4 months after passing my test I think I'm really doing alright. Small hills, town driving, country lanes driving, motorways are no problem.
But 2-3 mega steep hills in Sheffield literally petrify me. I get sweaty and scared etc..
This afternoon for example, I attempted greenhow street, i'd never done it before. You climb the hill and at the end is a junction.
I stopped and put the handbrake on, that itself scares me, I always feel like the car is going to roll back, anyway.
I get into first, get my bite, and gas, but it all goes wrong... The way i give gas and somehow get my bite makes the car sound like a sports car. I can tell I'm literally burning my clutch, the car stinks of burning, and I'm shaking... And then I parked the car and observed how others did it.

Well they seem to do the same but somehow effortlessely.... Can any of you enlighten me? It's hard to put this into words, I wish you could see me in action and I'm sure you could tell me what I'm doing wrong!
Thanks

Originally posted by Diesel
4 months after passing my test I think I'm really doing alright. Small hills, town driving, country lanes driving, motorways are no problem.
But 2-3 mega steep hills in Sheffield literally petrify me. I get sweaty and scared etc..
This afternoon for example, I attempted greenhow street, i'd never done it before. You climb the hill and at the end is a junction.
I stopped and put the handbrake on, that itself scares me, I always feel like the car is going to roll back, anyway.
I get into first, get my bite, and gas, but it all goes wrong... The way i give gas and somehow get my bite makes the car sound like a sports car. I can tell I'm literally burning my clutch, the car stinks of burning, and I'm shaking... And then I parked the car and observed how others did it.

Well they seem to do the same but somehow effortlessely.... Can any of you enlighten me? It's hard to put this into words, I wish you could see me in action and I'm sure you could tell me what I'm doing wrong!
Thanks to much right foot,keep the handbrake on as you balance between clutch and gas,as you feel the car begin to move foreward release the hand brake,accelerate and your away

I'm afraid that it just takes practice to get used to what your car needs to make it behave the way you want it to. Probably with a good teacher patiently sat beside you.

Another alternative would be to get an automatic. With "drive" engaged, it will not roll back as you steadily increase your revs to move off.

You can just about do it with out any gas. Get it balanced with hardly any revs you will feel the car lurch forward a bit with the handbrake on then release the handbrake and use more gas as you bring the clutch up. The key is to use not too much gas though. That is were I always went wrong when I was a new driver.

OT/ I am sure "gas" is the wrong word, can't think of a the right one though!! :confused:

In time it will be much easier. Please - however good you get at balancing the clutch and gas - don't do it the idiots way. What's the idiots way? Easy - rolling back and forth as you try not to use the handbrake. That soooooo annoys me. Use the damned handbrake - that is what it is there for.

Sorry.

During my lessons I could be guarenteed to stall the car even on the slightest of gradients. Now it seems straightforwards and I have no trouble - though on a very steep hill - like carr lane at deepcar, at the bottom where you turn up the road - I do have a slight tendancy to overrev the engine.

Dragon

Take another driving lesson, do only evil hill starts of doom. £15 later you're a master - could even do it in your own car now too.

Keeping it simple.

Practice and more practise, you'll soon get the hang of it and it does sound as though you'rre being a bit to heavy with your right foot. If you can get a morre experienced driver to sit next to you then go out for a couple of hours and go looking for those places that worry you and you'll beat it.
If you ever do try it in an automatic, don't be fooled they CAN roll back even whilst in Drive so good hand brake control is important in either Auto or manual.

Thanks for the replies all.
It seems like I hold the biting point for too long + gas. I wish I could get the hang of it, as I don't want to kill my clutch!!

go out and practice on less steep hills - Greenhow Street at the top where it comes out onto Crookes is notorious due to the lack of vision - the road curves away out of sight down the hill.

its definitely takes a while to get it right...

Greenhow Street is a nightmare! Tight corner, blind bend, cars parked opposite, stupidly steep. Don't think I've ever done it without the handbrake.

Easy option- go up Highton Street (I think it's called) instead. I used to live on Camm St which intersects Greenhow St and Highton St and nearly always took the easy option. It's less steep, better visibility and nothing parked opposite. Save your clutch!

I remember many years ago when i was learning to drive. I too was petrified of the 'hill start' and had difficulty balancing the clutch/accelerator.

My instructor took me to a hill, and we sat there for what seemed like an eternity - practicing dipping the clutch, and balancing the clutch/accelerator until I felt so much more confident.

