Team-BHP - help needed in basics of driving

Dear guys.
I have used Automatic cars all my life and moved over to india recently.
I learnt manual shift easily but still drive with my left foot just touching the clutch pedal and whenever i brake, i press the clutch.
I am simply scared to rest my left my left foot in the dead pedal.
most of the time, my left leg is sore because of this.

My driver brakes all the time without pressing the clutch and he uses theclutch onlt to shift gears.

How do I do this?
How do experienced drivers like BHP ians do?
please teach me

Raj

well i use engine braking. as and when i brake i simultaneously go down a gear or two.

take the car to some ground or a deserted road where there is no one around and try practising applying the brakes alone. as you feel the car is about to stall press the clutch and if needed go down a gear. once you get the feel of it it'll be ok.

riding the clutch can be dangerous .its also bad for your engine.
its really difficult to suddenly change your style of driving,but with time you will learn it.
use the clutch only to change gears or when u r starting from standstill.

Why didn't you choose the A/T option, in India too? That would have solved the whole problem.

With the kinda traffic we have here, you'll need to make more gear shifts in a day than what Schumi makes, during a whole race weekend. LOL

Shan2nu

Hi V_S_Natrajan,

There is a lot of material on TBHP aldready discussing this topic in one aspect or another. Check out these threads>

1. The best way to use the clutch & brakes
2. How to change gears
3. What is double clutching
4. First or second gear
5. 4-5 gear query

Read em and then post some more follow up questions!
cya
R

Quote:

Originally Posted by v_s_natarajan (Post 60384)

The Whole idea is, use clutch + Brake when driving at very low speeds, tis is to prevent knocking and engine being shutdown

otherwise, use brake, new cars can even run in 5th gear at speeds as low as 10 though not advisable to do that

use just brake and no clutch to control the speed to a manageable level,

if u feel u may need to slow down to halt, use clutch too otherwise just shift to appropriate gear.

Pls do feel free to correct me if am wrong:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee (Post 1914713)

Boy you replied to a 5 year old thread; By now, Raj would been driving in tracks!!!

LOL So True!

Anyways this is a problem that many drivers suffer from. Even my wife used to press the clutch while braking irrespective of the speed. And because thats what the driving school guys taught her. Only after continuously telling about the proper braking technique has she been able to get over that habit.

The thumb rule is apply only brake if you don't need to downshift. The moment the speed reduces to something lower than what that gear can handle without knocking, press clutch and downshift.

P.S: Pressing clutch while braking can be really dangerous while driving in the hills or on wet road as the wheels get disconnected from the drive train and lose any kind of traction.