how to drive smooth + fast

[fatty@golfmk6.com]

i'm finally able to drive 6speed speed smoothly ... the only thing I have to work on now is driving smooth + faster.

In order to shift smoothly, I take my time changing gears and letting out the clutch but as a result, the car behind me is slamming on their brakes and 2 cars end up passing me on the next lane.

Whenever I try to drive faster, the car jerks and i feel like a noob when it jerks

this is how i'm driving. 1st gear - accelerate to 3k - let off gas completely - step on clutch all the way down- shift to 2nd - let the clutch up maybe 25% so that it connects- step on the gas a little - let off clutch - start driving normally. total this may take 1-1.5 seconds

does anybody have tips on how to drive faster (like the same as everyone else on the road) + smooth?

here are two videos that show what i sorta wanna do. The first 10 seconds for each video is all you need to really watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9eCB8754Z4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umnG_JjdVXM&feature=related

 

[DJEuphoria]

you just gotta practice. pretty soon you'll develop a "feel" for the car and it takes all the thinking out of the experience. you just naturally know how and when to shift.

 

[CodeB4U]

you just gotta practice. pretty soon you'll develop a "feel" for the car and it takes all the thinking out of the experience. you just naturally know how and when to shift.

That ^^^ or take some driving lessons at a performance school. (If your bank roll is good) Or play forza, you will become a master if you play forza 3 (jk about forza)

 

[CMD]

As mentioned, the more you drive the more you'll develop a connection with the car and the smoothness will improve naturally. On a side note, the video's were a treat to watch. The roads look like they'd be amazingly fun and it just makes me look forward to summer and all the snow here being gone. I picked my car up in mid november and only got to put about 1000km on it before the cold wet stuff arrived and my winter tires got put on. It'll be a real nice to get to do some spirited driving with summer tires and on dry roads

 

[Mk6Chick1]

^^Definitely what everyone else said. I just learned to drive stick about a year and a half ago...it was definitely an adventure. I was lucky enough to have a beater mk3 to learn the basics on, but the difference between that clutch and the mk6 clutch was like night and day. I was also lucky enough to have a patient BF (who's been driving stick since he was 14). Now when I drive and he's in the car he says I drive like I've been doing it for years.

It still blows people away though when I tell them I drive stick. :thumbsup:

 

[miikez.]

a short shifter might help.

 

[APdubbin]

I dont know if you have noticed with our GTI's but theres a lot of dead space on the clutch. If you go about 3/4 of the way down, thats enough to disengage the gear but also allowing you to slip into the nest gear quickly but smoothly. A lot of people dont like to slip the clutch while shifting hard, but if you want to get smoothness under hard accelaration you can try that.
But to be honest, based off your videos you drive very well and shift at right times :thumbsup:. I guess all it is is practice and getting used to the car like everyone else said.
Sick videos tho man:w00t:

 

[fatty@golfmk6.com]

I dont know if you have noticed with our GTI's but theres a lot of dead space on the clutch. If you go about 3/4 of the way down, thats enough to disengage the gear but also allowing you to slip into the nest gear quickly but smoothly. A lot of people dont like to slip the clutch while shifting hard, but if you want to get smoothness under hard accelaration you can try that.
But to be honest, based off your videos you drive very well and shift at right times :thumbsup:. I guess all it is is practice and getting used to the car like everyone else said.
Sick videos tho man:w00t:

those weren't my videos :laugh: those are just videos that i found so everyone can see what i'm trying to achieve when i drive! i'm not trying to race my car or drive it hard but i want to at least drive it to keep up with everyone else on the road

 

[APdubbin]

:readthethread: to me, shit lol
But anyways, just try finding the spot your clutch disengages and only push down that far instead of pushing it to the floor.

 

[McQueen77]

i'm finally able to drive 6speed speed smoothly ... the only thing I have to work on now is driving smooth + faster.

In order to shift smoothly, I take my time changing gears and letting out the clutch but as a result, the car behind me is slamming on their brakes and 2 cars end up passing me on the next lane.

Whenever I try to drive faster, the car jerks and i feel like a noob when it jerks

this is how i'm driving. 1st gear - accelerate to 3k - let off gas completely - step on clutch all the way down- shift to 2nd - let the clutch up maybe 25% so that it connects- step on the gas a little - let off clutch - start driving normally. total this may take 1-1.5 seconds

does anybody have tips on how to drive faster (like the same as everyone else on the road) + smooth?

