Tips for driving in traffic with a manual?

The reason I dont miss driving sticks. Suffer in traffic pedals pushers

Every morning to get to school I have to go up a one lane hill that's about a mile and a half long in distance. And it's dead stopped traffic of everyone going to school and work. Driving my 5spd at 6:10 in the morning up that hill is just horrible. But once I get past that hill I can feel the pure joy of driving a manual. It's totally worth it. There's nothin you can really do except blast some music, take your mind off the traffic, and look forward to getting to 5k rpm once you get past the traffic

Originally Posted by Drehmacht

I tried keeping my distance today and 4 cars cut in front of me in a 3 second span. Masshole drivers. If I don't move right away when the car in front moves I get honked at

You'll get used to it. I did.
Relax and set your own pace. You'll get there about the same time.

Originally Posted by Drehmacht

Traffic sucks in the Boston area, bad enough where I don't like taking my e46 to work because of it.

Any advice/ recommendations (besides getting an automatic)?

Don't ride the clutch or sit with your foot on the brake and the clutch down. Stopping: brake, clutch down, gears in neutral, clutch up, apply hand brake. Start: clutch down, first gear, hand brake off, clutch up and move off. Get into that routine. Pretty soon you will do it without even thinking about it. Sounds like a lot of effort but good driving takes effort. Lazy driving leads to mishaps.

Some good tips given to you OP !

I don't know, traffic never really bothered me. I actually prefer it to an automatic. Automatics have very little engine braking compared to manuals - so you've got to switch from gas to brake quickly and frequently. In a manual (especially the M3, but the 330 wasn't bad either), you can simply let off the gas and not have to touch the brake until you hit idle.

The only times the manual bothers me is if I'm in stop and go traffic uphill. The E90s solved that problem though

Originally Posted by RayPooley

Don't ride the clutch or sit with your foot on the brake and the clutch down. Stopping: brake, clutch down, gears in neutral, clutch up, apply hand brake. Start: clutch down, first gear, hand brake off, clutch up and move off. Get into that routine. Pretty soon you will do it without even thinking about it. Sounds like a lot of effort but good driving takes effort. Lazy driving leads to mishaps.

Why are you going through the hassle of shifting so damn much and even going as far applying the parking drive.. seriously? Maybe I've been awake too long and can't find the sarcasm.

For any sort of traffic where I don't have a need for speed, I tend to keep a proportional car distance in relation to speed, I try to look past the first car in front of me and generally look toward what the cars in front of him are doing (speeding up/ braking/ merging) and adjust accordingly. First gear sometimes tends to be tricky so try second, I usually don't let the revs drop below idle and let hills help me out.

Originally Posted by Drehmacht

CDV? How much to remove? Andddddd clutch is probably burning every time i drive already

I tried keeping my distance today and 4 cars cut in front of me in a 3 second span. Masshole drivers. If I don't move right away when the car in front moves I get honked at

CDV (clutch delay valve) delete is free. You basically just uncrew it from the transmission.

Screw those people. You aren't losing much time by letting people pass. The impatient jerks can suck a bag of dicks. Flip them off every time, especially if you are a bigger guy.

Originally Posted by ruskisky

Why are you going through the hassle of shifting so damn much and even going as far applying the parking drive.. seriously?

Why? Because that's how you drive a manual. The hand brake isn't just for parking. Its also there in case you get a bump from behind. It minimizes the chance of being shunted into the car in front or under the truck in front. You have to take a driving test to get a licence in the UK. If you ride the clutch or fail to apply the parking brake whenever the car is stationary, even in a traffic queue, you will fail your driving test. I don't know about the US but the differences between a manual and an automatic mean that you can't drive a manual on an automatic license in the UK. You have to take a more stringent test. I'm sure there are good reasons for this. The vast majority of cars in the UK are manual. In fact autos are deemed to be a bit wussy.

Originally Posted by RayPooley

Why? Because that's how you drive a manual. The hand brake isn't just for parking. Its also there in case you get a bump from behind. It minimizes the chance of being shunted into the car in front or under the truck in front. You have to take a driving test to get a licence in the UK. If you ride the clutch or fail to apply the parking brake whenever the car is stationary, even in a traffic queue, you will fail your driving test. I don't know about the US but the differences between a manual and an automatic mean that you can't drive a manual on an automatic license in the UK. You have to take a more stringent test. I'm sure there are good reasons for this. The vast majority of cars in the UK are manual. In fact autos are deemed to be a bit wussy.

It really doesn't make any sense to use the handbrake over the foot brake when stopped unless you lack the skill to quickly transition from brake to throttle without rolling backwards.
Using the hand brake while driving stick is something you do in your first week of learning.

