question about taking off

lauren05

Hi all,
I've been learning to drive and my progress has been a little bit slow. I've been having a bit of difficulty with the bite/clutch meaning I wouldn't be confident driving in traffic yet as I fear cutting out too much.

It also takes me a while to get started through the process I was taught and which I'm assuming is correct. I've been starting by slowly releasing my foot up off the clutch and then when I feel movement pressing down on the accelerator and coming up off the clutch.

However I feel like this movement is taking me a long time and I recently went out driving with a friend who told me she always starts with clutch in and then releasing and accelerating at the same time, rather than just coming up off the clutch first.

I tried it this way and found myself being able to stop and start much quicker which boosted my confidence but now I feel really confused. Which should I be doing? Releasing the clutch to a point before accelerating and taking it fully off or just slowly releasing the clutch and pressing the accelerator at the same time?

slinky2000

Most people do it by muscle memory and to be honest I'm not sure what technique I use. I think I do the 2 at the same time but it's quite fast so it's hard to tell.

Just practice and practice. It will be come second nature after a while.

mickdw

You are thinking too much about the process and ignoring what you are actually doing.
The long and short of it is that you need alittle bit of accelerator at the point of taking off so do your own thing until it becomes second nature.
its probably easiest for a learner to rev the engine alittle, a very small bit, hold that rev, then work the clutch without worrying about the other pedal.

lauren05

Thanks for the responses. I probably am overthinking it too much which causes me to get stressed!
Just gotta keep ploughing on

doolox

Do this stuff first in a deserted car park or yard where no other traffic can annoy you or distract you.


Clutch in and select first gear.
Rev the car to about 1,100 rpm. Cars normally idle at 700 rpm so it is a slight touch on the accelerator. Bring the clutch up to the biting point until you feel the car move. Let the car move about 3- 5 feet then increase revs to about 2,000 and ease the clutch out fully.

Get the car up to about 10kph, Clutch in, 2nd gear, rev again, up to 20 kph clutch in 3rd gear etc.......

At the start it is probably safer to leave the car in 3rd gear for intense city driving, 4th gear for windy country lanes at 50 or so and only engage 5th for speeds in excess of 60.


When I was learning I practiced in an empty goods yard in late evening when no one was around to get in my way and distract and annoy me. I flogged the car to death practicing gears, clutch, hill starts, three point turns etc until I could do them fluently. In my opinion it is madness doing these control procedures for the first time in your life on a busy road. Too much is happening too quickly for that stuff on modern Irish roads.

A couple of cardboard boxes placed at suitable spaces were used to practice getting through gaps at speed and for parallel parking etc.

While it is possible that the car will conk it will become possible with practice to let the clutch out SLOWLY on a idling engine on a level road while pootling along at 3 to 5 kph, a handy skill to have in parades, funerals or exiting race meetings etc..

Good luck.

cantdecide

You might be instinctively trying to push and release with your leg from above which will give you little control.

This is the first method I would suggest but if it isn't useful, just keeping trying variations on your method until it starts working a little better.



Try pushing the clutch in with your toes and release trying to get a sense of where the biting point is roughly. When you are roughly at the biting point try touching your heel to the floor. You can then roll your ankle back using your heel as a pivot point. Focus on a smooth ankle motion rather than what your toes are doing with the pedal.

If this feels better, the next thing to try before releasing the clutch fully is hold the clutch at the biting point and give the throttle a gentle push (also using your ankle not your toes ) a fraction of second before releasing the clutch. This should make the whole clutch release more progressive. You don't need to be very gentle. if it doesn't work very well you'll either stall or the engine will rev up for a second and both of things are perfectly normal parts of learning. Don't be afraid to stall and don't be afraid of releasing the clutch and seeing what happens. You'll know when it's going well.

What you can do as an exercise once you get your clutch release a bit better is simply. Move off and then just brake to a stop and move again. Repeat until muscle memory and a greater feel kicks in.

You really must create exercises that focus on the things that aren't coming naturally rather than going on the same practice runs that are generally going well and hoping that everything that isn't going so well will eventually click. I think that when learning to drive you need to feel challenged every time you sit in the drivers seat for the first period of time and once elements of your driving improve, identify the next challenge and move on.