TSXDude

It seems like we are getting some snow in part of Tdot right now...
As this will be my first winter with a stick tranny, what are some of the advice you'd give to a noob like me... i.e. braking, shifting...etc.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

ClutchPerformer

Don't drop the clutch.

Use engine braking to help slow yourself. Drive one gear lower than you would under normal conditions.

If you're on a slippery surface and can't get moving, try starting in second gear. If that doesn't work, turn VSA off and try 1st again (you'll spin the tires, but sometimes you need to do so to get moving). If that doesn't work, do 2nd w/o VSA. If that doesn't work, call a tow truck.

Everything else is the same as driving an AT in the snow/ice.

Edit: yeah, good winter tires help.

mg7726

don't peel out??

put on snows, use 2nd gear

Viking

If your still new at driving stick and don't have snow tires you may want to avoid hills. That is if you get stopped at a light or have to stop in the middle of an incline.

vger105

You might want to find a VERY large, EMPTY parking lot, maybe a fatory's parking lot, on a Sunday, after a snowfall. Then you can actually experience what the car will do under varying conditions; letting the clutch out too fast, not downshifting in a turn quickly enough, etc..
Maybe others have done something like this and can offer additional advice.

Dan Martin

All good advice so far.

The second gear trick works pretty well if you can't get traction. VSA makes it next to impossible to get started on ice. As Clutch suggested, if you turn it off and let your wheels spin, you can melt through the ice and get grip from the road below.

I actually really enjoy driving a manual car in the winter. The clutch can be used as a sort of mechanical traction control. You can feed as much or as little of the engine's power to the wheels as you like to get you going. I also recommend you get snow tires.

ric

Some folks keep a bag of kitty litter in the trunk; if they're really stuck on icepack and can't get traction it can help.

Drving slower in snow and ice is always wise, and - those of us in the mid-atlantic need to watch for the change of air temp as light falls and any daymelt reglazes the streets.

dom

Frezzing rain tonight, thats a bigger problem.

And I know its not MT realated but for the love of god get some snow tires.

ClutchPerformer

Yet another reason why MT 0wnz!

Whiskers

If you are saying that MT handles better then AT in the snow, I will

ClutchPerformer

I am. Do you disagree?

ClutchPerformer

I'm not saying it HANDLES better in the snow. I'm saying you have more CONTROL over the car in the snow (just as you do in all situations with an MT vs. AT). Read Dan's "mechanical traction control" analogy again.

Whiskers

Ok, I see. We still need to agree that AT is easier to drive when in snow / ice or rain simply because the likelyhood of spinning the wheels is less...

dom

But you sometimes NEED the wheels to spin to get out of the snow. I had to shut off VSA a few times last year to get myself out.

Although, putting it in SS and reving to whatever RPM I please helps. But you still have more engine RPM control with an MT.

ClutchPerformer

I disagree. Again, see the mechanical traction control analogy.

I can let out my clutch pedal as slow as I want to. I could put 1% (or less!) of my torque to the ground using gearing + some judicious clutching. So what that allows me to do is put JUST enough torque down to get me moving where any more would cause wheelspin. I claim you can control that better in an MT than an AT (where you do all this w/ just your right foot and whatever input you give it gets dampened by the torque converter).

Once the cars are moving (clutch out), I think both MT and AT are equally likely to spin their wheels.

Also:

And MT allows more control over exactly how much the wheels spin (and how fast they start spinning).

MT = control.

Whiskers

Ok, we all agree those a lot of people know how to drive MT very well (Clutch, etc) But I think the average people who drives a MT may have more of chance to spin the wheels (Domn, sure, if you are stuck in snow you need to spin, but on the road you do not want to spin the wheels) then with AT. I have driven a MT for about 10 years (Pontiac LeMans and a Civic) and I use the SS with the TSX always except in bad weather.

ClutchPerformer

Well sure. With increased control also comes the greater ability to get OUT of control if you don't know what you're doing. But all things being equal, MT is a good thing to have in the snow.

dom

You call a 16.3 1/4 mile someone who knows how to drive MT?


Sorry, couldn't resist

wsklar, I would hope that someone who buys an MT knows how to drive it and use it to their advantage. If not then they should be in an AT. But I agree, AT = less chance of spinning because of reduced power to the ground.

sauceman

It's just some finetuning with the launching techniques. It is a fine art, and you need to master this absolutely if you're intent on racing. I myself am a very average launcher, I'm too nervous.

But with a little practice and maybe a few tips, Clutch could bring the times down by a good second.

ClutchPerformer

Then I'll be in sauceman/kurt bradley territory!

Launches definitely me

sauceman

<insert Dan Martin here>

Whiskers

, not the case in the TSX, but a lot of people get MT instead of AT to save $$$ and not for performance (as it was for me with my Lemans and Civic).

ClutchPerformer

MT: 2
AT: 0

mlabrie

A big plus for MT is being able to "rock your car". I mean to lightly slip the clutch on and off while in first gear so your car move back and forth more and more untill your out of the snow bank.