Yeah the hand brake usage doesn't make sense to me. Occassional use on hills makes sense but not just sitting in traffic. The normal brakes are better for that and will stop a rear ending better than the hand brake.

Originally Posted by peytonracer4

It really doesn't make any sense to use the handbrake over the foot brake when stopped unless you lack the skill to quickly transition from brake to throttle without rolling backwards.
Using the hand brake while driving stick is something you do in your first week of learning.

Well it makes sense to the licensing authorities who set the test criteria so that's all that matters if you want to pass a test in the UK. Its been working for me for nearly 40 years of driving manuals. Its second nature to me. I actually had to think hard about it to write it down. One part of the test is the hill start. You have to park on a steep hill, applying the hand brake, of course. Then you have to set off without stalling, rolling back, over revving or hopping. You fail that you fail the test. Managing the hand brake is an important part of the test.

Originally Posted by RayPooley

Well it makes sense to the licensing authorities who set the test criteria so that's all that matters if you want to pass a test in the UK. Its been working for me for nearly 40 years of driving manuals. Its second nature to me. I actually had to think hard about it to write it down. One part of the test is the hill start. You have to park on a steep hill, applying the hand brake, of course. Then you have to set off without rolling back or hopping. You fail that you fail the test. Managing the hand brake is an important part of the test.

That's the only practical application I can think of. Most people know about it. Technically you could heel-toe and accomplish the same thing, though that's generally for a good downshift.

handbrakes wear out so quickly though

Originally Posted by Rotha

handbrakes wear out so quickly though

They're not exactly expensive or difficult to replace though. Its just a little drum brake inside each rear rotor. The UK are a nation of manual drivers. Americans are a nation of auto drivers. Legally you guys wouldn't be allowed to drive a manual in the UK. I guess its horses for courses.

Originally Posted by RayPooley

Well it makes sense to the licensing authorities who set the test criteria so that's all that matters if you want to pass a test in the UK. Its been working for me for nearly 40 years of driving manuals. Its second nature to me. I actually had to think hard about it to write it down. One part of the test is the hill start. You have to park on a steep hill, applying the hand brake, of course. Then you have to set off without rolling back or hopping. You fail that you fail the test. Managing the hand brake is an important part of the test.

If its part of your licensing test, then I won't sit here and disagree with you. Ill just accept that things are different there. I honestly wish driving test were so much stricter over here. To get a license you have to A: breathe oxygen. That's all.

I just never find the need to use my handbrake over my foot brake while driving. It's just not the way I was taught and that's where the difference lies. You drive how you were taught.

Originally Posted by RayPooley

Why? Because that's how you drive a manual. The hand brake isn't just for parking. Its also there in case you get a bump from behind. It minimizes the chance of being shunted into the car in front or under the truck in front. You have to take a driving test to get a licence in the UK. If you ride the clutch or fail to apply the parking brake whenever the car is stationary, even in a traffic queue, you will fail your driving test. I don't know about the US but the differences between a manual and an automatic mean that you can't drive a manual on an automatic license in the UK. You have to take a more stringent test. I'm sure there are good reasons for this. The vast majority of cars in the UK are manual. In fact autos are deemed to be a bit wussy.

Over here if you get your license on an automatic, you're licensed to drive a manual. Even if you take your test on a manual car, you're not expected to use the handbrake at a hill. A little bit of roll back is not considered to be an issue. Though these days unless the hill is really steep, I can usually get the car going without rolling back or overrevving the car.

If you take the test on one of the newer cars that have automatic hill hold functions, do you still have to use the handbrake on your test? And what about cars that don't have hand brakes?

Originally Posted by peytonracer4

If its part of your licensing test, then I won't sit here and disagree with you. Ill just accept that things are different there. I honestly wish driving test were so much stricter over here. To get a license you have to A: breathe oxygen. That's all.

I just never find the need to use my handbrake over my foot brake while driving. It's just not the way I was taught and that's where the difference lies. You drive how you were taught.

Is it really that easy in the US? Here in the UK there are so many ways to fail a driving test its difficult to count them. You can fail if the examiner thinks you didn't use the rear view mirror enough. They are currently talking about adding a motorway driving component to the test even though motorways are by far the safest place to be in a car. They are over the top to be honest. Obsessed with road safety. We have about 1,800 road deaths a year. When you consider there are probably 3 or 4 billion road journies a year that's ridiculously small. Yest the motorist is considered public enemy No 1. We have 6,000 deaths a year in our dirty hospitals. That's people who go into hospital perfectly healthy, catch a bug and die as a result. Something seriously wrong with the priorities in this country.

Originally Posted by RayPooley

I guess its horses for courses.

is that cockney?