How do you know if your transmission is damaged?

>here's like 5 stops between my house and work 15 miles away. When I have to go into the city and go stoplight to stoplight or end up in stop-and-go out on the interstate it starts getting old in a hurry.
this is probably the best thing i've ever read on Veeky Forums. youre right. I live in a city, and driving just 8 miles i have about 15-20 stops. I would figure that manual driving would be awful

Well, I had 2.5 years of motorcycle commuting experience before I sold it and got this Fit, and let me tell you, almost NONE of the muscle memory and riding techniques translate over to the car.

It is pretty much like learning to ride/drive all over again. But it is very satisfying, and the Fit is an awesome little car. It feels like riding a 125cc motorcycle; excellent handling, small (in comparison) size, peppy acceleration, nice braking, slow as hell. The Fit offers the illusion of speed, and I rarely find myself speeding like I did on my bike because going 45 in the subcompact feels much, much faster.

This is what I wanted to hear. That's exactly how it feels! My shifter doesn't feel "broken" or anything, it's just now that I've gotten more comfortable with it I am noticing the resistance more and more when moving compared to playing with the shifter whilst parked.

>It's harder to lift one foot slightly while pressing down the other foot than to not
cry me a river - also stoplights are one of the BEST places to have a manual

I don't understand this "el manuel in traffic a shit" meme. Put it in gear, let off the clutch slowly, and roll forward on idle. Who cares if several car lengths of clearance builds in front of you.

> stoplights are one of the BEST places to have a manual

How so? I figure more stoplights would make me more prone to stalling. And here where I live, people would kill me if I stalled at a light.

I assume you mean it's good because I'll be able to go through the gears more frequently, thus giving me more experience?

>Put it in gear, let off the clutch slowly, and roll forward on idle.
repeat
>Put it in gear, let off the clutch slowly, and roll forward on idle.
repeat
>Put it in gear, let off the clutch slowly, and roll forward on idle.
Oh were moving now, 2nd!
Whoops back to 1st
Whee light changed 2nd, 3rd,
red light back to first.
roll forward
roll forward
roll forward
I thought clutches were supposed to last longer than 30k miles.

I highly doubt you have done any damage yourself unless you are just slamming it into gears at ridiculous rpms and randomly stomping on and off the clutch. It's probably just normal resistance from the synchros as they grab onto the gear and match it's speed to the shaft.

How is your seating position? Getting yourself dialed to the controls will significantly help your timing.
youtube.com/watch?v=eyL-SjuJ8p4

Yup, I also notice the resistance is varied depending on what speed/RPM I am shifting at.

I believe this is also why it feels so smooth shifting while stopped, because there is no speed/RPM to match while parked.

Shit, thank you, I've been looking for videos like this. I want a performance-oriented driving instructional, similar to Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist II for motorcycles.

I have taken the B.R.A.K.E.S course in Southern California and it helped tremendously, even if it was for automatics specifically.

> there is no speed/RPM to match while parked

Haha, no. The synchros, when stopped, stop the gears turning. Gears do spin while stopped in neutral. If you ever drive something with a clutch brake instead of synchros you'll understand.

Well, I meant when the car is stopped and the engine is off, but I'm sure you're right.

I still have so much to learn about cars, I'm a motorcycle guy!

If you speed match before trying to ram it in you will find it a lot easier. Old school boxes and large trucks had/have no syncro so this was required.

Speed match, you mean by accelerating a bit before clutching in and making my upshift?

I do rev match when downshifting, by clutching in and giving it a little gas before making the downshift--similar to the motorcycle rev match.

Where is your source? I have been a Honda mechanic for 4 years and have seen any issues with these vehicles regarding the clutch odor transmission

Hey, if you're a Honda mechanic, can you confirm that my question regarding shifting while moving is a non-issue? This thread was really made out of paranoia for my new-to-me car, it really drives fine and I just don't have any other manual experience to compare it to so I don't know if it's normal.

Honda Fit, shifter is buttery smooth when stopped, a little resistance in lower gears while rolling.

youtube.com/watch?v=KlS6DF3NjJE

youtube.com/watch?v=8vWlWc8Zig4

Easy. You put the car into reverse. If it shakes like there is an earthquake, then the tranny is bad.

You need to double clutch revmatch, then you won't feel any resistance and will save your syncros.
On upshifts, you just need better timing.

I can work on my timing, but is double clutching on a newer car like my 2012 Honda Fit necessary?

No moderns cars do not require double clutch

Holy shit, son, you're retarded. I'm form yurop, I drive manuel every day in all kinds of traffic and that is not a problem at all. The only time I damaged my clutch was when I went on a 30º slope with too much weight on my car. I thought my little shitbox could make it, but I was wrong.

Then don't stall. I manage not to stall every day in all kinds of conditions, why can't or wouldn't you be able to do the same? Remember to give it some gas and then release the clutch. Done. No stalling whatsoever.

If you buy a car and can't drive you risk crashes.

If you buy a manual and can't drive manual, you only risk not moving forward since you can't start it off.

El oh el. I've lost count on how many people let their car slide down the hill when starting. New drivers also tend to get confused with pedals because they still lack experience. So if you buy a manual and can't drive one, you might just crash into another car or damage your own car by doing stupid things like letting go of the clutch in 0.001 seconds while not being anywhere near the right rpm.

Not even my 80yo grandma stalls, ever, not even when parking in reverse on a steep road.

I've only seen young people who just got their license stall a couple times, but you learn in about half a year not to brainfart every time you stop.

