Launching on Hlls

[MacAttack7]

Anybody got any tips?
I suck.............even after 2,000 miles !!!!

I still have to use the parking brake method, otherwise I roll backwards & then do the panic over-revving of the engine, or I just over-rev to begin with without rolling backwards.

Either way I'm destroying my clutch.

Around here I'm on one uphill traffic jam after another. I can't really feel the clutch engagement & the throttle's response doesn't seem to be incredibly consistent & I can barely hear the engine especially when it's raining. So if anyone has uphill launching mastered in this car I could use some tips ! Thanks.

 

[Sarein]

I can't say I've ever found it a problem other than just after my test. To get over that I just went out practicing hill-starts on quiet roads, save the traffic panic.

 

[gvblake22]

Oh god, hills are the worst! I feel your pain Mac. When I was learning, my dad made me go up a couple hilly roads to practice start and stop. I half-panicked every time when there wasn't even any cars behind me. Then when one actually pulled up behind me I thought I was going to roll into them for sure. About s*** my pants...

I have no advice for you here, sorry. I think you're just gonna have to do what Sarein said and find a side road to practice on without traffic. Just practice. A LOT.

 

[MacAttack7]

So how do you guys do it?
Is it a real quick see-saw motion with the feet, or do you bring the clutch up to a certain point first, or what?

I googled a bunch of techniques for it, but I haven't had success with any of them.
I'm ok with the parking brake method, but it takes me too long & I even screw that up half the time.

 

[Lboogs]

are you having problems do hill launches in general, or is it specific to the Mazda 2? Hill starts were horrible for me in the beginning only b/c I was trying to be fancy before my time. I didn't want to hold the clutch at the biting point, I wanted to just clutch in add gas and go. It takes practice bro, that is the only advice I can give. Practice practice practice. Now after two years it is second nature, doesn't take any thought at all. Like my mom used to tell me, you have to crawl before you walk

Just start get used to clutch engagement point, I'm not saying to hold it there the entire time, but when you know it is time to move just{clutch in, shift to 1st, hold clutch to bite point, release the hand brake, let off the foot brake add some throttle and let go of the clutch and go}. Start slow until you are comfortable, before you know it you will be doing it w/o the hand brake. Good luck.

check out this site for techniques, videos etc:
www.standardshift.com all your questions will be answered here

 

[MacAttack7]

are you having problems do hill launches in general, or is it specific to the Mazda 2? Hill starts were horrible for me in the beginning only b/c I was trying to be fancy before my time. I didn't want to hold the clutch at the biting point, I wanted to just clutch in add gas and go. It takes practice bro, that is the only advice I can give. Practice practice practice. Now after two years it is second nature, doesn't take any thought at all. Like my mom used to tell me, you have to crawl before you walk

Just start get used to clutch engagement point, I'm not saying to hold it there the entire time, but when you know it is time to move just{clutch in, shift to 1st, hold clutch to bite point, release the hand brake, let off the foot brake add some throttle and let go of the clutch and go}. Start slow until you are comfortable, before you know it you will be doing it w/o the hand brake. Good luck.

check out this site for techniques, videos etc:
www.standardshift.com all your questions will be answered here

Thanks for the tips.
The last time I owned a stick shift was a 1993 small pickup truck & I found that to be pretty easy.
It seems like you have to be much more precise with the Mazda. It's really quiet, the throttle is very sensitive & maybe a little inconsistent in it's response, and the clutch bite point seems to have a smaller window of opportunity than my truck. I guess I'll just have to find a hill & practice.

 

[Sarein]

It has alot to do with finding the biting point, if you're not 100% on it practice a few starts on flat as slow as possible.
Then go for a hill but your gonna need some self motivation to gain the confidence

 

[Lboogs]

I don't have any experience with the Mazda 2, I saw you had another post regarding this also. From the comments it seems you just have to get used to the car itself. It seems pretty fickle.

 

[MacAttack7]

It has alot to do with finding the biting point, if you're not 100% on it practice a few starts on flat as slow as possible.
Then go for a hill but your gonna need some self motivation to gain the confidence

So if you are on a steep hill with traffic on your butt how do you do it.
Foot on the brake, shift into 1st.............,
then do you lift the clutch up to the biting point while keeping your foot on the brake, and move real fast from brake to throttle, or is it different?
Can you describe the process?

