The "how to avoid stalling" thread

Hi ladies and gents, hope you're all well.

I've decided to create this thread hopefully to share some gems of knowledge with people learning to drive, since stalling is a pretty common problem for those learning manual.

The idea of this thread is in fact not just for me to share my knowledge, but to get everyone with a bit of experience gained (from their own mistakes, what they've been taught or what they've learned from reading) to chip in their 2 pennies worth so we've got a fountain of knowledge for those having problems with stalling. So do chip in with advice, or of course questions about stalling that can hopefully be answered.

Ideally, if you're posting your ideas they could be in a problem + solution format. They could also be little tips to help better your control of the pedals. They can be as detailed or as basic as you like, as long as they're useful it's all good. Allow me to kick this thread off, I'll tackle a few common errors in this example:

Stalling at lights - bad clutch control

As you complete stop with your clutch down, get into 1st gear (very important) and get the handbrake on, keeping the clutch down (or clutch off and into neutral if you're in a bit of a queue also works, but being halfway ready in 1st helps avoid those panicky move-offs).

When the lights begin to change, tickle the gas pedal and find the biting point on the clutch. If you struggle with finding the bite, bring your foot up slowly and watch the front of the car; when the front starts to rise, you've found some bite.
It can be a good idea to have quite a bit of bite so you can feel the car pulling, since this will help you take off a bit quicker and lessen the need to get the pedals moving quicker. However, beware of using too much bite since this will make you stall, especially on an uphill start. To feel the car trying to pull is good, for it to actually start moving forwards while the handbrake is on is bad.

Once the handbrake is down, bring the clutch up SLOWLY and SMOOTHLY whilst gradually increasing the gas. This is where most beginners tend to stall, especially when they start panicking. Too much gas too early at this point isn't ideal, but at the same time it may be better to have too much than too little if you're struggling to get that smooth motion when bringing the clutch up, since having more gas means you can bring the clutch up a bit quicker without jerking or stalling the car.

Remember, in most cases there is no rush to move off.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 1

SillyEddy

I found the most important thing to know is simply how a car operates. For me at least, I can't really understand a concept unless I know how it works. Thus, once you know why the location of the clutch and gears are important, you'll know how to recognise and avoid a stall. I very rarely stall now because of it. It's not thinking "what was I taught to do?" it's me knowing "this is what's going on and this is what it means to my progress".

When pulling off, as a student, I was always taught to set the throttle (around 1400RPM or so) and then lower the handbrake and bring the clutch up. Thus, you were always at a suitable power to avoid stalling.

If the car feels unresponsive and that you're not in control of its motion when pulling away, put the clutch back down and that will stop power going to the wheels. No power to the wheels = no stall. Refocus and then work on the clutch and throttle movement again. In some cases you do just need more power, but a lot of people get stuck absolutely blasting the engine when all they need to do is properly control the throttle.

Reply 2

It's****ingWOODY

Great point Eddy. More gas can help avoid stalling, but there really is no substitute for learning to control the clutch properly.
However, I'd leave actually learning it to dedicated sessions and manoeuvres. Still try and get that clutch up smoothly when you're pulling off at the lights which of course you'll get better at each time you do it anyway, but until you're really good at it I'd still suggest make sure you have a fair amount of gas; will help prevent stalling just until your clutch control gets better.

I also have to stress to people, don't rush pulling off. People will see that you're a learner so will (hopefully) give you a bit of leeway in regards to pulling off a bit slowly. Better to pull of a few seconds slow rather than stall and have those few seconds turn into several.

Reply 3

ROG.

To get used to where a clutch bites - find quiet level place and set off without using any gas - do that many times

Reply 4

It's****ingWOODY

Original post by ROG.

To get used to where a clutch bites - find quiet level place and set off without using any gas - do that many times

Just found a good site with detailed exercises to practice this:

http://www.driver-education.com/clutch.htm

Reply 5

Fjarskafinn

Great thread, I know the panicky feeling when moving off too well. Even now when the panic is a rarer occurence, I still sometimes snatch my foot off the clutch too quickly leading to the car shuddering, or - like on my previous but one lesson - stall completely at some traffic lights. I know it happens to experienced drivers (seen my SO stall a couple of times and he's the most competent driver I've ever been in a car with), but knowing how to prevent it is good.

Reply 6

ReadMyMind

One of the best things I've found was learning and figuring out what happens just before a stall. For ages, sometimes I wouldn't even realise I'd stalled because I didn't 'know' the car. If you can recognise the 'shudder' your car does JUST before it stalls, then most of the time, you can save it

Reply 7

F1's Finest

I used to stall in my first 10 hours of driving lessons, now I don't stall anymore.

At the end of the day, (this is an obvious statement) you have to have full clutch and gas control.

It operates like a seesaw, as you lift your foot off the clutch slowly, you give the car some gas slowly.

There's not much we can help you with, but you are guaranteed to stall less as you gain more experience being in the car.

Reply 8

simonlines

I still stall every now and then at traffic lights. That's because i'm lazy and have the clutch up too far already to move off. Its not the stall that's the problem, its what you do with it.

Reply 9

It's****ingWOODY

Original post by simonlines

Its not the stall that's the problem, its what you do with it.

Absolutely right. If you stall during the exam, that's not an auto-fail. The examiner will be looking to see if you can keep control if the car, prepare it correctly and get moving without too much deliberation; you do that, you'll get away with a minor control fault. Though if you stall a few times throughout the test you'll end up with too many minors in that one section, which means a fail so definately worth avoiding. Not to mention the embarrasment!