Maybe you could rig up some pendulum-type gadget to put on the dash. The gadget can swing forward and backward, but not side-to-side.
The idea is:
1. Keep the gadget from swinging when you shift.
2. Imagine the clutch pedal is red-hot.
In other words, shift as smoothly as possible, with as little clutch time as possible.
Breaking Bad Habits
Sweater puppies... I love it... thanks!
As a Street Survival instructor for about 5 or 6 years now as well as a person who has taught many women to drive a clutch, and a big fan of sweater puppies, of course, I'd like to share my thoughts. 
If you are hoping that the SS class will teach your son how to drive a clutch, specifically, I think you will be very disappointed. Most of the day is spent putting the students in various types of exercises. Some exercises are to make them screw up and recover, emulating a real-life situation, as well as teach them the importance of where their eyes are looking at all times (like the emergency lane-change maneuver, increasing/decreasing radius turns, or the skid pad figure-eight). Others are there to help them judge distances and understand where their car is positioned (like the back-up maneuver). And yet others are there to teach them smoothness and how to apply the minimal inputs to achieve the best result (like the slalom).
Perhaps, indirectly, the slalom exercise can be a useful tool to teach smooth clutch operation, but frankly it's more about gas, brakes, and steering, since those are the inputs we wish to teach them to minimize in that exercise. So, none of these exercises will directly address the clutch dumping problem, and since most students are driving automatics (and not BMWs), shifting is not a focus of the SS program.
Having said that, SS is a great program, and will improve their overall driving. That is a guarantee. Remember, however, that we encourage them to drive the car they are most likely to drive (in his case, the Civic). But I think the best advice given here about learning to drive a clutch was suggesting learning how to get started smoothly in first and reverse on impulse (idle) power only, and then teaching them to start on an uphill, with a maximum limit of, say, 1500rpm.
Just as an aside, I have always backed my E28s into my garage on impulse power - and I have a very long driveway - and it's never an issue. My E39, on the other hand, with all its computerized nonsense, in the same situation, will get very confused when I try to move it on only impulse power - the idle will start to fluctuate wildly, and then it will stall. POS.
My 2 cents. Hope it is helpful,
.steve.
NYC (NY BMW CCA)
Editor, Die Zugspitze
525i
528e
528e
528e
If you are hoping that the SS class will teach your son how to drive a clutch, specifically, I think you will be very disappointed. Most of the day is spent putting the students in various types of exercises. Some exercises are to make them screw up and recover, emulating a real-life situation, as well as teach them the importance of where their eyes are looking at all times (like the emergency lane-change maneuver, increasing/decreasing radius turns, or the skid pad figure-eight). Others are there to help them judge distances and understand where their car is positioned (like the back-up maneuver). And yet others are there to teach them smoothness and how to apply the minimal inputs to achieve the best result (like the slalom).
Perhaps, indirectly, the slalom exercise can be a useful tool to teach smooth clutch operation, but frankly it's more about gas, brakes, and steering, since those are the inputs we wish to teach them to minimize in that exercise. So, none of these exercises will directly address the clutch dumping problem, and since most students are driving automatics (and not BMWs), shifting is not a focus of the SS program.
Having said that, SS is a great program, and will improve their overall driving. That is a guarantee. Remember, however, that we encourage them to drive the car they are most likely to drive (in his case, the Civic). But I think the best advice given here about learning to drive a clutch was suggesting learning how to get started smoothly in first and reverse on impulse (idle) power only, and then teaching them to start on an uphill, with a maximum limit of, say, 1500rpm.
Just as an aside, I have always backed my E28s into my garage on impulse power - and I have a very long driveway - and it's never an issue. My E39, on the other hand, with all its computerized nonsense, in the same situation, will get very confused when I try to move it on only impulse power - the idle will start to fluctuate wildly, and then it will stall. POS.
My 2 cents. Hope it is helpful,
.steve.
