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NOOB to Stick

Daks

Autocross Champion
Location
Toronto
Car(s)
GTI PP
I've driven manual probably 80 % of the time in my life. This is my first VW and after reading all the threads about the GTI 's manual trans I'm sure glad that I bought a DSG. I never needed to do the things to a manual that's necessary to the GTI' s manual.
Just a clutch to hold the power if you're tuned; otherwise it's pretty great. Not sure what the complaints are about.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Just a clutch to hold the power if you're tuned; otherwise it's pretty great. Not sure what the complaints are about.
Have you been reading the posts? Guys are recommending doing all kinds of things that have nothing to do with a beefier clutch.
 

Daks

Autocross Champion
Location
Toronto
Car(s)
GTI PP
Have you been reading the posts? Guys are recommending doing all kinds of things that have nothing to do with a beefier clutch.
Sure - people can recommend whatever they'd like. It's a great 6 speed transmission - there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Some people are overly anal, and because the options to upgrade certain parts are there, they do.
 

Shadowtuy

Go Kart Newbie
Location
NY
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
Have you been reading the posts? Guys are recommending doing all kinds of things that have nothing to do with a beefier clutch.
I think it's great it's so modifiable, Making it more YOUR transmission. You can be pure or modded based on your taste and feel.

It's like having your own signature on the car. :D
 

krs

Autocross Champion
Location
Las Vegas, NV
Car(s)
MKVIIS R
Just drive more, don't goof with all sorts of gimmicks. The best way to improve is to do the motions. My delay valve is still in, and I'm just fine. My delay valve is still in my M3, just fine. Trying to adapt to someone's preference when you don't even know what your preference is, is counter productive to learning how to drive a manual car.
 

hans611

Lost
Location
Miami
Car(s)
'16 Golf R 6MT
Its very hard to give advise on driving stick like this in writing... but what will help the most is simply practice, in a few more months you will be much better...

Pretty much the best advise I would say is what other are mentioning, to pause / slow down the shift between 1st and 2nd.... and also if you are taking off easy, try to short shift 1st...

I don't want to mention this but once you are more advanced you can slightly slip the clutch in the bite point to take off faster....

This can go wrong fast if you hold it in the bite point too long... you will take out years of clutch life in seconds, so give it time before you can be more aggressive...

There is really no other way to take off fast, either you slip it a bit to get into the powerband or you spin the tires (if in a FWD GTI)
 
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hans611

Lost
Location
Miami
Car(s)
'16 Golf R 6MT
Have you been reading the posts? Guys are recommending doing all kinds of things that have nothing to do with a beefier clutch.

Honestly I did all that shit to my Mk5 and when I started driving my Mk7 I realized they had it right all along, i just got a heavier knob and so far thats it... Maybe ill get the euro OEM short shifter

I got the Mk5 at 45k mi with what it seems was the stock clutch, then I got it to stage 2 HPFP, IC by 60k and it lasted all the way to 114k mi....

Its not that bad... maybe if/when I change the clutch my opinion changes.... ill get a DSG when I have no choice, makes driving so boring
 

Ridebjj

Autocross Champion
Location
lasVegas
This will probably be controversial, but since the 1st to 2nd shift gets a lot smoother if you do it at 5k rpms - I do that a lot, unless it's obvious I'll be slowing down again soon - like for lights or in a parking lot. For those cases, I give it a 2 count between shift and clutch release.

The take off from stop in 1st also gets smoother and less prone to bog down if you give the throttle a little blip before starting to let the clutch out.
 
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OldVWFan

Go Kart Champion
Location
NW Arkansas
Car(s)
17 GTI Sport
No one can advise someone on how to drive a manual if they never had tried. It takes lots of practice to do it smoothly and to learn various techniques, like heal and toe, rev matching, etc. Also, different cars take similar but different techniques based on the car, so take it slow and continue to practice, practice, practice, and it will come to you.
 

CarlosCanizares

Autocross Newbie
Location
Surrey, BC, Canada
Car(s)
Mk7 Golf R
Not sure if this will help, but I also had that 1-2 shift issue. I added the Boomba adapter to shorten my throws a bit, but it also cured the 1-2 shift.

I also bought the 19 year-stick driving experience to help the adapter.

You'll get better in time! Learn good technique then work on making that faster.
 

sterkrazzy

Autocross Champion
Location
United States
Car(s)
Turbo. Blue.
I haven't driven any other manuals except for VWs so I don't really have anything I can compare to, but when people talk about the smoothest manuals to drive I've never seen anybody bring up VW.

1st to 2nd is definitely the trickiest. Even after almost 14 years of driving a manual I still have a few 1-2 shifts a day that aren't smooth. This just takes a lot of practice. You've gotta get the feel for it and build up the muscle memory.

As for taking off from a stop, I do the same as Ridebjj. I started doing that with my mk6 that had a lightweight flywheel and when I got my R that habit kinda carried over, but it helps and works well. It's a tiny blip to like 1k rpms, let the clutch grab before the rpms fall to idle, and hold a small amount of throttle to get you going.
 

Shadowtuy

Go Kart Newbie
Location
NY
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
Would you guys say this car is a durable one to learn on? I get so nervous because all I hear is "save up for a clutch" or "you're gonna break your first stick car"

I stalled out yesterday pulling into a dunkin and the car sounded off for a second making me think I burnt something up but it stopped a moment after.

I'm so appreciative of you guys! Much love!
 
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Daks

Autocross Champion
Location
Toronto
Car(s)
GTI PP
Would you guys say this car is a durable one to learn on? I get so nervous because all I hear is "safe up for a clutch" or "you're gonna break your first stick car"

I stalled out yesterday pulling into a dunkin and the car sounded off for a second making me think I burnt something up but it stopped a moment after.

I'm so appreciative of you guys! Much love!
You'll be fine, just don't rev it to like 3K each time you're taking off. Whenever I am trying to teach someone how to drive stick. I always make them slowly start releasing the clutch, in first, very slowly, so they feel when the clutch will engage, the car will also start to move at that point. It's also at that point you start to add a bit of throttle. Be patient, take your time, it will come.
 

Desslok

Autocross Champion
Location
PA
Car(s)
2019 Rabbit
What's a swirl valve and how does it help in a day to day?
It's another delay valve, built into the factory clutch line. If you opt for an aftermarket clutch line, you can delete it.
Is it better to delete it? I can't say for sure sure. The difference without it is less noticeable than the improvement from removing the delay valve on the bleeder block.
 

sterkrazzy

Autocross Champion
Location
United States
Car(s)
Turbo. Blue.
Would you guys say this car is a durable one to learn on? I get so nervous because all I hear is "safe up for a clutch" or "you're gonna break your first stick car"

I stalled out yesterday pulling into a dunkin and the car sounded off for a second making me think I burnt something up but it stopped a moment after.

I'm so appreciative of you guys! Much love!
You'd be surprised how well they hold up. Tips for longevity would be things like don't ride the clutch. When you're letting the clutch out make sure you let it out all the way. You don't want to give it a bunch of gas when the clutch hasn't entirely grabbed yet. Also don't hold the clutch down at stop lights or when you're just sitting there. Put the car into neutral and keep it there, anticipate when you need to move before you push the clutch down and put it into gear.

Another thing manuals don't really like is a lot of throttle at low rpms in higher gears. You shouldn't be going WOT or close to WOT in 4th, 5th, and 6th if you're under 3k rpms. It's better to downshift and accelerate through the gears than to lug the engine with a load like that. This is how a lot of people end up with slipping clutches.

Just do your best to avoid grinding gears and riding the clutch and it should hold up fairly well.
 
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