[MustangJolly]

Is it me or does the tC clutch seem a little long?? I've driven other cars and it seems like it was easier for me to find the clutch point, but this car.. I got the car yesterday.. past today and yesterday I've stalled out 4 times.. does anyone know what i"m talkin about/

or am I just being a nooB????

 

[zoltiz]

I've heard from a lot of people that tC clutch is way trickier than most other cars. I wouldn't know cause I learned on it. But what I noticed is that I still jerk the tC sometimes while I can drive any other stick pretty smooth.

 

[Ryan'stc]

I noticed my friends saying that my clutch is hard to drive too. I haven't driven a clutch sense the mis nindeys when I drove a all-trac. So I'm staring to think it's easier to drive a tC stick if you learn on it.


P.S. can we get one of the admins to include tC in the spell check dictionary.

 

[Azrael]

My only other vehicle with a manual tranny was a 2000 Ford Ranger. It had a very long clutch compared to the tC.

 

[lo bux racer]

I've driven a lot of different clutches in a lot of different vehicles. The tC isn't difficult or tricky. I was right at home with it right away. However, there is a driver break-in period for any clutch, and in that regard the tC is no different. You have to get familiar with what yours is doing before you can be smooth.

 

[MustangJolly]

I learned to drive manual tranny on an old Honda accord.. i had better luck with that then this, but like lo bux said you just gotta get used to it..

 

[&The TC& @HTown]

Originally posted by lo bux racer@Sep 14 2005, 11:03 PM
I've driven a lot of different clutches in a lot of different vehicles. The tC isn't difficult or tricky. I was right at home with it right away. However, there is a driver break-in period for any clutch, and in that regard the tC is no different. You have to get familiar with what yours is doing before you can be smooth.

okay, I don't mean to ramble, but I've had the car for a year now and while I've gotten used to the way the car drives, I'm still not too happy with the shifting. I think this problem is most directly related to the drive by wire and potentiometer(?) on the accelerator.

EG. If you apply a slight amount of pressure to the gas pedal you get no response. And if you blip the pedal, your tachometer hesitates before the rpms climb.

I've noticed that while I'm driving occasionally I shift, I feel like I'm applying pressure to the gas pedal, but I look at the tach and its still falling!!! I start to try to slowly apply pressure but the rpms still don't rise. I finally have to really step on the gas to the the rpms up high enough and basically jump into gear. One way I've found to counteract this is to match revs to the cars speed by blipping the throttle up to about 3000 (depending what gear I'm in) then letting out the clutch. But I know this causes excess wear on the engine/tranny/clutch.

It just seems like the pedal isn't responding to slight pressure--its so hard to slowly open the throttle in this car! In first, I can either launch the car, tires spinning, or I can slowly bounce the car forward till I hit 2nd. Its nearly impossible get going smoothly.

 

[Sevendust22]

"It just seems like the pedal isn't responding to slight pressure--its so hard to slowly open the throttle in this car! In first, I can either launch the car, tires spinning, or I can slowly bounce the car forward till I hit 2nd. Its nearly impossible get going smoothly."

That's what I've been having trouble with also. I got my TC last week and I still can't get it going smoothly. My girlfriend bitches at me saying that I shouldn't have bought a manual car if I couldn't drive one...lol. The thing is, I do know how to drive a manual, so it's just weird, like I'm lying to her. More often than not I'm spinning the tires even when I try really hard not to. I feel like I need to go practice. I really hope this gets better with time; a year seems like it's a problem that's not going away though. I can only hope.

 

[eddiemoney]

Honestly sevendust you aren't good at driving a clutch from what you have explained. There is no reason to be spinning the tires that much, maybe once or twice it might happen but it sounds like you just dont have good control of the foot feet, try practicing a little more. I have driven many clutches and im agreeing with Lance the tC is not hard or tricky. As far as the gas pedal, it may take a little getting used to but within a week i understood what i needed to do, you just have to anticipate a little better and time your feet and the car is smooth as you want it to be.

