Why I don't visit GH very much anymore

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by diamondlarry

What I usually do is use 4th gear down as low as 15 mph and I let the clutch out to the point just before it will grab then I, very quickly, release it some more and shove it back in. I don't have my foot on the gas at all when I'm bump starting. I've also gotten to where I don't feel any jolt at all when the engine starts. The tach just comes up to about 550 or so then I choose the proper gear and let out on the clucth and keep driving.

Excellent point, don't touch the gas pedal when you bump start.

[philmcneal]

good tips dan and diamond! I never knew you can bump start without gassing too. I'm pretty good with my left foot so i'll give that method a shot too if I find I can't put the car back in neutral fast enough. Although I meant to show you this post dan back at GB but ill paste it here to show you how my failed experiment went:

well i go to school which is usually 10 km there and 10 on the way back. FAS indeed if I had to guesstimate gives me (20-30%) more coasting ability than opposed to just putting it in neutral. I forget sometimes to key off and the key on right away to regester the mileage and the speedometer. At this point I try not to abuse any electronics since I don't want to drain the 12 volt battery too fast ( HUD lights are already on, headlights on)

wow what a difference coasting with engine off makes! although personally road noise is still the same for me (thanks tires!) but my biggest problem and fear so far is bump starting. I suck at it so much everytime I try to do it I either fail or the car shakes very violently and then RPMs spike up. When trying to understand the science behind it I couldn't do a smooth bump start no matter what I tried: few examples

going 20km/h, clutch in pop it into 2nd and let go slowly, clutch grips engine still off

going 20km/h, clutch in pop it into 2nd and let go slowly at the same time add a little gas. Nothing happens until I let the clutch out all the way and gas a little more and then BOOM the engine comes back alive very violently like I awaken it from a very deep sleep.

I tried the same method at the same speed but 3rd and 4th gear, car sounded like it tried to jump the engine but it stalled. I guess not enough torque at 20km/h

when going 50km/h i'd put it in 4th and clutch out slowly and gas little, engine awakes but still violently up to 1800 rpm. (60km/h @ 2000 RPM is my sweet spot for 4th gear)

no i think i abused my car enough to try 5th...

oh yes i did at least 6 to 7 FAS and at least 5 bump NASTY starts. My fuel gauge was pointed at F until after my experiement the needle regestered half! i was shocked but then it settle back up to 3/4... not what I was expecting at all espically when I only have 45 km on the odometer. ( i reset everytime i fill my gas tank to the top) I used to keep the needle at F after at least 70 km, but now after this... my faith is kind of shaken.

thanks again Dan for routing me to a better place

[MetroMPG]

phil, what you described above i would call a "roll start" - the kind of technique I would use to start a cold standard shift car with a dead battery. it's violent, but it's guaranteed to get the engine turning long enough to get it started. since your engine is already warm and ready to go when doing FAS driving, a "bump start: is all you need.

when "bump starting", think of using the clutch the same way you use the key for normal starting. you wouldn't hold the key to "START" for longer than half a second or so to start a warm engine. the same technique applies to the clutch in a bump start.

1 - key on

2 - select a higher gear than needed for your current road speed ( possibly 4th or 5th)

3 - release clutch to the beginning of the friction point, then (as diamond larry described) very quickly release almost all the way through the friction point and then *immediately* push the clutch all the way in again - this step takes about half a second and the engine is now running and the bump start is complete.

4 - select appropriate gear for your road speed

5 - ease out clutch

6 - carry on (gas)

when you get practised at it, you can smooth out step #5 even further by "blipping" the throttle slightly while you're engaging the clutch to ensure the engine is at the right RPM for your road speed.

[philmcneal]

awesome awesome awesome! Thanks for explaining the difference between the two, that made so much more sense. I'll keep you guys updated!

its funny i posted also the same question in standardshift.com and most of the replies are directed towards what I'm doing is not safe. I'm only reacting half a second slower to accelerate that's all, my brakes and steering is still fine. I don't see what's the fuss is all about? In all the situations I could think of when I really needed to punch it (to avoid whatever) , I'd never turn off my ICE in those conditions anyway.

Its not my problem anyway, people like to drive heavy cars

steps 1 to 3 i need to master, 4 and 6 i'm a pro already in regards to rev matching for the approiate gear =) Thanks again Metro!

wait one more question before i do some crazy things for my car:

when you pulse to speed (say up to 70km/h) in 3rd gear, your rpms should be quite high by this time (say 3000 + rpms) and when I put the gear into neutral do you wait for the revs to settle at idling then key off? Or key off immediately and watch that tach die like that?

Just wondering if the ^ imposed siutation would improve wear and tear.

edit: I can bump without even thinking about it! Didn't realize it would be that easy haha! How come I was never told this technique! I haven't got this excited about my own car ever since someone told me I could go into neutral without using the clutch (back then I was obessed about maintaining the clutch since I was new on it).

Although a few things I noticed, you can still glide quite far with neutral as it seems but engine off I think it makes that extra difference and its a huge bonus when the end of your coast there's a red light. Makes you all warm and fuzzy inside, even better than the light turns green and you bump start and fly away!!!

But I advice newbies to try to coast with neutral first, to see how long the coasts are and maybe you can make a few adjustments as you go along. Once you got all the "pulse" points and coast points down you can start incorporating ICE off during the coast. Just watch out behind you!

75 km on the odometer and the fuel gauge still points at full! although sometimes it likes to be werid and point at half but at least I know it lies! Now just thinking about the next drive sends excitement through my foot.

Now I just need some good coasting tunes.