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clutch/acceleration/pulling away

I'm learning to drive and I'm dreadful at pulling away/starting, i can pretty much do everything else okay. I don't know when to use the accelerator I've asked my instructor and his replies are rather vague, he normally says i take my foot off the clutch to fast and thats where i go wrong, but if i do it slower i get told i'm not doing things fast enough?
I either accelerate too early and the car makes a weird noise or i stall because i'm taking my foot off the clutch too fast or i do it too slow and once again stall... can anybody help me to understand how to pull away?

Reply 1

Jasonpt

I posted this on another thread hope it helps:

If you let the clutch fully go you will stall. If you are on a hill you will need to press the accelerator slightly more than the clutch to stop the car moving backwards. If you are not on a hill, simply lift of the handbrake, and gently push the accelerator down whilst gently lifting off the clutch. Don't be nervous, it will take time to get used to it but you will become more confident the more you do it. Ask your instructor to take you to some quiet residential areas to practice clutch control.

Reply 2

rachel102

Original post by Jasonpt

thank you so much!! :smile:

Reply 3

CeeDixon

Original post by rachel102

Hi! I'm on my 13th lesson now, and I've been having the same problems! However, things are starting to stick now and I've realised that if I press the accelerator slightly whilst I'm lifting the clutch, the transition feels smoother and there's no 'jolt' when I move away, like there used to be. Everything will fall into place, but unfortunately whilst you're in the car with a driving instructor, you have to do everything they say as this is what will pass your test after all! Once you've passed, you can start using your own initiative, as long as this is safe to do. Some people say you learn more about driving once you've passed and you can get out onto the road without instruction. This is because you're in control, so you will start to do things that might be easier for you :smile:

Reply 4

rachel102

ah thanks! I just get worried when i have to pull out onto busy roads which makes it 10x worse aha

Reply 5

Lyrical Prodigy

Moved to 'Learning to Drive' :yy:

Reply 6

AntW161

Do maneuvers, plenty of clutch control.

Reply 7

JinxedOut

I realise this might seem like poor advice, but... it gets easier the less you think about it. All you are doing is releasing the clutch to reconnect the wheels and simultaneously putting the accelerator down to give you the energy you need to go. The amount of pressure you apply isn't something you can learn through thinking about it, it is something you just have to pick up from practice. Once I stopped trying to work it out, and let myself make mistakes, I soon found I could intuitively balance the pedals.

Reply 8

It's****ingWOODY

I was always taught to put the handbrake on when stopped. Then, when preparing to go, set the gas, find the biting point on the clutch, hold them, handbrake off, then simultaneously add more gas whilst coming off the clutch - do this last part slowly and smoothly.

Reply 9

username1253532

Original post by rachel102

You basically pull the clutch up slowly whilst pressing down accelerator at the same time.. You're just basically balancing between the pedals.

When you begin, you begin with clutch at bite point, you press down at accelerator and start moving, as your speed increases, your clutch should continuously go up until you gain enough speed that you take off your foot off the clutch. However, whilst doing that, you're pressing down on accelerator slowly and eventually your foot will just be on accelerator once you gain speed (you take your foot of the clutch after you finish acceleration).

I also had trouble with clutch control when I was first starting and especially it was worse when I was panicking, doing manouvres was a mess in terms of clutch control. My instructor took me to a slight hill where I controlled the car just using the clutch against the slight hill (if no clutch, the car will roll forward, and I had to balance it so it doesn't roll back), it helped me to get better sense of clutch control, perhaps if you are worried about this, you should tell your instructor - you're the one paying him/her to teach you - better to ask than not know and fail your test.