 

[th3kill3r]

Learn from your mistakes. What gets me real mad is that when I see other people making the mistake they keep on doing it. Try to find out other ways of doing it until you get it right. Like EddieMoney said time your feet, will take time but will get the hang of it.

 

[lo bux racer]

Or install a lightweight flywheel and all the "problems" disappear. The car really should have come from the factory with a light flywheel. It is so much better than stock it's hard to describe.

 

[th3kill3r]

Didn't know light flywheel could make such a difference. I will order it next week, thankz for the heads up.

 

[prehensile]

many have noticed the same problem seven. Learning from your mistakes would work if the car didn't react differently under different conditions. Between the acknowledged tranny probs and MUCH TALKED ABOUT throttle lag, it definitely takes practice. Been practicing for 23 years and I still make it hop every once in a while. Just go with it. It looks good jumpin, slippin or stallin in my humble opinion

 

[josurr]

the tire spin will go away after the tires have gone past their "break-in" period and start to get to normal wear...

my advice is to practice (w/o your gf in the car) in a church or school parking lot when its vacant... helped me out when i first got the car, now i only spin my wheels if i need to pwn some jackass 16 year old in a civic or other slow 2 door (not including the new si mind you)

 

[Rabberflatch]

is it possible for a grind to be so severe that it chips off a piece of metal and for that piece of metal to get lodged in between gears to cause damage?
and also, is it worse to grind during an upshift or downshift? how much damage can be done if you grind while downshifting into 1st gear from 2nd gear going 23 mph?

 

[alas]

The only time my tires spin is when shifting to second gear while racing. Iv'e driven quite a few manual transmissions; I have to say the tC is one of the easiest I have driven. It just takes time to get used to. Practice on a daily basis; your passenger should not feel jerks or lugs when you shift! Just think of what this girl your trying to impress is thinking!? .." FuçK! i feel sick, this guy sucks, I need a real man! (ALaS)" You get the idea

 

[lo bux racer]

Originally posted by Rabberflatch@Oct 26 2005, 11:20 PM
is it possible for a grind to be so severe that it chips off a piece of metal and for that piece of metal to get lodged in between gears to cause damage?
and also, is it worse to grind during an upshift or downshift? how much damage can be done if you grind while downshifting into 1st gear from 2nd gear going 23 mph?

Yes. It doesn't matter if its an upshift or downshift, it is possible to break synchros and dogs and have the pieces get sent through the gearbox. AMHIK.

 

[FiremanNick]

I am curious about all this talk of the tC clutch being difficult...

From the first test drive I had no problems with the clutch... I actually was impressed with the feel of the clutch when I first drove it...

26,000 miles later the clutch stills feels as good as it did when it was new...

Several different people who know quite a bit about cars drive my tC and said they liked how the clutch feels....

I let a girl drive my tC last night, and she was not a very experienced stick driver, and she did fine... no jerks... no stalls...

Did Toyota change the spec on the clutch sometime either during the first production year, or between the '05 - '06 model year??

I can't imagine all these people are talking about the same clutch that I have had such ease of use with...

 

[Rabberflatch]

thanks lobux. will there be any obvious signs that there is metal floating around my gearbox? what will i experience? also if i empty and refill my transmission fluid will i get all the pieces out and see if i did any major damage?

 

[Sevendust22]

Thanks For replying guys. I know I'm not the best at driving Stick, but at the same time, I learned on a 1969 VW bug and that thing was as easy as anything. I also drove my friends 1992 civic for a while, also with no problems. Maybe it's just the fact that it's a new car. It is frustrating though. I drove my TC around yesterday and I only spun the tires a couple of times, but I also stalled out a couple of times!! I just doesn't seem like I have been able to find the happy medium yet. I'll continue to practice and hope that I get it down to a science. It sure is a lot of fun though once I get out of first gear...lol