[camerooney]

Same in NSW Oggie.

[Rubix]

Same in NSW Oggie.

No, in NSW, once you have your full licence, even if you did all your driving (and driving tests) previously in an Auto, you are automatically licenced for any type of car - Manual or Auto. I think this is in some part because licensing is based on ability to handle road hazards, and manoeuvre the vehicle, rather than ability to use the clutch.

[camerooney]

Hmm I must be thinking of the provisional license then.
Thanks for the correction

[Lakes]

Ugh, she thought that when I said "All you have to do is take your foot off and it will go" meant "Put the car into third gear and dump the clutch and it will go".

Apparently she stalled it three times in a row within a minute of taking off.... *sigh*

That won't have ruined my engine too much will it?

what you have to do is explain to your wife, the gear selection is spring loaded, if you do not push leaver to the left ,and you just push gear leaver forward, it will be in 3rd gear, you need to push gear leaver to the left and forward for first, put pressure to the left pull back for second, then third and fourth are just push forward pull back gear selections, take your wife out, and drive her around and explain what you are doing, then get her to drive and, give her tips on what you think she could improve to make driving manual more enjoyable. if they are not taught right it is a nightmare. teach them the easy way and manuel is easier in traffic than auto, as an auto needs your foot on the brake all the time. tell her just relax and learn, and it will become easy and natural. i would say one month to get used to it if she does a lot of driving even quicker.
cheers

[Rubix]

Hmm I must be thinking of the provisional license then.
Thanks for the correction

For my L's and P's I decided not to bother learning Manual because I had a cheap Auto lined up, and the test was easier in Auto. I only learnt Manual once I had my full licence, and when I finally stopped stalling, rabbit-hopping and clutch-crunching, I decided I was too lazy for it and switched back to Auto again.

[eye30]

Don't you Sydney guys have a different license category for manual or automatic? In W.A. you have to pass your licence in a manual car to legally drive a manual car (otherwise, you can only drive an automatic). It sounds as though she has never driven a manual car?

In UK if your pass test in manual you can drive manual and auto's

If you only past test in auto you can only drive auto's.

In UK if your pass test in manual you can drive manual and auto's

If you only past test in auto you can only drive auto's.

In my own clumsy way, that was what I was trying to say.

[Arg]

That won't have ruined my engine too much will it?

**Whose** engine?

[Lakes]

Ugh, she thought that when I said "All you have to do is take your foot off and it will go" meant "Put the car into third gear and dump the clutch and it will go".

Apparently she stalled it three times in a row within a minute of taking off.... *sigh*

That won't have ruined my engine too much will it?

I would not worry too much.
probably just about every test drive on a manuel car would have that happen, or close to it. but when i test drove the i30's i did not stall any of them, just the turbo diesl Focus & the Mazda 3 turbo diesel, i stalled both.

[ozsnowman]

just the turbo diesl Focus & the Mazda 3 turbo diesel, i stalled both.

I also stalled the Focus - I found that to have a terrible clutch!

[camerooney]

The TDI focus was a bit stiff/jerky to drive down low.
I recall that from when I test drove it.

I havent driven the mazda 3 diesel, although the parents did and said it felt similar.

[Lakes]

just the turbo diesl Focus & the Mazda 3 turbo diesel, i stalled both.

I also stalled the Focus - I found that to have a terrible clutch!

That's what i thought, i told the salesman that if i drove a diesel focus in traffic in sydney for long, the clutch would not last as i would have to ride the clutch, also they seemed to be built with left hand drive in mind, hand brake was to left of the consol and they used german left side indicator switch ( hate that!) also had to get out use the key to unlock bonett to lift it.
i went drove the i30 and liked it, just i think both the focus and the mazda 3 both steer and handle better, but now i have the i30 it seems to handle and steer fine for my needs.

[CHB]

Haven't posted in awhile but thought i'd put in a little input

I think the anti stall thing is good in the sense that it is easier to drive and should be easier for new learners to learn!

