Q for all manual drivers out there

[khaydin]

So I bought a speed3 a few months ago and this is my first manual transmission car. Is it normal to experience leg pains around the knee with the leg that operates the clutch? It usually happens to me when I'm driving in traffic or on highways with lots of street lights that require lots of shifting. It feels like my leg needs to be cracked, but I can't do it while in the car, I usually have to pull over and do it. What I mean by cracked is standing up and grabbing your ankle and pulling it up till you hear your knee crack, makes the same noise as cracking your knuckles really. After I crack it though i'm good to go again for atleast another hour.

Does this happen at all to people who drive a manual in traffic or places with lots of lights for long periods of time? I'm hoping that the more I drive my leg and knee will get stronger and this won't be that much of an issue. Other than that nuisance I love the car and I find manual to be a lot more fun than automatic!

 

[GoProtege]

So I bought a speed3 a few months ago and this is my first manual transmission car. Is it normal to experience leg pains around the knee with the leg that operates the clutch? It usually happens to me when I'm driving in traffic or on highways with lots of street lights that require lots of shifting. It feels like my leg needs to be cracked, but I can't do it while in the car, I usually have to pull over and do it. What I mean by cracked is standing up and grabbing your ankle and pulling it up till you hear your knee crack, makes the same noise as cracking your knuckles really. After I crack it though i'm good to go again for atleast another hour.

Does this happen at all to people who drive a manual in traffic or places with lots of lights for long periods of time? I'm hoping that the more I drive my leg and knee will get stronger and this won't be that much of an issue. Other than that nuisance I love the car and I find manual to be a lot more fun than automatic!

It'll probably go away after a few weeks, after you build up some muscle. If it doesn't then you could be like me and have crap knees.

 

[eddienyny]

Lol... I was going to make a rude comment about chicken legs... but anyways have you tried adjusting your seat? You might not be in the best position if you're feeling pain after a while. Once in a while my leg gets a little fatigued after spirited shifting but that should be as bad as it gets.

 

[GoFast]

you have to play around with your seat adjustments to find a comfortable position for your left leg to be shifting. if my seat is out of adjustment it is uncomfortable for my knee. So just play around with it and find the best spot for you

 

[khaydin]

Well I have my seat in a position where I don't have to stretch my leg to push the clutch pedal to the floor, I had the seat moved back a few clicks before but it was harder to shift gears smoothly since my leg had to stretch to push it down to the floor. Last week was actually when I moved the seat forward and its so much easier to shift and shift smoothly now, I just get some leg pains sometimes. Maybe I have my seat too high, I'll try making it lower or maybe higher and see what happens.

Thanks for the input, and no I don't have chicken legs! I actually had a tiny bone break in my knee when I was younger and had to do lots of physical therapy for it, maybe thats having some effect. I dunno!

 

[GoProtege]

Yeah, I have bad bones in my knees too and occasionally it will hurt when I push the clutch, but it is only occasionally.

 

[Kuro3]

yeah, maybe your seat is too far back, I can do a lot of clutch play with just my foot. So if I do a lot of driving, especially with lots of shifting, then I only need to maybe crack my ankle, but that I can do just by taking my foot off of any pedal and flexing it forward till it cracks....but that only happens when I do 5-8 hour drives with lots of traffic...bring your seat closer and see what happens....I know my sister learned how to drive stick when she had mono, and her legs were always tired, but I don't remember if it was a joint problem or muscular...

 

[Scott]

You should just be glad that the clutch on the MS3 isn't as harsh as some of the others out there.

It'll take time, but you'll get used to it. Try putting the seat more upright, or closer to the seat, or just adjust your sitting angle. I've got a bad back and knee, so I can understand how you feel. I found that sitting upright helped both my back and my knee when driving over long distances.

 

[khaydin]

Well my seat is as far forward as i can go comfortably and I can use the clutch very well in this position. Right now I have the back of the seat so that sometimes I slouch a little but only if i'm shifting, just cruising i sit upright with correct posture. I've tried it just one click up more and it seems uncomfortable its more than a 90 degree angle. The seat height could be what's doing it, I raised the seat a lot actually.

Oh, and I've been driving it for about 5 months, I've just never been in a lot of traffic or had to drive through areas with lots of stop and go for hours at a time. So I'm hoping its just my seating position isn't optimal and not a problem I'm always gonna have because of my knee.

 

[GoFast]

yeah definitely try dropping the seat a bit, i noticed that helps alot. i drive at least 100 miles a day and really dont have alot of problems even in stop and go

 

[Kuro3]

I have my seat at the lowest setting

 

[crystalmeth3]

i have been driving stick for years but if i am in a traffic jam outside of philly, then my left leg kills. i literally support my left leg with my hand when i have the clutch in waiting to creep forward. however, i just learned that holding your clutch in for long periods of time, instead of shifting to neutral, will cause your throwout bearing to prematurly wear.
you will get less of this pain as time goes on and your leg adjusts. The clutch in mazdas are hydraulic and not cable, which makes them pretty light... even still, have you ever tried putting the clutch in with your right foot, feels really heavy. have you ever tried left foot braking? you will prolly slam the brake to the floor. so dont try while driving.

