clutch slowly without gas but on e90s and up the car will actually move from a stand still enough to get you going

1st-To get going from a stand still is it ok to rev up a bit before getting to the bite point of the clutch? i thought this was riding the clutch because your kind of releasing the clutch pedal halfway and increasing rpm
2- have had this question all day: if im in 4th gear and i need to slow down to about 20mph can i downshift into 2nd or do i have to go from 4th to 3rd then 2nd
3- if im in netutral can i put the car in gear while moving lets say at 30mph or do i need to come to a stop
4-when im coming to a stop while going 30mph can i press the clutch down and put the car to neutral to coast down to 0mph or do i have to do do it right when im at about 5mph

these are the majority of the questions i had when driving stick for my first or second time and would like to get answers to them

[LSxDreamer]

1st-To get going from a stand still is it ok to rev up a bit before getting to the bite point of the clutch? i thought this was riding the clutch because your kind of releasing the clutch pedal halfway and increasing rpm I've always applied a tiny bit of gas when approaching the engagement point.
2- have had this question all day: if im in 4th gear and i need to slow down to about 20mph can i downshift into 2nd or do i have to go from 4th to 3rd then 2nd From my experience (I'm no expert) it's mostly about rev-matching before putting into a lower gear. Pop clutch, brake as needed, slide over to 2nd, get the revs to where you think they should be for 20mph, release clutch...
3- if im in netutral can i put the car in gear while moving lets say at 30mph or do i need to come to a stop Yes, see rev-matching comments above
4-when im coming to a stop while going 30mph can i press the clutch down and put the car to neutral to coast down to 0mph or do i have to do do it right when im at about 5mph Again, I'm no expert, but it really shouldn't matter when you go into Neutral as long as you understand what to do when you want to come out of Neutral.

My thoughts in red. I'm no expert, but this has been my experience...

[ultimatetester]

If I slowly release the clutch my car will simply start moving without hesitation. Having said that, everyone will give extra gas when leaving, otherwise it would take a minute to leave your current position (e.g when driving away from a traffic light)

The bmw manual says to shift up ASAP and shift down as late as possible. You should learn what speed gives what rpm so you know yourself which gear is the best gear for the current speed. This means that skipping gears could be possible. It doesn’t harm the car in any way given that the rpms match the speed.

Do NOT put the car in gear while moving (or better said, keep the car in gear while moving all the time, pressing clutch is allowed though) unless you are sure about your rpm matching the speed. Failure to do so might wear out the clutch or have the engine fail.

[Deus Ex Machina]

Learn what speed and rpm range each gear is good for. You can watch the speedo and tach at first to get an idea, but you will eventually learn it intuitively. Starting out don't push high rpm's, just shift at 2500-3000 to get a feel of the natural range of each.

You don't have to go down through every gear, but be careful skipping gears until you get used to things. You don't want to to accidentally shift into a much lower gear than you mean to.

If I am pulling toward a stop light, I just push in the clutch, put it in neutral, release the clutch and use the momentum of the car to reach the light. If I am being mindful of gas mileage I will even sometimes put a car in neutral down long downhill grades.

A good thing to note is if you release hand pressure on the shift lever typically the shifter will move itself to the spot where you can shift upwards to third or downward into fourth without thinking about it.

When shifting from gear to gear, do it smoothly and pretty quickly without "jamming" it into the next gear. Your clutch engagement time should be fairly short. When you get used to it, you should barely feel the transition from one gear to the next.

You should be pretty much stationary to shift into first gear. When slightly rolling you should go into second gear instead. If not you will likely grind first gear. And make sure you are all the way forward or down with your shift lever before releasing the clutch, or it may also grind.

When you get used to driving a manual normally, you can play with shifting at lower rpm's to up your gas mileage. That is the cool thing about a manual, you can choose to drive for performance or MPG.

[Nanniepoo]

I also will shift into neutral while coasting, not so much for fuel efficiency, but it's faster to get into gear once traffic gets going again. Or worst case I just continue coasting/braking up to the light like normal.

Also I'm sitting in neutral at red lights. When I first started driving stick I was concerned about how slow I was to get going so I'd sit in first with the clutch in, but your leg gets tired real quick, and the transition will get faster in time. Plus if you get rear-ended you'd rather be in neutral than in gear anyways.

Keep in mind the clutch is designed as the sacrificial point in the system. Yes try to reduce slipping it, but it has the biggest impact on your ride quality and the life of the rest of the system. You'll probably have to slip it a bit to get a nice smooth accel from a stop, but that's what it's designed for, and reduces the shock on the rest of the system.

For your #2 question I do that daily. Going 40+ and my turn is coming up, clutch, brake, shift to 2nd, release clutch during turn while rev matching a bit. Once you get comfortable start playing around on exit ramps with more aggressive rev matching to engine brake, then start adding in heel-toe shifting.