I've driven a manual all my life(old corolla and suzuki swift) and have never come across it before. I was driving up to Sydney 1 week after receiving my car and the car in front suddenly braked(big traffic jam) and while i probably should've kept a bit more of a distance when i slammed on my brakes i felt a sudden surge of acceleration and i have no doubt in my mind that it pushed my car forward even more and made the accident even worse.

So while it is good, i hope you all keep aware of this and take care when driving your i30 

[Dazzler]

Hi CHB .. Nice to hear from you.. THat is one disadvantage of the anti-stall. I sometimes tailgate (a bad habit) 

[whitbomb07]

I don't know what this anti stall logic is but I haven't come across it yet. I know with gentle use of the clutch I can start to roll with no accelerator input, but not accelerate to a gear change point nor have I encountered the 'boost' under brakes (but I normally press the clutch before the revs get to low when I brake.)

Are you sure it isn't just a virtue of the diesel engine?

CHB are you sure this wasn't ABS working for the first time? It might have given the impression of 'acceleration'.

This whole thing is rather confusing to me, I'm definitely not an expert.

Regards

Daniel

[Lakes]

Daniel, i think CHB used the brake but did not disengauge the clutch at the same time. for an emergency stop you need to use both pedles at once.
Daniel try useing 2nd or third gear were there is an incline, you will feel the car speed up a lot more.
it is a great feature i love it, if used right it will help the clutch last longer too.

Myself i have had no problem in emergency braking, i was following a car that had a kangaroo come out infront of it without warning, was raining heavy, guy braked hard i braked hard the i30 stopped extreamly quick and straight, car behind me could not stop. just remember does not matter if you have ESP or any of the other safty features there is nothing you can do about cars or trucks that are following you, if they don't know what a safe distance to keep so they can allow for emergency there is nothing you can do apart from pull over allow them to pass you.

[whitbomb07]

Lakes

I figured this was what happened to CHB (not pressing clutch)

I've accidentally forgotten to change back to 1st and started off in 2nd a few times, the car didn't really like the idea (it was on straight and level though) I must have been releasing the clutch to quick (not realising I was in 2nd)

I'll give it a try. I've also got to try the left foot brake right foot throttle thing still.

Maybe they've removed the feature on newer models (mines mid OCT 08 build)

Might be the engine is still a bit tight I've only done a bit over 5000km.

Beats me 

Regards

Daniel

[Lakes]

Daniel, it's a bit hard to explain, i did not realy mean to say you could put the car in second or third on a hill and have it speed up from a full stop. but i can have mine in second and ease out clutch not touch throtle and car will drive off ok on own. what i ment was.... if you are moving slowly and say in third gear and there is a slight incline just let the car keep rolling toward the incline and ingear don't use throtle and see what happens ( it will speed up on it's own). but the beauty of fly by wire is, if the manufacturer wants to have someone in the know spend the time on the software they can program different throtle programs, and you could have them down loaded at a service, but i can't see the need with the i30 CRDi, does not seem like it needs changing. but Ford have used fly by wire for some time and they  used to upgrade there software, made the cars feel like they had a performance upgrade sometimes.
Cheers

[CHB]

Hi All,

That's correct, I got caught out by surprise and didn't react fast enough to step on the clutch fully!

So be careful when you're driving...don't want anyone to have any accidents

+1 for all the others saying you can speed up just by using clutch heh....powerful stuff

btw i tried the left foot brake thing and seemed like my throttle was still going? maybe i did it wrong hrmm......

[whitbomb07]

Ok

Did a bit of experimenting last night and today.

I've found that if rolling and in 2nd upon application of brake revs drop and car starts to labour, shudder, revs around 700ish. Upon releasing brake revs rise to 1200ish and then settle back to 1000ish. Car isn't very happy starting from standstill with no throttle in 2nd, 1st is not to bad.

I couldn't get the car to accelerate any further than this initial jump to 1200, after that the car just cruised at 1000rpm.

What I think might have happened with CHB and the 'boost' was actually a confliction between ABS and this 'anti stall' feature.

As for the left foot braking I couldn't trip it, could accelerate without any further input of throttle. I'm not sure if I was doing it right though.

Regards

Daniel