Hello all. I want to thank everyone for a warm welcome over in the New Members forum. I'm wondering what 1st gear was like when you first started driving your FiST? I've been driving my new to me 2014 FiST for a just a few days now. I'm struggling keeping my starts in 1st quick and smooth. This is just in normal driving. Granted I haven't owned a manual in over 10 years. I find that all the other commuters around me get going quicker, while I'm jerking getting started slower and don't really get going until 2nd. I just want a quick smooth start. I either have to launch very slow or launch like I'm racing to be smooth. It's probably me, but I wanted be sure and get some feedback from you guys and girls. I have no issues in 2nd and higher gears. Thanks in advance!
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1st Gear Experience for a New FiST Owner
- Thread starter Matt-78
- Start date
The dual mass flywheel makes the clutch feel a little more "soft" or "dead", but keep in mind that the FiST is a hopped-up economy car, and that clutch is soft so it's easier to commute with in cities and stop-and-go traffic. I'm actually grateful for it because NYC sucks for drivers.
Also the torque is truncated in first and second, and the real power doesn't come in until third. Again, great for daily driving, but not necessarily the best for performance (although it makes sense to cut torque in first to reduce wheel spin). Nothing some bolt-ons and a tune can't solve
Also the torque is truncated in first and second, and the real power doesn't come in until third. Again, great for daily driving, but not necessarily the best for performance (although it makes sense to cut torque in first to reduce wheel spin). Nothing some bolt-ons and a tune can't solve
It just takes some time to get used to it. Very different compared to others I have driven. You may try adjusting your seat position to see if this allows your leg and foot to release the clutch easier. Also, doing performance updates can help, as you will have more torque earlier, making it easier to take off.
Could be you have a clutch problem from past abuse. Glazed or burnt. This car is actually one of the best cars I have owned of many with a manual transmission. Only three other people (family) have driven my car all all had the same impression of an excellent shifting transmission and clutch combo. The high mass flywheel makes for smoother quick shifts and takes a few minutes to get used to. Once you have driven a manual it is like a bike, you will always know how but you will have to get used to each vehicle's quirks. I don't think what you are describing is normal for any FiST. My wife can drive a manual......but not well. Even though she has a 1993 Stealth R/T 5 speed manual from new and her only car. We live in E. TN with hills and mountains, I have seen her car with smoke pouring out trying to hold a hill stopped with the clutch! She gets a new clutch every 18 months........I hate driving her car because the glaze on the clutch makes a smooth start in first gear very difficult. On the other hand my BMW 320 IS went almost 300K with the original clutch with only myself and daughter driving it. My wife also drives my FiST and gives thanks to the "Hill Assist" gods when she does! Unfortunately she thinks she does well with a manual. I think I will continue to let her think. She did do the Tail of the Dragon pretty nicely with the FiST, but only used first gear once! I am trying to move her to a Fusion Sport AWD automatic!
If it continues get the clutch checked......it is not normal.
If it continues get the clutch checked......it is not normal.
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............... Try this. Take your car to a parking lot where there's room to practice. Stop the car. Now without giving it any gas, using only the clutch, get the car rolling in first gear. Do it again. And again. The idea is to train yourself to know where the clutch release is in stroke, and to develop a feel for the engagement. .... ... It's how to teach someone just learning to use a clutch, but can be a useful exercise in an unfamiliar car. To smooth the shift to second gear, eye the tach. This car will keep the rpms up for a moment (for pollution control reasons) then drop the rpms. It will hesitate (for a moment) as the rpms fall at the precise rpm that matches the speed of the car. (Shift assist!) Only then release the clutch. SMOOTH.
....... ..
............... Try this. Take your car to a parking lot where there's room to practice. Stop the car. Now without giving it any gas, using only the clutch, get the car rolling in first gear. Do it again. And again. The idea is to train yourself to know where the clutch release is in stroke, and to develop a feel for the engagement. .... ... It's how to teach someone just learning to use a clutch, but can be a useful exercise in an unfamiliar car. To smooth the shift to second gear, eye the tach. This car will keep the rpms up for a moment (for pollution control reasons) then drop the rpms. It will hesitate (for a moment) as the rpms fall at the precise rpm that matches the speed of the car. (Shift assist!) Only then release the clutch. SMOOTH.
Thread Starter
#10
Thanks for all the help. This gives me a few things to think about. I do know a little about the previous owner and even though they kept it spotless I could see them having a less than stellar clutch technique. Anyway I can check the clutch health without digging into it? However, it may just be me based on Zormechteon's post. The other manuals I've had have been lower horsepower and torque cars that wouldn't get going without giving it some gas. Just letting the clutch out from a stop would bog. So I developed a habit of getting on the gas from a stop. Maybe I'm doing that too much with this car and developing too much torque going into first for normal driving. Also I can feel some play in that mount I think. Not much but I detect a bit of movement. But 2nd gear and on is perfectly smooth for me. Only jerky from a stop.