First of all, it is encouraging to me that there are still a lot of young drivers who are opting for manual transmission and learning the ins and outs of driving a standard. I don't care what anyone in the DSG or automatic camp says about faster shift times or milliseconds faster 0-60 times, we aren't race car drivers on a track and thats not what its about for me. Anyone can push or pull a paddle or mash a gas pedal and go fast. Once you master the manual you will experience a fluid 'oneness' with your vehicle that cannot be found with a couple of steering wheel mounted paddles. You aren't telling the ECU to shift gears for you, you are shifting them yourself and feeling that power come up through the clutch, in the gear shift etc. Sorry to get all kung fu on your there but I commend you for carrying on the art of the standard tranny. And to do it correctly is an art. I mean, my wife has driven stick her whole life and she still isn't very good at it. Doesn't rev match, shifts too low in the tac, lugs the engine, etc. etc. Sure, she can operate it, but she isn't skilled at the subtle techniques that make it so rewarding.

What you are describing sounds like you are looking at changing gears in separate steps when really, you should strive for making it all one fluid motion. When you describe completely letting off the gas, pushing the clutch in, shifting etc. try thinking about a very subtle blip of the trottle a millisecond before you push in the clutch and think about shifting the lever almost instantly after the clutch is pushed in etc.. try to close the gap in the time it takes for you to do each action and you'll be able to do everything with more speed and precision. I'm probably not explaining it right but you'll get it.

 

[APdubbin]

First of all, it is encouraging to me that there are still a lot of young drivers who are opting for manual transmission and learning the ins and outs of driving a standard. I don't care what anyone in the DSG or automatic camp says about faster shift times or milliseconds faster 0-60 times, we aren't race car drivers on a track and thats not what its about for me. Anyone can push or pull a paddle or mash a gas pedal and go fast. Once you master the manual you will experience a fluid 'oneness' with your vehicle that cannot be found with a couple of steering wheel mounted paddles. You aren't telling the ECU to shift gears for you, you are shifting them yourself and feeling that power come up through the clutch, in the gear shift etc. Sorry to get all kung fu on your there but I commend you for carrying on the art of the standard tranny. And to do it correctly is an art. I mean, my wife has driven stick her whole life and she still isn't very good at it. Doesn't rev match, shifts too low in the tac, lugs the engine, etc. etc. Sure, she can operate it, but she isn't skilled at the subtle techniques that make it so rewarding.

What you are describing sounds like you are looking at changing gears in separate steps when really, you should strive for making it all one fluid motion. When you describe completely letting off the gas, pushing the clutch in, shifting etc. try thinking about a very subtle blip of the trottle a millisecond before you push in the clutch and think about shifting the lever almost instantly after the clutch is pushed in etc.. try to close the gap in the time it takes for you to do each action and you'll be able to do everything with more speed and precision. I'm probably not explaining it right but you'll get it.

+1
Well said

 

[DJEuphoria]

Damn mcqueen that was perfect. Damn near brought a tear to my eye.

 

[fatty@golfmk6.com]

What you are describing sounds like you are looking at changing gears in separate steps when really, you should strive for making it all one fluid motion. When you describe completely letting off the gas, pushing the clutch in, shifting etc. try thinking about a very subtle blip of the trottle a millisecond before you push in the clutch and think about shifting the lever almost instantly after the clutch is pushed in etc.. try to close the gap in the time it takes for you to do each action and you'll be able to do everything with more speed and precision. I'm probably not explaining it right but you'll get it.

if you blip the throttle before you switch gears wouldn't that bring the rpms up a little? when i'm trying to shift up, i try to make sure i'm in the right gear and rpm before i let go of the clutch. For example shifting from 2nd to 3rd, when i put the gear into 3rd, the rpms are at around 2000 and thats when i slowly let go of the clutch to let it connect, then i drive normal again. The strange thing is that i get the weird "dead zone" sometimes in 1st and 2nd gear. Never in 3rd or 4th etc.
the dead zone in 2nd gear is the only thing that is slowing me down cause i gotta wait for it to go away before the gas starts responding. is there a way to not activate it or activate it less? if i can figure this out i'm sure i'll be fine

 

[Erwan1]

Just keep driving. Practice makes perfect, end of story.

 

[miikez.]

if you blip the throttle before you switch gears wouldn't that bring the rpms up a little? when i'm trying to shift up, i try to make sure i'm in the right gear and rpm before i let go of the clutch. For example shifting from 2nd to 3rd, when i put the gear into 3rd, the rpms are at around 2000 and thats when i slowly let go of the clutch to let it connect, then i drive normal again. The strange thing is that i get the weird "dead zone" sometimes in 1st and 2nd gear. Never in 3rd or 4th etc.
the dead zone in 2nd gear is the only thing that is slowing me down cause i gotta wait for it to go away before the gas starts responding. is there a way to not activate it or activate it less? if i can figure this out i'm sure i'll be fine

if you're referring to the "dead zone" as the thing that happens when you shift up and the car almost feels like it can't accelerate then what you should do is just let the rpms go up a little higher before you shift. I typically try to shift right before 3000 but there has been times when I shift up and i get that dead zone.