back with a tivo :D

[losties]

just like the title reads i am back and now im with a sportivo :D although most of you wont remember the thread that i posted up a while ago about my concert on the issues of getting a sportivo.

so now im an official owner, its a 03 black sportivo with light guards and bonnet guards, i will post up pictures of it sometime soon when i get the chance.

anyway ill get straight to what exact is worrying me. i think my amateur manual driving is killing my car some how. when i start the car i engage the clutch then start the engine like how the manual instructed you to do it, but as i let my car warm up i press the clutch again just so i can practice abit of gear changing but when i do that my clutch makes a squeeky sort of sound (this happens when i first start the car and it does away later on) not sure if thats normal? anyway thats not all my problem starts even more when i start to drive (i must really suck at manual, btw i've drove manual before but only for practice so i've never own a manual car before) i have a hard time getting into some gears (i like to save petrol so i shift at 3k max) especially the first gear.

secondly let say im about to approach a stop and i put it into neutral and slowly break but if the lights change quickly i cant seem to get it into gear 1 im fine with most of the other gears although they do seem stiff. thirdly sometimes when i drive in the morning after letting it warm up 2/4 of the temperature gauge then drive for abit i hear this whistling sort of noise, the sound is quite soft but because i listen to the sound of my car engine when i drive in the morning i can usually hear it, is that normal? anyway ill cut this thing short if i can since i know im boring everyone. btw when i bought the car at the dealer they show me an racv check and it shows that it had its water pump changed, the previous owner was a female and kinder didn't care about the car, i will post up pic of the condition of my car and show you all when i get the time.

the clutch seems high in height for me is it recommend to change it or would a heavy duty one be better?

is reverse always that stiff to get into gear?

and if i were to get oil for my tranmission how do i apply it? do i just pull off the gear area inside the car where the knob is and just pour it down?

whats more healthy for the car and clutch coming to a stop in neutral or coming to a stop in gear regardless if its a high gear then just when your about to stop just clutch it and put it into neutral?

i will try to change gears at high rpm and see if i have the changing gear problem, what is considered high? ill try 6k then

if you have a video of yourself driving normally and driving with lift i would love to see it, thats if its not too troublesome for u to upload.

And i rarely use "lift" i am scared that i would be using it the wrong way, especially worried about my clutch.

gosh i feel so crappy the way i drive my car. thanks for reading if your still with me this far :D

Edited August 20, 2011 by losties

[TRD 029]

How are you.

Firstly, dont panic, the more you drive the more you'll get used to driving a manual.

When starting your car, you shouldn't need to engage the clutch as long as the gearbox is in neutral. If its in neutral you can just turn the key and the car should start fine.

When pulling up to traffic lights you should be changing down through the gears as the car decreases speed. This helps the car slow down and reduces the wear on your brakes. My wife owns a manual 2003 sportivo. Owned it since new and still on the first set of brake pads, had the front discs machined once and car has now done 130,000km. When changing down gears dont go below 2nd gear as 1st gear is mainly used for taking off from a stationary position and dropping to first gear will put unnecessary strain on your gearbox.

Also when you are pulling up to traffic lights and the lights change on you while still moving, you dont need to change down to first, put the car into second gear and you should drive off fine. If doing higher speeds obviously select a higher gear to continue on with.

Youll know if the clutch needs changing, as when accelerating under load you'll find the engine will start to rev higher and you wont be getting much acceleration. Also youll find a lot of gearboxes at times have trouble changing into reverse. Best thing to do if having trouble is to put the car into another gear first and then move it back to reverse, this help sometimes.

The good thing is you've bought a Toyota which take a fair bit to beat up.

Hope this helps and makes sense to you. Good luck

[P_T]

When you're slowing down to a stop, it doesn't matter if you're in neutral or in 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th gear. You also don't have to put it into 1st gear if you wanted to accelerate again, just put it in 2nd or even 3rd if you're still going fast enough.

One more thing, don't ride your clutch when you stopped uphill.

Edit: I agree with what TRD 029 says about shifting down when slowing down. I think it's what they call "engine brake". It's still ok if you just put it into neutral, it just uses up the brake a bit more.

Edited August 20, 2011 by P_T

[jeffy]

[SuperDave]

The manual recommends changing at 4000rpm, doing this will make the gear changes smoother and easier. There is negligable difference in fuel use.