Yes, knowing the point of engagement without using gas is THE most important part when learning to drive manual transmissions.

It's good to hear that you're able to get your S moving without reving past 1-2k RPMs, but don't be too worried because the MT's these days are extremely forgiving.

 

This is the technique that I used when learning how to ride a motorcycle, and it worked quite well.

No gas.
Slowly let the clutch out.
If you stall, you let the clutch out too fast.

I have not tried this with the car yet, but the bike would get going to about 7mph without using any gas.

This skill came in really handy. I now instinctively use the clutch as a "tool". When I test drove the car earlier in the week, I spent about a minute getting a feel for where the clutch would grab, and how the clutch felt at different positions of release and engagement.

I just got my S2000. I am already able to feel the clutch out, and use it to keep the car from rolling back when I am starting on a hill.

My plan is to practice on a vacant parking garage ramp this weekend, just to make sure I have it all down.

Good luck!

- I spent all day stalling the bike out before I learned this trick, and picked it up pretty quickly after learning this trick.

 

Riceboi, may I ask how the original test drive of your S2000 went? Did you buy the car from a private party or a dealership? Just wondering.

 

I bought from a Toyota dealership in my area. I pretty much learned stick on my dad's old Ford Ranger, but I only drove it one time for about 20 minutes. The guy selling me the car drove it out of the dealership to an empty parking lot. I told him my situation and he was real nervous at first, lol as was I. He was the one that pretty much taught me how to drive the s2k, but he kind of taught me wrong. He was the one who told me to rev to about 3k and slowly let off the clutch. So that's where the bad habit was put into my head. Everything else wasn't too bad, and I was driving on the road after about 5 minutes of practice. When shifting I did jerk alot especially the 1st to 2nd shift, and I still do sometimes. Now I can pretty much drive the car through all the gears, and it feels the same as an auto tranny. I still need more practice though, I cannot for the life of me heel and toe.

 

i do that from time to time for the same reason mentioned earlier regarding faster starts off a stop.

slightly off topic but i was taught that its bad to take 1st up to high rpms a lot since thats the one gear that is engaged in the most. since you always use it, more wear is put on it. so by avoiding revving too high in first, you can preserve the clutch a bit longer. true or not?

 

Just wanted to toss in my 2 cents, but I taught my son how to use a stick shift a few years ago and I noticed that he tended to use his hip joint to lift and depress the clutch. I think that when you get more of a feel for the clutch, you can also learn to use your ankle joint to lighten/increase pressure on the clutch pedal. This may help improve your touch when you are trying to get the car into motion from a standstill.

 

The most difficult manoveur when learning manual tranmission is parallel parking on a steep hill. I was living in San Francisco when I got my first manual. I still remember the bumper scars and burnt clutch odor as if it were yesterday.

I knew what to do, but it took alot of practice to master the technique.

 

i will forever avoid parallel parking on a hill hahah hills own me..

 

This isn't true. With the clutch fully engaged, high rpm in first is no different than high rpm in any other gear, as far as the clutch is concerned. It is true however, that you have to slip the clutch more from a stop, when in first, to smoothly transfer power from the engine to the wheels. Subsequent gear changes require less clutch slippage thanks to the car's momentum.

You could, from a stop, rev the engine and dump(very quickly engage) the clutch and let the tires do the slipping. Your clutch will love you but the rest of your drive train will want a divorce.

 

I have taught several people using the "catch point" method to get the feel of the clutch -- level gorund, no gas, finess the clutch so that the rpm's just begin to drop, then push it in. Practice this drill until this is an automatic (no pun) repsonse. ONce you get this, then the rpm's necessary to start will just follow how fast you want to launch.