Okay check it out... i bought the 2005 scion tc flint mica, its my first car and i love it but my down fall is driving manual is kinda hard, ive been driving it for around almost a year now and i am worried that i may be burning my clutch i dont ride the clutch at all i down shift good my shifting is great but when i ride with others, people always tell me i cant drive a stick, they say i dont shift smooth or whatever and i start off in first slow like im burning my clutch i never had a smell of burning and i never here grinding or whatever.... sure at first i kept stalling but that was within the first month only and i know everyone stalls... also when i am stopped on a hill downwards i let it start rolling in nuetral then pop it in second instead of first or if im already going at a steady speed up to a red light and then it turns green if im still rolling i pop it into second still is that good or bad???? some one break it down for me...

sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this

 

okay...

you need to get more familiat with the engagement point of your clutch, so that you can quickly and efficienetly move away from a stop.

moving away from a stop, rev the engine just alittle to about 1500 rpms and let the clutch in. should pull away pretty smoothly.

this is how i engaged the clutch from a stop when i was stock. rev up alittle, let the clutch, once you feel the clutch start to engage, let it in while giving it more gas.

as for rolling from a stop down a hill and going into second, that is fine. first gear it really only there to get the car moving away from a stop and overcome all the intertia of the car being at rest.

putting it in second while coming to a stop at a redlight, this is called engine braking. not a bad thing but unnecessary. you don't need to engine brake while just coming to a stop, that is what regular brakes are fore. i'll go to second gear so that should the light turn green before i have to stop, i can quickly start moving again, but i'll push the pedal down so the clutch is disengaged.

if you can, go to some big empty parking lot or parking garage, practice practice practice doing laps, rev matching on your down shift. take the car to a ramp, and practice keeping the car in place using only the clutch and gas pedal, no brakes.

 

yeah i thought the same...i learned on a car with a cable clutch. it was a lil nissan called an NX2000 and boy was it smoother!..i could drive all day and without thinking about it, start off smoothly....now with the hydraulic clutch on the tc i cant always start smoothly...ive tried all kinds of tricks...the biggest thing that helped me was trying new seating heights/angle. that helped me a surprising amount...as for engine braking, its not neccessary and it seems abusive at times...but your not only one feelin this way.. like i said, i drove a manual for 4 or 5 years now and the tc's clutch still gets me sometimes.
goodluck!

 

to shift smoothly between gears, before shifting hold the previous gear at a steady RPM for 1-2 sec. before upshifting

This will avoid you and your passengers jerking forward when you upshift.

 

Don't worry........I am nearly 40 and driving a stick is still a pain in the butt for me........and my first car was a 87 International Freightliner...great big semi......to this day i still look for the damn axel switch.......and constantly feather the clutch and gas and try to double up on my clutch........so I just drive autos now since I tend to cook mine in cars....... the only stick I ever owned that seems bullit proof to me was a VW bug.........that car was so forgiving.......I miss it.......

 

yeah, your definitely not alone on this one. This is my third stick shift car and it is by far the hardest to operate smoothly. I just can't seem to consistently find that sweet spot for smooth shifts. Sometimes i get it and sometimes i don't.

 

there is a sweet spot to shifting smoothly in our cars, the rpms seem to hang a bit, so try shifting slowly, dont throw the shifter as fast as you can. Give it a nice click-click, like you're re-loading a shotgun or something. I tryed it not too long ago and was surprised how smoothly you can shift.

 

its tricky because we dont take in account the angle of the road. going uphill, downhill and straight all have different ways of shifting to make it smooth.

 

The tc is harder to drive then my old cars, due to teh drive by wire throttle. now that was threw me off the most.

 

I find it extremly hard to shift from 1st to 2nd smoothly. I have a friend who has a 2001 rav4(he bought it new) and he also has trouble with it. after that it's fairly easy. As for the passengers, tell them to STFU and enjoy the ride.

 

I tell them the same thing. It doesnt bother me at all. I am used to having a helmet on from when i ride, so the swaying isnt anything.

 

omg thank you for not teasing me i thought i was the only one on here that has a problem driving stick i usually do good when i drive some days but when i want to act all tokyo drift style in my tc i start driving like a maniac... funny when i drive like a maniac it doesnt seem like i am messing up the car but when im all worried about speeding or getting pulled over thats when i tend to not shift right or stall sometimes

 

shifting smoothly in the tC is all about the patience i suppose you take to shift, is what i found. When im in no particular rush and when im patient and calm i tend to shift smoother, this is because i shift the car more calmly through gears and rev match a lot more. as opposed to when im driving like an A-hole.

 

sounds like some of you need some driving lessons. i used to be alittle clumsy when shifting since the tc was my first manual tranny car, but the trick is not to over think it. you just need to find a rythymn and synchronize the timing between your left foot and right hand.

i do my best when listening to music i really like that has a good beat that gets my whole body moving at the same pace.

 

And Practice is the key my friend, of course "doing it right" is your target not "doing it easy" you dont wanna be used to bad habits. Dont worry about sucking at first and others teasing you, everybody started like that and nobody learned and mastered stick by just theory and then driving it perfect the first time.

 

It's good that you admit that you have a problem(even though i don't think you do) instead of giving up and gettin an automatic.

 

just slam on the gas and let the clutch out abruptly... always a good idea!

 

i will eventually install a stainless steel clutch line
supposedly it doesnt stretch like the rubber stock ones so are more consistent
ask around for some reviews it might be the thing you are looking for

 

When I drive the wife's car It takes me a few shifts before I get the hang of it. The tC is unlike any other stick I have driven.

 

yup that's true every car has its own feel not that the tc is different but most of the time cars just have different feel like deepness and stiffness in clutch, feel in the shifter, how fast/slow/often you shift and some stalls faster than others.