 

[Richard_rsp]

^If the car behind me was on my butt, i might use the ebrake to hold the car, foot on clutch, take foot off brake and apply gas, slowly release clutch to catching point, then lower ebrake.

But if the car is stopped behind me properly (where they can see where my rear tires touch the ground) then I would let it roll a little and do a quick off-brake/on-gas, let off clutch maneuver. I was always told not to worry about rolling backwards a little; usually you arent rolling nearly as far as it feels. Now if you are rolling way back, then thats another story!!

 

[njaremka]

practice on the flat first, then head to the hills to practice. when practicing, try to get the "feel" of the clutch engagement point. if you get it right, once you find it, you will feel the car start to pull away - even on a hill - without giving any gas. if you have to, do it barefoot to REALLY feel engagement. it takes practice, but it will come with time.

oh, and MAD PROPS for going with a manual tranny. SAVE THE MANUALS!

 

[industrial]

Barefoot is good advice. I'm not sure exactly how I launch away from hills but it's pretty smooth. I initially give it decent amount of gas with some clutch slip to get enough forward momentum to overcome the hill incline. Then I let off the gas a little bit and release the clutch slowly while adding bits of gas. If you do this right, it will just seem like a normal launch. The key is to slip the clutch while giving it more than normal gas very briefly at the start to overcome the incline then to back off the gas to what would be a normal launch as you fully release the clutch.

It takes some practice!

 

[Heimy]

It helps if when I'm on the clutch and gas that I am using the balls of my feet. Put it in first, make a fast but not panicky transition with your right foot from brake to gas, give it a lil gas then slowly roll of clutch. The 2 is my first manual trans car, and have only been driving a stick for 2 weeks now. I have my moments, but the main thing to focus on is not panicking. You should not roll back that much and just have to get the feel of that transition from when your giving it a lil gas and simultaneously rolling off the clutch. Think of it as the hook-up point. Just find a vacant spot and practice. It's really more about being relaxed when you do it, because I know when I first started on hills I freaked the **** out and that will mess you up. Just be calm, relaxed, and practice until you feel more comfortable.

 

[njaremka]

keep your foot on the brake, and slowly let out the clutch. the engine will start to bog right at the pedal trasition point. at that moment, you go from brake to "accelerator" pedal (there really is no "Gas" pedal anymore, but thats arguing semantics) and feather the gas.

after many years of driving a stick, it took me longer to type this response than to actually perform the manuver. dont fret, it will soon become second nature, and you will have to think about it after the fact how you actually did it.

 

[ddawson]

I do find the pedal response is a little light, causing you the over rev this little motor. Other than that being smooth with the clutch release helps a lot on those up and down shifts.

The 1st time my son drive the 2 he did a burn out for the 1st three stops signs. Than he started to get the hang of it. He is use to his 5.0 liter.

 

[zoomzoom9]

Having had many, many manuals in my life, I have to say, this clutch is one of the lightest, which makes it more difficult. Going from a Jetta diesel to this has definitely been an experience, it was nearly impossible to over-rev the Jetta because the clutch practically forced itself out and you could actually get the car moving without pressing the accelerator if you slowly let the clutch out on even ground.

My advice is two-fold. First, your foot should be on the far right of the brake pedal so it's an easy move over to the accelerator. Practice a lot when there's no traffic so you get used to the catch point. Even with all my experience with manuals, I still over-rev periodically.

The second piece of advice -- let it roll back a bit, scare the guy behind you. People don't seem to understand there are still manual transmissions any more, so the easiest way to get them to back off is to make them think you're going to roll right back into them. I do this quite a lot with people who feel the need to be stopped an extra foot ahead of where they should be.

 

[Joker2]

Try this for practice:
In a flat level parking lot with a spotter, slowly let out the clutch without gas. The car should start rolling, shift to second and again let out the clutch slowly without gas, etc. You should be able to shift through all five and then back down like that. Do it for at least half an hour. Then start adding gas with the go pedal at about 50-75% clutch engagement.
BTW there is nothing wrong with using the e-brake on hills. It saves on clutch wear. Either way, just so you know, my Miata is on original clutch with 100k miles on clock with autocross and track days on it. My DGF's 1989 Civic Si needed the first clutch change-out at ~175k miles on clock even though she learned to drive stick on it at about 100k miles.