Is this what everyone on here refers to as "rev hang"??
I ask because I've never heard that term before coming onto this site.
To me, this car has the 'softest' clutch/1st gear takeoff clutch engagement I've ever experienced in 45 years of driving exclusively manuals.
Combined with the dead silent (to me) factory engine/exhaust system (even with the sound symposer still in place!), I was revving way too high, and burning/slipping the clutch so excessively when I first got the car, that it motivated me to install a louder CBE to save the clutch!!
It's all fine now, with the throatier tone/higher volume cp-e Nexus system installed, and I am totally used to it, and LOVE IT!
For whatever reason, the Focus RS I test drove recently had the clutch grabbing IMMEDIATELY off the floor, to the point that I stalled it on the first initial takeoff once the salesman let me take over the driving (the first time I have stalled a manual car like that since learning how to drive them!) due to me being now so used to where the FiST grabs/engages.
(Does ap also supply the FoRS clutch assemblies??)
I ask because I've never heard that term before coming onto this site.
To me, this car has the 'softest' clutch/1st gear takeoff clutch engagement I've ever experienced in 45 years of driving exclusively manuals.
Combined with the dead silent (to me) factory engine/exhaust system (even with the sound symposer still in place!), I was revving way too high, and burning/slipping the clutch so excessively when I first got the car, that it motivated me to install a louder CBE to save the clutch!!
It's all fine now, with the throatier tone/higher volume cp-e Nexus system installed, and I am totally used to it, and LOVE IT!
For whatever reason, the Focus RS I test drove recently had the clutch grabbing IMMEDIATELY off the floor, to the point that I stalled it on the first initial takeoff once the salesman let me take over the driving (the first time I have stalled a manual car like that since learning how to drive them!) due to me being now so used to where the FiST grabs/engages.
(Does ap also supply the FoRS clutch assemblies??)
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The easiest manual transmission vehicle I have ever owned was an Isuzu Rodeo 5 speed manual. I have driven many Japanese vehicles and most exhibit the same tendency.
The clutch pedal in the Fist does not feel linear in its response.
Not that it is bad, just that it has some variance in the pedal clutch pressure feel as you release it. I believe this vehicle is one of the easiest / best manual transmission cars I have ever owned once you get used to it. Practice, practice, practice and it will grow on you.
The clutch pedal in the Fist does not feel linear in its response.
Not that it is bad, just that it has some variance in the pedal clutch pressure feel as you release it. I believe this vehicle is one of the easiest / best manual transmission cars I have ever owned once you get used to it. Practice, practice, practice and it will grow on you.
Thread Starter
#16
Probably me then. Probably on the gas too much for a normal start. As far as testing the clutch, lol, I did this by accident the other day. Parked, had my foot on the brake and released the clutch pedal before putting it in nuetral. Car lurched a bit then died. I feel stupid even admitting to that. I'm glad I had the brake pressed fully. That could be a bad mistake in certain circumstances. I need to break my lazy automatic habits.
It is a six speed manual whereas others are five speed. But the extra gear wasn't added after five, or between one and five, it was added before one. So you have a lower ratio in first meaning. If you don't get into the gas and let your RPMs go a bit higher than (we) you're used to, your take-offs are going to lag. Once out of first, my RPMs return to the ranges I'm used to.
Beyond that, it's all about learning the clutch engage and release heights.
I had similar complaints and observations of most of the posters here, including the varied resistance from the clutch pedal... *had* being the word. I'd even, annoyingly, sometimes hit the wall between 1 and 3 on the shifter. I'm less than a year, 14k owner and these are "issues" no more.
There is very little pedal travel between clutch engage and release... very little room for slipping. My prior vehicle had a much heavier clutch, consistent resistance, with a relatively wide margin for slipping. This one has a comparable narrow margin and is why you're having a jerky first gear take off. You're releasing the clutch pedal a ~centimeter too quickly. It'll take some time, but as long as your fundamentals are good, which it sounds like they are, you'll eventually establish the proper balance.
Beyond that, it's all about learning the clutch engage and release heights.
I had similar complaints and observations of most of the posters here, including the varied resistance from the clutch pedal... *had* being the word. I'd even, annoyingly, sometimes hit the wall between 1 and 3 on the shifter. I'm less than a year, 14k owner and these are "issues" no more.
There is very little pedal travel between clutch engage and release... very little room for slipping. My prior vehicle had a much heavier clutch, consistent resistance, with a relatively wide margin for slipping. This one has a comparable narrow margin and is why you're having a jerky first gear take off. You're releasing the clutch pedal a ~centimeter too quickly. It'll take some time, but as long as your fundamentals are good, which it sounds like they are, you'll eventually establish the proper balance.
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