 

[clos561]

You should just be glad that the clutch on the MS3 isn't as harsh as some of the others out there.

It'll take time, but you'll get used to it. Try putting the seat more upright, or closer to the seat, or just adjust your sitting angle. I've got a bad back and knee, so I can understand how you feel. I found that sitting upright helped both my back and my knee when driving over long distances.

my friends 01 bullitt mustangs clutch is harsh to hold in........

 

[meha11]

"your leg should be slightly bent with the clutch fully pressed down to the metal".
This was the first thing my driving instructor told me when i first sat in his car on my 17 birthday 1/2 a life time ago.

Your lucky you dont drive a jeep, talk about a heavy clutch, the mazda is a peice of cake compared to most other cars i have driven especialy older ones.

Hope you get used to it soon.

 

[yakov456]

In my old car when I first started driving stick, I feared heavy traffic. So many times early on, my calve muscle in the left leg would start to cramp up sometimes. What a nightmare. Luckily its used to it now.

 

[whitey4311]

Well my seat is as far forward as i can go comfortably and I can use the clutch very well in this position. Right now I have the back of the seat so that sometimes I slouch a little but only if i'm shifting, just cruising i sit upright with correct posture. I've tried it just one click up more and it seems uncomfortable its more than a 90 degree angle. The seat height could be what's doing it, I raised the seat a lot actually.

Oh, and I've been driving it for about 5 months, I've just never been in a lot of traffic or had to drive through areas with lots of stop and go for hours at a time. So I'm hoping its just my seating position isn't optimal and not a problem I'm always gonna have because of my knee.

I'm a PTA and you have some more issues then just the car man. When there is direct joint pain at the knee you are likely looking at meniscus problems. At some point in your life you may have injured it and tore the meniscus.

Dont worry mine is going to be s*** when im 40yrs old as well. I already get some pain with low bending and twisting motions from my dirt bike accidents.

Do the Appletons test which is as follows:

Lay face down and bend at the knee so that your foot is pointed to the ceiling and your knee is 90deg.

Next have someone press directly down on your foot so that the pressure is directed toward the knee and twist the foot inward and outward.

This should duplicate some joint pain and indicate a meniscus tear and can be determined if its medial or latteral depending on which way the foot is twisted when you feel pain.

The other method is to squat down and walk like a duck. Hard to expalin but basically squat your ass down to the floot but dont touch it then try and walk forward. This should indicate a posterior meniscus tear.

Either way I hate to tell you but its an injury and not your clutch. You are correct in changing the angle at which you sit and possibly try to your your ankle more then your knee. In other words point your foot to engage the clutch and not press your flat foot to the clutch since that will translate the pressure to the knee. Using your foot would allow the ankle to absorb the pressure.

Good luck man.

 

[Kuro3]

I study chinese medicine and I agree with Whitey....it does sound like you have other problems besides the clutch....maybe you can get your knee looked at?....dunno what your insurance is like, but depending on where you are, there's some good stuff you can do to ake care of that.....Adjusting the seat distance and using your ankle to shift are good short-term solutions but it seems like it's a chronic problem in the first place...


cheers

 

[khaydin]

Well I ended up having to move my seat back to where I had it before. The pains started when I slid the seat forward one or two notches to see what if any difference there would be. It sucks though because it's so much easier to do the clutch/throttle movements more precisely when you're closer.

 

[whitey4311]

The test I described will replicate your knee pain and test for meniscus tear is nearly the same position you are putting your knee into with being closer to the peddle.

You are now at more degrees of flexion sitting closer then you are being further back. The flexion component must have something to do with dublicating the pain so sitting further back is a quick fix.

As far as having it checked that is a good idea possibly because a small tear could produce a larger tear in the meniscus and create more problems. With having said that I havent had mine looked at in some time but I dont have frequent pains like you do in such non taxing movements such as peddle pushing. This just tells me that your might be more advnaced then you think and at this point I would be getting it checked.

I am going toward the worst possible scenario so check smaller things like pattelar tendonitis or IT band tightness. There could be several things as little as a leg length issue that is either true or apparent meaning born with it or due to a hip being out of alignment.

The body is like a chain and a issue at the foot means an issue at the knee and so on. Get yourself a RX for PT and see what they come up with.

 

[khaydin]

Stupid unreliable body! I can't wait till they release some good aftermarket parts for the body. The body has been out so long, I wonder wtf is taking so long! Almost as bad as aftermarket parts for the MS3!

I don't have a job right now so no health insurance, after I get a new job I'll try and get it checked out. I think it's just related to how I move my foot from the clutch to the stomp pad thingy on left during heavy traffic. I kind of pivot my foot from the clutch to there with the ball of my foot on the floor. I should just be picking up my whole leg to move my foot and not doing that pivoting motion back and forth.