I know it sounds really really stupid. I recently purchased my yellow manual 997 carrera s. But the problem is I have never driven a manual before! I have several problems:
1. I find it very very difficult to find the engagement point on the clutch, so I always stall the engine. Do you guys have any tips of finding the point?
2. when i am turning a corner at 5km/h, which gear should I use? If I use the second gear, the engine will stall under 10km. however, someone told me that never shift to first gear when your car is moving. I am very confused about what operations (clutch, brake, gas) should I do when turning such corner.
3.what is the minimum speed on each gear on a carrera s before the engine stalls?
4.what is appropriate speed for downshifting on each gear? if I am travelling at 120km at 6 gear and want to downshift to 5 gear, is it possible for such operation? And should I give some gas when releasing the clutch for a smooth shift? should I release the clutch quickly or slowly?

Thank you very much for answering my questions!

 

it is very frustrating to own such a beautiful and powerful car, but you dont know how to drive it.... So I want to learn manual driving so quick as possible.
All sport car I have driven are all automatic. on an automatic, its simple, just step on the gas and you dont need to worry about anything.

 

Wow, I would try to learn in some cheap car. You don't want to wreck or damage your expensive toy. Learning how to drive a manual car is a matter of practicing over and over. The most important part is clutch control. If you notice the car is stalling, just press the clutch. Disengaging the clutch should be slow, at the same time accelerating the car, There should be a "friction zone" while pressing or depressing the clutch. Yes, you should not throw it into 1st while the car is moving unless is going very slow. Good luck and be safe!! Keep us posted!! Enjoy...

 

Starting from neutral, rev up to about 1500 rpm, let the clutch pedal out. This is a good technique to avoid stalling from a stand still for beginner. Trick is not to over rev it avoid 2000 rpm

When entering into a corner, u should do shifting before corner entry. As said, you should not down shift into first unless you are under 5 mph or going up on an incline.

I applaud your interest in a manual. It is not easy. I bought a $2k Honda to learn. In the end, u hv to be comfortable w it. Hope you find that soon.

Btw, always park with the car in gear. Don't rely on the hand brake alone.

 

Just up my alley since I bought my 996 TT a year ago without knowing how to drive a manual.

Definitely try to get some lessons on an old car if you can. In the Bay Area that ended up being very difficult as you can't rent a manual car anymore, very few places even teach you manual anymore and those that do all require you to bring your own car. I ended up finding a guy through Craiglist with an old pickup truck that gave me a two hour lesson.

Due to the clutch assist spring I had major issues with clutch feel (and was constantly stalling) until I removed it.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic...pring-removal/

Best thing I ever did. Gave me much more feel over the bite point which is huge when you're first learning a manual.

As someone said above. Practice, practice and practice.

It's going to be stressful at the beginning so try to go out early in the morning when there's little traffic.

Good luck and have fun!

 

if i keep it around 1500rev, it moves very slowly. how can i start the car very quickly? ( i know how to do it in an automatic, which is floor the gas. But in a manual, i think that will ruin the clutch.
also, since i have to turn the corner at 5km/h, my engine will stall at that speed on second gear, meanwhile i cannot shift to first gear. what should I do? I am confused

 

what is the difference after removing the spring? Will the clutch still automatically lift up?

 

"what is the difference after removing the spring? Will the clutch still automatically lift up?"

Yes it still automatically lifts. It's a bit harder to hold down when stopped at a light. The big difference is you can feather the clutch and it's no longer an on/off type engagement. You can much more easily feel when it's starting to bite.

 

My advice would be to find a closed industrial area and practice off the public roads !!!


You can practice finding the biting point of the clutch on a small incline .
Rev to 3000 with the handbrake on , and slowly let out the clutch until you feel it bite .
It will be slightly straining against the handbrake , once you ET off the handbrake your left foot is in control ...
Practice holding still , letting t roll back , and moving upwards in a cycle until you have full control of the car and can make it do exactly what you want on an hill .
Once you have mastered that try it will ever decreasing revs .
After a while it will become second nature and you can balance the car on tick-over .


Forget about going fast .
Learn to drive smooth first ...
Practice changing dead-on 3000rpm .
You should quickly get used to the engine and will be driving smoothly from the off .

As you learn to drive faster , you should be practicing fast gear changes with the engine off !!

All this will become clear once you are confident to be driving fast ... Loading the transmission for a drag start , fast gear changes withouth thinking , in tune with your car etc.

You will soon learn the shift points both up and down through the gears by listening to the engine .

Study a gear chart online and it will tell you how fast you can max in each gear .
This may ell you learn what revs/speed it s safe to change down a gear withouth over-revving the engine .

But , by this stage you will be ready for some friendly advice from an experienced driver on the safety of a track

 

Maybe someone from your area would be willing to give you a tutorial on how to drive a manual.

 

The 997 is pretty torquey down low. Believe it or not on flat ground if you release the clutch slowly enough you actually start out without any throttle. The key is to go real slow with you left foot until you find the catch point. Once you've practiced starting and stopping a bunch muscle memory will take over.

But seriously I'd buy a beater civic for $1k and learn on that for a week first.

 

Actually, I find this all to be astonishing. Why would anyone get a 911 as their first time with a manual?

Get a crappy 10 year old manual trans car and learn how to drive it properly for months. Then get back in the 911. Also, put aside $2000 to get yourself a new clutch next year.
Otherwise, the previous tips above are more helpful.

 

I agree with the advice to start somewhere off the public roads, like an industrial area or a shopping mall before it opens. I disagree about learning in a cheaper car, as I found my 911 to be a great car for my kids to learn a MT, and it's pretty resilient. Good luck!

Also, I admire that you jumped in feet-first like that! I almost bought my first Porsche without having ever driven one. Almost.

 

, That's because I overestimated myself. I thought manual is not that difficult and I can learn fast. But that's not the case

 

Where abouts are you located?