>you learn in about half a year not to brainfart every time you stop
>half a year
Stop exaggerating.

Not necessary at all. It's still fun though and once you git gud you can completely avoid the "resistance" going into gears. The lever will just slide right in when you get the timing right.

Yeah, I totally should have added, stay the fuck away from hills until your left foot grows a brain cell.

Never, ever leave the car idle. Always park in 1st gear (reverse if you are facing down on a hill, but I said no hills).

Practice the whole starting procedure and make it smooth, do it in second gear directly (in an empty car park I mean) so you learn to be more precise.

Shift gears a lot more than you think: anyone who learns manual tends to wait too much before shifting gear, especially 1>2>3.

Since you are learning always try to keep the RPMs fairly down, so you avoid chances of shifting badly and damaging the car (it's not good when you shift at wrong RPMs, it's REALLY NOT good when you shift 4k away from the right RPMs)

Also it probably should be obvious, but never put the gear in idle while moving. I don't mean at a red light, I mean when you are actually moving. If you want to decelerate just shift down or use your breaks, putting it idle gives you less control.

You just have to wait for the speeds to match. Just hold it there with a little pressure until the gear engages. When stopped there is no difference is speeds so you don't have to wait.

I mean, it can happen, but generally when you are doing something else while driving, or when you are entirely zoned out.
Driving manual is seriously stupid easy, literally anyone learns. Then of course not many are good drivers, but for other reasons.

>never put the gear in idle while moving

I do it all the time, especially when I've got a lot of distance to a red light. Slow down by about 20/30kph before gently applying the brakes.
Engine braking whilst not driving in the mountains, in an old car, is just unnecessary wear for the engine and the tranny.

This. Idling also saves more fuel than engine braking, which I hardly ever do, or braking.

I was once driving through the mountains and I was running low on fuel with no fuel stations anywhere near me and you can bet I drove quite a while in neutral.

ITT: Nobody knows what the fuck they are talking about

Use the clutch you fuckwit.

Says the american who drives an autotragic.

Wrong.

Why would you lie on an anonymous imageboard, user?

Your not going to see much wear just because you used the engine to slow down slightly. Putting it in neutral is just stupid and gives you less control.

Im pretty sure engine braking uses no fuel(modern efi) idling hardly uses gas anyway

Use it as in push it all the way and hold it there like a retard whose reaction time is worse than that of a regular slushbox driver?
Um, no.

Seriously, downshift properly and use the clutch. Unless you are already going really slow there is no reason to put the clutch down.

If you do it regularly even though you should use your brakes or let your momentum die down on its own? I am going to see much wear.

Less control? I can gear it back in anytime I want to.

I dont think it matters much. Depending on my mood ill be lazy and idle brake or ill blip downshift

Really? Well, it could be. I have no idea about modern electronic technologies since I don't use any of them. I only know that coasting in neutral uses the less fuel, but if modern car technology has managed to improve that, then it's nice.

If you want to avoid ANY resistance and save your synchros, yes, double clutching is necessary.
The synchros will last really long either way, but it is a nice skill to have.

On upshifts, you're probably moving the stick too fast.

It's true, coasting in gear in a modern car uses no fuel.

>confirmed for never driving in a major metropolitan area
That nice space in front of you isn't going to last long at all before some soccer mom in a white Mercedes SUV nearly clips your bumper to get one car length ahead.

Manuals in rush hour are shit and RIP clutch.

Can confirm that you do stupid things when learning manual. I clutch jumped over my friends toes when i was first learning to drive manual. Luckily the back end of my truck doesn't weigh shit and didn't break their feet.

How did that damage your clutch? Serious question as I just started driving manual

Best way to learn is to find hill to practice on right on the very first time you try to drive a stick. It makes it easier to find the feel for when the gears engage. Just put it in first and let it drift back while letting out the clutch. Do that about 20 times and voila you'll have a feel for it. I learned in an office parking lot one evening. Literally had my brother show me that one time and i had it down.

>That nice space in front of you isn't going to last long at all before some soccer mom in a white Mercedes SUV nearly clips your bumper to get one car length ahead.
The trick is to not drive like a scared little bitch. You are right about the clutch though

Manuals are fine in rush hour traffic, Mercedes SUV doesn't have any more or less chance if you're driving auto, and clutches don't have to die prematurely.
This is unless of course you don't know how to operate a manual transmission.

This whole thread is about not knowing how to operate a manual transmission.

But good news guys, after going out and driving some more today, I am noticing that my shifts CAN be smooth and without much resistance. Some things that are working for me include shifting the lever a little slower, making sure foot is completely off throttle and clutch is FULLY depressed when shifting, shifting at lower/higher RPMs, etc.

It'll take some getting used to, but I'm already a lot better than I was last week. So to everyone else reading who may be interested in or has begun learning a stick shift, there is hope!

Thanks for the advice everybody.

Did my advice help? >shifting the lever a little slower
Yeah, when I first started, I used to make this mistake too. I used to shift like Fast and Furious, but, thanks to Veeky Forums, I learned the correct way.
Drive SMOOTHLY and RELAXED, your car will thank you.

The reason why you can't shift that fast in a normal street car is because the gear ratios are pretty far from each other.
Race cars have a very long 1st gear, then all other gear close together.

Learn to double clutch if your synchros go

You're letting your RPM drop too low between shifts. Shift faster. Honda Fit with 26k on it and a transmission problem? lolno