what is the best way to control a manual car going downhill or uphill?

Question

hi all, first things first, am a learner driver and mother of 2 young kids, my car is the citroen xsara picasso.
i used to drive an automatic car but i changed to manual because it was cheaper for me to buy. i have mastered the taking off, reverse and gear changes. my main problems are

1. if i am driving in 3rd gear and there is a roundabout ahead with queueing traffic, how can i slow down efficiently? i usually stick to driving in 2nd gear to stop me having to panic when i have to slow don abruptly, or sometimes, my first Instinct is to fully press down the clutch and then brake, but often when i do that, the car goes so fast that i feel like i cant control it.


2. if am driving downhill or uphill in slow moving traffic, what is the best way to control the car but stilll maintain a steady pace. when going downhill, again, i tend to fully press down on the clutch, which then seems to make me go faster, and when going uphill, i tend to find my self rolling backwards...

this is very frustrating for other drivers as am often driving slower due to my lack of knowledge on how to stop a car while driving at say 35mph.

please give me some good advice and tips because i need to learn how to do this things properly in order to be a safe driver.

my instructor usually has control of his pedals so tight or he does the work for me downhill and uphill and i dont feel like i know how to do those things.

all help will be appreciated.

Answer 1

Firstly your instructor should not be using his dual controlls to the extent that you dont learn.



You should be practicing brake before clutch



You seem to have a problem with what we call coasting in other words you are pushing the clutch down too early. When the car is in gear and the clutch is up then the speed of the car is braked to the speed for that gear by the engine (for example 3rd gear around 30 mph 2nd 20mph etc) when you push down the clutch the engine is separated from the gear box so the car is in effect free wheeling, which as you have found speeds the car up if you are on a slope.



Use your brakes effectively and smoothly to slow for the situation you have ahead. you need to anticipate, and adjust the amount of braking required. Then match the correct gear to the speed to move away, if you slow to around 20 mph then that will probably be 2nd gear, if you have to stop then you will need 1st



In slow moving traffic up hill. I usually get the learners i teach to practice on an empty road on a hill and imagine they are in queued traffic moving one car length after another.



brake to a stop...apply handbrake...set the gas...clutch up to the bite ( so you can feel the car want to pull, concentrate on keeping that slight pressure).,,.as you slowly release the handbrake part way adjust your clutch foot if necessary (let it up gently to make the car pull forward if it slips back)... let the handbrake down the rest of the way,,, then increase the gas and let the clutch up completely as you move away,,,keep an eye on the cars several ahead when they show signs of slowing take your foot off the gas and allow the car to slow...tap brake to stop and apply hand brake. again watch for cars 2or 3 ahead to move and repeat. ,,,,,,,,,



sometimes in very slow moving traffic all you need is to let the clutch up a very small amount to get some momentum before allowing the hill to slow the car for you to then brake to a stop and secure with the hand brake



on VERY steep down hills you use the gears to help you brake, In my car this is how i would do this,,

travelling in 4th brake to 30mph and change to 3rd...clutch up.......brake to 20mph change to 2nd...etc but on less steep hills block changing is ok.....from 4th gear brake to 20mph and change to 2nd



hope that helps

Answer 2

1. Brake before you put the clutch down to change gear so that the car is travelling at the correct speed for the new lower gear.

2. Driving down hill, change down a gear and fully release the clutch pedal and the engine will stop you increasing speed, you may have to adjust your speed a little with the brake from time to time. Driving up hill the clutch must be fully engaged - pedal up. This will stop the car going backwards.



Your instructor is doing you no favours by being in control of his pedals, you will never learn that way.

Answer 3

1. as you approach the roundabout, change from 3rd to 2nd gear, this will allow engine breaking to occur so the car will slow down but it also gives you more control. Staying in second gear brake gently to pull up behind the queueing traffic and clutch in before the point you think the car will stall.

With practise you will get a good feel for how much you need to brake and the point you need to clutch in.

Try to ignore your current instinct to clutch in from 3rd and brake because that gives you very little control over the speed of the car.



2. Similar to you first question, changing to a lower gear (2nd if you were in third or 3rd if you were in 4th) will give you much more control over the car. When going uphill you will need to change to a lower gear anyway for the extra torque and power, whilst going downhill being in a lower gear gives you more engine braking which allows you to control the speed better.



When going down a very steep hill, change to 2nd gear and cover the brake. Never hold the clutch in because this allows the car to freewheel down the hill and you will pick up speed very fast.



Hope this helps!

Answer 4

When you put your foot on the clutch you are effectively taking the car out of gear which means that the car will go faster downhill. You need to put your foot on the clutch at the same time as changing gear (either up or down). I suggest you get yourself a new teacher as the one who taught you should have told you how to drive in these situations. Either that or change to an automatic car !

Answer 5

You need more practise at findind the 'biting' point with your clutch on hill starts. A good driver can keep stoping and starting on hills without using the brake at all only using the biting point. This is when your using the accelerater and the clutch at the same time finding the neutral point to stop and then pressing the accel a bit to go and then clutch to stop and so on. You should not realy brake whilst your clutch is pressed in nor should you keep changing down gear whilst slowing down. Approach a round about in third about 20-30mph, brake then when you are about to stop clutch down into neutral then stop.

Answer 6

You need to learn about engine braking.



If you drive around in 2nd gear all the time you will kill your car and annoy everyone behind you.



Approaching a roundabout in 3rd gear, change down into 2nd and let the engine slow you down. Don't jump on the clutch pedal and coast!!! You have no real control then.



Same going downhill. Just take your foot off the accelerator should keep the speed controllable going downhill. Coasting downhill is illegal.



Good luck.

Answer 7

Downhill Driving

Answer 8

The proper way is to find an alternate route that doesn't involve a steep downhill grade. Failing that, low gears, slow speed and as little breaking as possible. Going uphill... whatever you do, don't stop. You lose your momentum on ice and you're not going any further (at least not UP the hill...).

Answer 9

Book some refresher lessons with an instructor as you sound like you are a danger to yourself and others and an accident waiting to happen. The refresher will build your confidence back up make you much safer to be on the roads.

Answer 10

*sigh* women