Does anyone have any tips for driving a manual without a tachometer?

Use your ears

>>14810045
This.

You will naturally develop a sense for when to shit.


5 speed without a tach. I'm guessing Chevy Cavalier or Toyota Corolla?

>>14810037

Shift at 20-40-60-70/80 km/h

Try shifting at lower speeds if driving straight ahead or downhill

The footplay will come within a couple of days

>>14810051

Nope, '95 Nissan hardbody.

Who the fuck looks at their rev counter before shifting?
Why is this even a question?

>>14810045
/thread

>>14810037
You should be able to hear the engine and feel it's resistance as RPM's climb, just don't go too crazy and you'll be fine.

>>14810037
I never use my tachometer.
You can hear when your car wants you to shift.

>>14810037
I would take the car out every evening for some ice cream with ur girl till you've played around with it enough to get comfortable

General rule of thumb is shift out of first once the car is moving unless uphill where you might need to push it a bit till you slip into second, then shift into third once you've been on the gas in second for a few seconds and then shift into fourth anytime after that for a nice 30-35 mph cruise. Mph wise it'll be like
1. Stay in first till car is rolling, somewhere in the 5-10 mph/10 kmh. You'll know you moved enough in 1st by clutching and if the car is still rolling at a decent pace it's good enough to shift into 2nd.
2. Stay in 2nd till 20 mph or about 30 kmh
3. Hop in 3rd till 30 mph/50kmh
4. Slip into 4th and chill there for city driving, only use 5th if going downhill for cheap free mpg's or highway. Otherwise I'd highly recommend staying in 4th for safety reasons (easier to brake, better control over car speed like being able to accelerate when you need to for whatever odd reason, etc.) It's probably not worth the "mpg's" by being in 5th if an accident happens and you have to shell out some $$ for repairs

>>14810162
>shifting out of first at 10kph

i would guess that op is dealing with lolnotorque

>>14810037
I learned on an F-150 with no tach

See >>14810045

>>14810037
I was posting yesterday about how I can't properly heel toe because my brake and gas pedals are far away, so someone recommended I try it by putting my heel on the break and ball of my foot on the gas.
I dreamt that I did it, but haven't tried it irl yet.

>>14810037
Stop using this picture

>>14810162
>shifting out of first at 10
See if I do this, my car bogs like hell. RPMs are under 1500 and there's that loud unpleasant vibration noise. I usually just hold first to 3k like every other gear.

>>14810833
>he can't afford a wrx

>>14810857
>there's that loud unpleasant vibration noise
Thats you're crank telling you its about to fuck right off.

>>14810857
You can go higher in first, but it's just for gaining what little momentum you need to shift into second.

>>14810045
this and you can feel it in the pedal by how much your pushing down to how much acceleration your getting

>>14810055
>what are gear ratios

That would literally blow up my car. Why are you even talking, you tard.

OP the answer is "git gud."

>driving stick since october
>still have days where my foot play is totally off, lots of jerking

Most days I shift smoothly, but my car's revs hang for a long time, so I find myself releasing the clutch too early if I'm impatient. I can release the clutch early and have a smooth shift, but I don't reliably give enough gas at the same time to make the transition smooth.

>ever looking at rpm gage.

even when i learned it was by feel.

>>14810037
Use your ears and the feeling through your feet/hands/backside.

It's not that hard. Have you been watching the gauges and not the road, perchance?

I just bought a manual as my first car after training on my dads car for a couple weeks and i'm still stalling, forgetting to shift etc.
It's actually pretty scary sometimes. I know that I just have to continue trying but I wish I was learning faster.
I stopped looking at my rpms. It's too distracting and I want to keep my eyes on the road. Feeling it out is working for me, though.

I should be good. Just give me a month. I don't want to destroy the transmission in my shitbox by then.
I ride the clutch and have to consciously force myself to not do it.

>always shift when i hear the engine really revving its ass out
>turns out i had another 3-4k revs left after that
overtaking people got a whole lot more fun let me tell you

>>14810037
Somewhere in the manual you can usually read the maximum speed for each gear. Don't go above that.
For regular driving, just shift around and see what gear works for the current speed. Sucks at first, but you'll get to know the car and won't even think about it anymore in no time. You'll notice when the car doesn't like what you do, just keep the stereo off until you know the car.

>>14812611
first is a gear like any other

people need to stop this first is to get going meme

>>14815967
>I stopped looking at my rpms
good, sounds like your on track. dont be afraid to slip the clutch when setting off. they can handle a lot of abuse most times

>>14815967
this scares me and is what is keeping me from buying a manual
living in LA, there is no room to stall

Random question - is it bad for the transmission if I always shift as early as possible (without jerking) to maintain lowest possible revs?

>>14818497
No.

>>14810066
i do when i am pushing it
you can see how much room you have

>>14810045
I don't even use my ears. Use your butt dyno. Did your car accelerate? Has it been accelerating for a second or two? Then shift...

>>14818609
also most cars have non-flat torque curves which makes it easy for you to tell what rpm you're at on your butt dyno

>>14818497
As long as you don't stall there should be no damage to the tranny and you'll save some money on gas

>>14810037
tachometer is a useless vanity gauge

there is never a good reason to look at the tachometer unless to go >hurrdurr I'm over 9000 revs

>>14810857
You should be able to start in 2nd without bogging if you feather the clutch. Starting in 2nd is recommended for snow and slippery conditions.

My rule of thumb for upshifting in traffic is:
- 1st -> 2nd at any forward motion
- 2nd -> 3rd at 30km/h
- 3rd -> 4th at 40km/h
- 4th -> 5th at 50km/h
- 5th -> 6th at 60km/h

And for downshifting, minus 5km/h:
- 6th -> 5th at 55km/h
- 5th -> 4th at 45km/h
- 4th -> 3th at 35km/h
- 3th -> 2th at 25km/h
- skip 1st entirely when coming to a stop.

Also, when passing on a highway, just use 3rd. Even if I can shift to 2nd, I'll use 3rd to avoid having to shift 2nd -> 3rd during the pass.

>>14810037
Feel it in the gas