Gently and Slowly on the Throttle

Back when I couldn’t drive a manual car at all, I was so focused on clutch operation that I had no room to think about anything else. Then one day, I found a video online titled, “Driving a manual car is all about throttle control.”

When driving a manual, it’s natural to focus on the clutch, but the video explained that “it’s important to ease off the throttle slowly and gently,” which helps you shift up smoothly without any harsh jolts.

(This photo is of a 911 GT3 Cup car, but I didn’t have any other pedal shots.)

I thought, “I get that throttle control is important, but even if I understand it in my head, I just don’t have that kind of finesse yet.”

Then recently, when I was driving a BMW 320i to the airport to drop off my husband for a business trip, he pointed out something to me:

Try paying more attention to your throttle work. Instead of just “on” or “off,” try pressing and releasing it more gradually. That way, your shifts will be smoother with less shock. When you usually drive an automatic, you probably don’t think about easing the throttle like that, but it’s really important when driving a manual.

I gave it a try, focusing on the throttle—but then I lost focus on the clutch, and ended up with some pretty rough shifts… (-_-)

Why is it that I can only focus on one thing at a time? (￣ー￣)w

My husband teased me lightly, but after a few tries, I started to get the hang of it.

Yeah, that’s it! Keep that in mind, and you’ll be shifting as smoothly as if you were driving an automatic.

I realized my driving had been very much that of a “manual-driving amateur,” lacking smoothness. Since then, I’ve been consciously working on throttle control, but if I let my guard down, old habits creep back in. So I know I’ll need plenty more practice for a while.

Matching Engine Speed When Downshifting

Another skill I’ve been practicing recently is “matching engine speed when downshifting.” I’ve secretly wanted to be able to do it instantly and smoothly like Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible or Jason Statham in The Transporter. (Though of course, that’s pure movie magic.)

Also, when I drove a Boxster on the Royu Driveway a while back, I loved the way the car growled “vroooom! vroooom!” with the auto-blip feature every time I downshifted, and I thought, “I want to be able to do that myself someday.”

But when I actually tried, as usual, it didn’t go well at all… (-_-)

I even tried practicing matching revs while downshifting on the highway, but instead of blipping the throttle, I ended up just slowing down and gently engaging the clutch.

Then recently, my husband showed me a video titled, “No Right to Heel & Toe! Downshifting While Braking Is 100 Years Too Early! Takakka’s Tough Critique Drive [Tips & Practice to Improve Your Driving].”

What a title! (laughs) And the advice in the video was:

“When matching engine speed, don’t just stomp the throttle. Instead, gently and gradually press it beforehand. That’s smoother and works better. Start practicing from there.”

I thought, “That makes sense.” I’d been focused on doing it quickly, but in the end, careful and deliberate operation is what really matters.

A few days later, I practiced accelerating while downshifting from 6th gear on the highway. Predicting, “Looks like the truck ahead might move over soon,” I slowed down and shifted from 6th to 5th, then when the truck gave way, I gently pressed the throttle and downshifted to 4th…

To my surprise, it went quite smoothly!

However, with my BMW 320i, 4th gear doesn’t have enough power or torque for highway acceleration, so I’d really like to downshift to 3rd before accelerating.

So I tried downshifting to 3rd with throttle control, but my skill level still caused some shift shock. I thought, “Hmm… this is tough,” but after several tries, I felt like I was starting to get a feel for it. Still, I know I need a lot more practice.

That said, accelerating from 3rd and pulling the engine while shifting up felt incredibly satisfying and exhilarating.

The more you drive a car, the more you learn, the deeper the experience becomes.

By the way, a Twitter follower once told me about driving shoes, saying, “Surprisingly, tabi shoes—you know, the ones worn by gardeners—are great. Not a joke; those who know, know. They have flat, thin soles that make it easier to feel the pedals.” So someday, I’d love to try driving in tabi shoes! (laughs)