My previous porsche was a 95 Tiptronic. I decided to go the manual route this time round.

The issue I have is that I've got a hard driveway to get out of.

About 10 feet of roughly flat near the garage but then a short but steep (probably 35 degree) section and at the top I'm on a bit of an incline with not very good visibility to the left. In fact I have a mirror on the right hand side of the driveway to see traffic coming from the right. And occasional idiots traveling at high rates of speed over a hill coming down towards our house.

So basically I've got to become super comfortable doing incline starts and fast 1 to 2 gear chanages just to get out of my driveway to get onto a flat section of road to practice on.

As long as I'm not burning the clutch is it safe to practice incline starts/stops say 5-6 times at a time with the clutch?

I am going to be taking some private manual lessons starting tomorrow.

But given the type of driveway I have should I simply rent a beater car and practice for a few weeks?

I'm not having any issues with the clutch going in reverse or starting from a stop on a flat. But the inclines are definitely giving me issues.

Thanks for any advice.

 

Clutch wear comes from heat. Heat comes from load multiplied by time. So if you slip the hell out of your clutch once and let it cool down, that's a lot better than trying again right away. If you give yourself a few weeks, I imagine you'll be fine.

You may want a beater car anyways for when you eventually take the plunge and go in for mods.

 

I've driven manuals all my life and I find the 996 to have somewhat of a difficult clutch feel for first gear. You have to give it enough throttle or it would stall. In my BMW, I can basically take off just above idling rpm.

That said, using the hand brake makes it a lot easier to start on an incline. As soon as you feel the car starting to go, release the parking brake and go . That's part of the driving test in Europe btw. Works like a charm and you can take off quickly .

I don't think you'll ruin your clutch from practicing for a little while. It's supposed to be able to handle 400ft.lbs of torque, so a mild first gear take-off shouldn't hurt it.

 

Thanks for the info. I drove for a few days years ago in a cheap rental manual car in Europe.

But the combination of my dream car, the feeling of the roll-back and a difficult driveway to get out of is stressing me out.

I'm probably just over-analyzing the who situation.

 

Try the parking brake trick a couple of times on an incline where it's safe and once you'll get the hang of it, you'll be a lot more comfortable. My driveway isn't nearly as steep as yours but I back into my garage in a relatively tight spot and it stresses me out as well . Using the parking brake basically eliminates the rolling back you experience when you are not fast enough with the clutch; it's a lot less stressful.

 

I was in the same boat as you were a few months ago, completely normal. It's the feeling of possibly damaging your baby. But it comes natural quick enough, everyone will tell you the same. Just try to forget your nerves while doing it and it becomes easy. If you mess up, start over. Easy. Your car will be fine you just need to relax.

I found that a great way to prevent rollback is to hold the clutch pedal a hair before it engages when you are stopped. Then, all you have to do when you release the brake pedal is switch to gas and your engagement is already there!

 

dont feel like the lonesome stranger! i drive a 10 speed big rig for over 20 yrs and never use the clutch except stopping and starting. got my tt and i bet i have stalled at least 50 times! its a learning curve

 

Always do the handbrake trick. It works and makes sense... just some practice is needed and a handbrake that works!!!

 

I find the 996t the easiest car to drive of a whole bunch iv driven manual. I never use the throttle to get going in first gear, not even up the hills..

Technique varies from person to person. I live in SF and I have no problem in the incline hills. Then again, I would plan around those, as my car scrapes.

 

Wierd that people have different effects in engaging first gear. I find if I'm at 1000 rpm and let the clutch go the revs drop unless I add more throttle or it will stall. Uphill, definately needs a little throttle for me. Different flash or clutch making the difference? I don't get any codes so I don't think I have an air leak.

I use the hand brake (easy mode) when on moderate and steaper inclines. Can't stand people that drive right up to your bumper when I'm on a hill. I know I will only go back a couple inches but it bothers me, so I use the handbrake. On my 944 I used to heal-toe it easily but I find the pedal position not optimal for that in the 996 turbo, at least for me.

 

Same here. Even if I'm extra careful, I doubt I could get the car to move without stalling.

I've driven a bunch of different manuals as well and none felt like the 996.

 

One thing that makes Porsches difficult starting out is the clutch booster spring. The N/A version is much more difficult than the Turbo. I wrote this thread on another forum that has helped many owners deal with the lack of feel of the friction point and do a quick and easy mod to get it back. Works on Turbos too!

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...matically.html

 

Back in college, I bought a 1987 integra for 300 dollars to learn manual. Being that our clutches cost about 4k all in, it might not be a terrible idea to borrow some POS car to learn on.

My school had a ton of hills and I practiced pretty much exactly as you described. Doing like 5-6 starts to get practice. I learned a few things quickly.

1) Handbrake trick totally works, but makes you look like a n00b in front of your friends unless it's the biggest most heinous hill ever.

2) With your foot firmly on the brake, let the clutch out slowly on the hill until you see the RPMs drop. That means it's starting to engage. Learn that point and don't release the brake until that moment. The car will not roll back and give you that knee jerk "MUST HIT GAS" reaction. Obviously do not sit on the brake with the clutch at that engagement point for long.

3) To avoid doing 1, work on being able to hit the gas with your foot still on the brake. Turn it sideways. You can do it similar to heel toe shifting (but at a stop). Google heel toe shifting...you'll see what I mean. If you master that, you can start on any steepness of hill without fear.

I will admit, the engagement point on these cars is a bit tough compared to other manuals I've driven, but you'll get there. Def. get lessons and practice though - new clutches are expensive lessons.

 

get rid of the accumulator/slave and get the GT2 mod....much better feel and response from the clutch.

 

+1

stock 996tt assisted clutch sucks...flat out..it catches right off the top, light as a feather and gives no feedback.