The only way to overcome this is by doing it until it becomes second nature. Try to find a hill on a quiet road so that you can practice for as long as you need to.

Remember, every car is different, but with experience you'll soon become familiar with it's variables.

You've not been driving very long so don't be too hard on yourself. After all, you only really learn to drive AFTER passing your test!

I remember I never used to like roundabouts (common among learner drivers I think) so I used to go out of my way to make sure I went over/round as many roundabouts as I could.

I think it's really good that you recognise that you need some more practice in certain areas, some people just ignore the fact that they can't do something - that doesn't help anyone.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll do fine.

Trade your car for an automatic, and never worry again

Originally posted by Diesel
Thanks for the replies all.
It seems like I hold the biting point for too long + gas. I wish I could get the hang of it, as I don't want to kill my clutch!! Either get an automatic or take a few refresher lessons on those horrid hills then you don't have to worry about burning your clutch out, kill the driving school cars first!

You should be congratulating yourself on passing your test, be proud, it is really hard work getting that license. Everything about driving takes years of practise. Experienced drivers make it look easy but it's not! There should be no stigma about driving an automatic, they're great. I can happily have an automatic in this country because that's what most people drive here. Definitely takes the worry out of hilly Idaho:thumbsup:

Originally posted by tulip
There should be no stigma about driving an automatic, they're great. I can happily have an automatic in this country because that's what most people drive here. Definitely takes the worry out of hilly Idaho:thumbsup:

Automatics are great if you really can't get it, but by the sounds of it the technique is there, it just needs refinement. If you're holding it long enough to get a burning smell then all you really need to learn to do is come off the clutch once you start putting on the gas - if there's enough bite to make the car move you can just come cleanly off the clutch and leave the accelerator to do the work.

Diesel, don't worry about it, it will come. There's nothing wrong with taking more lessons if it's something you're struggling with. Keep at it and you'll be fine!

Off topic a bit, but in my opinion (that is, based only on experience), automatics are rubbish on hills! That's not to say they can't get up them, but certainly the few I've driven around Sheffield (3 of them) feel like unresponsive slugs on most of the hills, certainly as you get out past Rivelin, Strines, Bradfield, Worral area, when compared with a (less powerful) manual transmission.

If you don't get it in, say, a month here's some most wonderful advice:

Jack it in. That way you won't stress yourself or, more importantly, the likes of me who no doubt will only end up sat behind you whilst you struggle to handle the huge pile of metal that for some reason you believe you have some devine right to drive.

Look at it like this. You fail to pass your Brain Surgery exam twenty times. Obvious isn't it? You weren't cut out to be a brain surgeon. Substitute driver for brain surgeon and Bob's yer uncle.

Happy walking.

A trick I learned ages ago was to find a quiet, empty back road on a slope with enough gradient to make you roll backwards quite easily. Start at the top and leave the car in 1st gear with the clutch in and let the car role backwards. As it gathers speed very slowly let the clutch out in order to stop the car and then make it move forwards again. Do this whilst using NO accelaration...

It's a brilliant way of learning concise clutch control on hills, it's not easy though! It's also easier in bigger engine cars... 1.8/2.0 L etc.

Good luck!

Like most of us who learned to drive in Britain, I learned on standard shift, and still enjoy driving in it when I get a chance, though both our cars are automatic. However there has to be something wrong with a car that is worse on hills with automatic.
One of mine, a Mercury Tracer ( Ford Escort with another name ) is only 2 litres, and climbs the substantial hills of Vermont with no problem and air conditioner running.

Originally posted by spiffymonkey
Off topic a bit, but in my opinion (that is, based only on experience), automatics are rubbish on hills! That's not to say they can't get up them, but certainly the few I've driven around Sheffield (3 of them) feel like unresponsive slugs on most of the hills, certainly as you get out past Rivelin, Strines, Bradfield, Worral area, when compared with a (less powerful) manual transmission.

Spoken by a manual car driver who has occasionally driven an auto, not by someone who drives an auto normally.

In an auto, all you need to do is restrict the change up using your gear lever and kick down by giving it some welly with your right foot. Trust me, I had to change from manual to automatic due to disability, and hated it initially, but my car is my lifeline and I take her everywhere. We (me and the car) regularly go to Halifax- if you think Sheffield's hilly, you should try Halifax!

It's simply a matter of what you are used to- I can pull away from lights, round roundabouts and into gaps faster than a manual car, and all without flapping my left leg and arm about!

I not only drive automatic, I use cruise control every chance I get, how's that for lazy.