THREE PEDALS?
When Do I Shift?
For those who have never piloted a
stick-shift car, the sight of that third
pedal to the left of the brake pedal is
probably more intimidating than the
shifter handle poking up through the
center console. The shifter, with six
gears and reverse, seems logical. You
start with “1” and work your way up.
In a vehicle with an automatic
transmission, electronic, mechanical
or hydraulic systems determine
and select the appropriate gear,
depending on vehicle speed
and engine demand. Yesterday’s
automatics did not perform
this task intelligently or quickly
enough to satisfy most sports
car drivers. Today’s computercontrolled automatics determine
and select which gear provides the
best balance of performance and
efficiency for any given vehicle
speed. With a manual, that’s all up
to you, and it’s why many sports car
drivers still prefer it.
But that extra pedal can trigger
questions and rattle nerves. It’s called
the clutch pedal, or just “clutch”
(although the actual clutch is part of
the transmission). When do I push it?
For how long? When do I release it?
Fast or slow? Slow sometimes and
fast others? Why?
Certainly, it takes a fair amount of
coordination between your left foot,
right foot and your right hand to
make this work. Your ears and, ahem,
buttocks, can also play a role -- at
least, once you get the hang of the
basics and want to get the most fun
out of a manual.
With a little bit of practice, operating
a manual transmission becomes
second nature. Let’s get into it.
Fortunately, you don’t need to
know the technical aspects of the
transmission’s innards to operate or
enjoy a stick shift. Consider again
multi-speed bicycles that you may
have been riding since you were a
teenager. The principle is the same.
Like a car’s engine, your legs have
a speed range in which they pedal
most efficiently. Selecting the right
gear is critical to riding the bike up
and down hills and around corners
without overexertion.
Starting at a low gear allows you
to pedal and accelerate quickly
to a low speed. You then shift
to progressively higher gears to
convert pedaling energy into higher
bike speeds. You don’t start off in a
high gear, because your legs don’t
have enough mechanical advantage
to get the bicycle rolling quickly.
The low gears multiply the force
that your pedaling motion creates,
giving you more leverage.
Clutch
BRAKE
ACCELERATOR
It’s the same in a car. The
transmission multiplies the torque
that the engine produces.