NYC (NY BMW CCA)
Editor, Die Zugspitze
525i
528e
528e
528e
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stuartinmn
- Posts: 9462
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis
Makes me think of the stories my brother-in-law told me about when he taught my sister how to drive a stick, in the '69 Roadrunner he owned at the time.
How about hanging a small lead weight on a string from the ceiling, so it klonks him in the forehead if he takes off too quickly?RonW wrote:Maybe you could rig up some pendulum-type gadget to put on the dash. The gadget can swing forward and backward, but not side-to-side.
The idea is:
1. Keep the gadget from swinging when you shift.
2. Imagine the clutch pedal is red-hot.
In other words, shift as smoothly as possible, with as little clutch time as possible.
I'm liking that idea!stuartinmn wrote:... How about hanging a small lead weight on a string from the ceiling, so it klonks him in the forehead if he takes off too quickly?
garageboy: I'm not expecting the SS class to do much for his sloppy shifting habits, but it should be a good incentive for him to improve, and should go a long way toward getting him to think a little bit about how he's driving.
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Blue Shadow
- Posts: 10281
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: SE PA
The book "Bob Bondurant on High Performance Driving" talks about smoothness. Using the pedals carefully, not stomping on them and considering the gear shift an egg and trying not to crush it. Maybe you don't want a high performance driver, but the earlier they learn how to handle a car correctly the better. There may be more comments about the book being about smoothness and not outright speed or stop light Grands Prix as it has been a while since I have read it.
Your emotions, expressed here, I'm hoping did not make it into the cabin. First time driver's don't need the excess baggage of a parent-teen relationship to taint the learning process. Best to set everything aside and let the teaching be something completely independent of all the other aspects of that relationship.
Maybe he is flogging the ride because he is learning that for the honda to try to extract every last ounce of go from it. He needs to know about replacing the gearbox. My brother slammed the three-on-the-tree from first to second so much I never drove the car and I'm only a year younger. His 2-3 shift was slow, why, because it didn't do anything to help acceleration.
Your emotions, expressed here, I'm hoping did not make it into the cabin. First time driver's don't need the excess baggage of a parent-teen relationship to taint the learning process. Best to set everything aside and let the teaching be something completely independent of all the other aspects of that relationship.
Maybe he is flogging the ride because he is learning that for the honda to try to extract every last ounce of go from it. He needs to know about replacing the gearbox. My brother slammed the three-on-the-tree from first to second so much I never drove the car and I'm only a year younger. His 2-3 shift was slow, why, because it didn't do anything to help acceleration.
Just an update; I've had a couple more sessions in the car with him, and he's improving a lot, and making a conscious effort to make his shifts smoother. The two things that seem to have made the biggest difference was the bit from one of the earlier posts that he should try to make it seem to a passenger that he's driving an automatic and learning to start at "impulse power". Those are the things that stuck in his head.
His starts and shifts now have a lot less revving, and his clutch releases are much smoother. He's working on feathering the throttle between shifts so the engine speed matches the transmission speed. It's like there's a different kid behind the wheel this week, and dad is liking it! I think it's also helped that he hasn't touched the X-Box for two weeks now. I might make that permanent (reaches for the sledgehammer...)
Thanks to everyone for all the great replies!
His starts and shifts now have a lot less revving, and his clutch releases are much smoother. He's working on feathering the throttle between shifts so the engine speed matches the transmission speed. It's like there's a different kid behind the wheel this week, and dad is liking it! I think it's also helped that he hasn't touched the X-Box for two weeks now. I might make that permanent (reaches for the sledgehammer...)
Thanks to everyone for all the great replies!
Sounds like he wants to improve, and that's half the battle.davintosh wrote: He's working on feathering the throttle between shifts so the engine speed matches the transmission speed.
Thanks to everyone for all the great replies!
On upshifts he shouldn't be feathering the throttle. If his shifts are timed correctly, the revs should drop to the exact right rpm at the same time that he engages the clutch. If the throttle was needed for rev-matching, it means that he was too slow shifting.