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Manual Driving

ChicityGTI

Passed Driver's Ed
Don't mean to threadjack but has anyone experienced a significant difference in how long the car holds the revs in neutral when the air conditioning is on?

I found that I have to shift a lot faster or *gasp* double clutch to keep things smooth when I'm driving with the air on.

Thoughts, suggestions?
 

jons

New member
yeah, 1st to 2nd was hard to learn. i've only just gotten this down myself. really, you're just getting used to the clutch in the car that you own. don't let go of the clutch so quickly, ease off it while you ease on the throttle. actually, practice that in every upshift, and you'll get better at it.

slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

so this probably isn't the best way to do it, but what i did to figure out how to make better 1-2 shifts was: rev somewhere above where i knew the engine needed to be at the next highest gear to run at a respectable clip, and not bog. not very high, mind you, but definitively above. consequently, when i shifted, the synchros would pull me right down to where i needed to be, and it'd show me on the tach as the needle came down to it. if the throttle is open it'll even give a little bounce to catch your eye.

so then you just make a mental snapshot of that: "1st to 2nd, 10mph, tach drops to X rpm." like i said though, just a bit higher. i didn't have to rev beyond 1800rpm to find, for example, 1200rpm is just above bogging the engine in my driveway. you don't need to be at 3k to find the shift point from 1st to 2nd.

i don't believe this does any damage of any kind, even though it might be a bad habit. what it does do is help you know how much to "ease" on the throttle when you're easing off the clutch: if the needle drops below that sweet spot as you're getting your shift technique down, you'll know to give it more, and try again next time. if you're giving it too much, you'll know to ease slower, or pause and wait, and in the future give it less. sooner or later you'll be shifting exactly when you need to, taking exactly as long as you should to do it, and maxing out your fuel efficiency. hope that's useful.
 

madvillian

Banned
not an expert or anything and not trying to condescend to anyone but you do not want to slip the clutch during shifts to smooth them out, that is horrible advice. there's also no reason to apply throttle before engaging the clutch in the next gear unless you are race shifting and timing the drive by wire lag so that actual throttle is being applied the instant the clutch is actually engaged.

your 1-2 shift is rougher because there is a bigger gap in the gear ratios, and you're not timing the rev drop right. look at the rpm the car is at in 2nd gear at the speed you want to shift at, and then make sure you're letting revs drop so that you land at that rpm while you're shifting from 1-2.
 

Burntchicken

Ready to race!
To help the jerky-ness, don't feather the gas, give it more gas while getting to the catch point of the clutch pedal, and then softly and smoothly let go of the clutch
 

BrianfCheng1

Ready to race!
youll also notice the difference once the car breaks in. she'll roar a little louder. honestly, after driving a while. the car will get used to you and you used to it. kinda like a sync up on avatar..lol

word up haha! My MKVI GTI is my first manual also. i had the same problems you were having and i just got used to it. i have about a thousand miles on it now and my 6-legged horse (avatar) is my best friend now, and knows me well!
 

KanDyWyte1

Ready to race!
I commend these guys for trying to explain something that is so hard to put in words... it's 1000x's easier to just show you how to do it!

If you find yourself in Ft Lauderdale, FL; stop by my place and I'll show ya how it's done homie. Shit. I'll even do an example of burning the clutch (with your car of course). Haha!
 

GTI'10man

Ready to race!
Don't mean to threadjack but has anyone experienced a significant difference in how long the car holds the revs in neutral when the air conditioning is on?

I found that I have to shift a lot faster or *gasp* double clutch to keep things smooth when I'm driving with the air on.

Thoughts, suggestions?

Same thing happens to me when the a/c is on dude. I gotta shift a little faster to avoid that big jerk. A BIG jerk. I was surprised the first time this happened to me lol. but yea i think its normal
 

saucer

Leadfoot
subscribed for tips.

My TDI clutch has the longest travel of any car I've ever owned and I don't want to eat the clutch up after 50k, so I'm already paranoid about riding it or burning between gears.

It seems like some are saying to apply no gas while shifting, and simply slowly let off the clutch - but I was taught to always apply a bit of gas to keep the shifts smooth. And living in a hilly town, I've got to give ALOT of gas to get going on a hill from a stop.
 

roadking26

Passed Driver's Ed
Practice does make perfect, especially if this is your first manual -- keep at it and you'll not only get better, but you'll figure out why some people won't have anything but a stick, especially in a car like the GTI.

Sorry to contribute to the msg jack Chicity started, but Chi -- I have the same observation regarding how the car behaves with the AC. It seems like the car hates the AC and punishes you for turning it on. Under AC load it seems to be hunting around for a fuel/ignition map that it wants to use and doesn't really find one. The car is definitely not as smooth to drive with the AC on. Somebody is now going to tell me that it's me (and by association, Chicity as well :) ) -- probably is, and I need more practice with driving it with the AC on.
 

cnimativ

Ready to race!
Question for all you experienced drivers. How do you accelerate in a faster pace from idle? My acceleration is really slow (slower than my other AT cars)... Any tips?
 

circulator

Passed Driver's Ed
Question for all you experienced drivers. How do you accelerate in a faster pace from idle? My acceleration is really slow (slower than my other AT cars)... Any tips?

Do you mean a standing start? Meaning you are stopped and want to take off quickly?

It is tricky in a front drive car from my experience but generally applying the power steady and smooth works the best. That way you can keep traction and avoid just burning tires.

Oh and TSC should be OFF!
 

cnimativ

Ready to race!
Do you mean a standing start? Meaning you are stopped and want to take off quickly?

It is tricky in a front drive car from my experience but generally applying the power steady and smooth works the best. That way you can keep traction and avoid just burning tires.

Oh and TSC should be OFF!

Yes, standing start. Not take off quickly as in the case of drag racing, just aiming for a standing start speed similar to my A3.

TSC? How do I turn that off?
 
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