I’m practicing for my driving licence and I’m going to driving school, just out of curiosity though I’ve looking on YouTube how to start and run a car and I’ve seen at least 3 different methods, I dunno which one is the correct. Things like the order when you release a pedal or when you need to press the clutch keep switching…

  • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
    1·
    11 days ago

    Put your feet on the brake (right foot) and clutch (left foot), press both fully. Release the handbrake.

    Put the first gear or the reverse gear in, depending on the direction you want your car to go at first.

    Remove your right foot from the brake completely, the left one from the clutch at the same time very slowly until you can feel that the car is moving. When that happens, keep it in that position for 2 or 3 seconds, you will get a feeling for it over time. Then release the clutch completely.

    After you’ve released the brake, you can already slowly and carefully press the gas pedal if you want, that will cause the car to get moving faster than if you don’t.

    • cranakis@reddthat.com
      1·
      11 days ago

      It’s been a few years for me but the last manual I had would stall if you didn’t give it a little gas before the clutch was fully released. Maybe I wasn’t holding it in that sweet spot you mentioned long enough, before letting the clutch go completely?

      • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
        1·
        11 days ago

        There are cars where you might need to add gas, and ones where you don’t. The above definitely worked in the car I learned to drive in.

      • Shard@lemmy.world
        1·
        11 days ago

        OP’s instructions are incomplete and will lead to a stall, especially if car is uphill.

        You are right in that most cars need to be given gas between half clutch and full clutch or it will stall. There are some vans and trucks where the engines have enough torque to allow you to dive from half clutch to full clutch without ever giving it gas. But again that would never work uphill.

    • Shard@lemmy.world
      1·
      11 days ago

      Wait. This isn’t correct. You need the handbrake engaged to start this process.

      You do this on a hill and the car is going to roll backwards and you’ll never get the engine in gear without stalling it.

      1. Clutch fully in, Foot brake in, handbrake engaged
      2. Footbrake off, right left shifts to gas pedal (in case you need to rev the engine for more power)
      3. Gently back off the clutch until you feel it bite into half clutch. Slowly release the handbrake as you progress into step 4.
      4. Gently give it some gas while you continue easing off the clutch until clutch is fully engaged.
      5. If you are going uphill, you need to give it more gas in step 4.

      Edit: this might be helpful.

      https://youtu.be/ARHI8-EaLsA?t=37s

      • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
        1·
        11 days ago

        You are right that if your car isn’t level (especially if you want to move uphill), the process is somewhat more challenging and you need to be careful not to roll down the hill, but I have never been taught to use the handbrake even in those situations and have not ever done it that way (for context, I live in Austria, i.e. I have driven a manual transmission car on mountainous roads many times by now).