Very stupid question about the Manual transmission

[audifan22]

So I'd like to get a manual transmission, but I'm not the best manual driver yet, not bad but have a few mindslips/difficulties. Two questions:

I know some manual transmission cars have an automatic hill assist, so for example if I'm on an incline, and I'm not fast enough to get the clutch engaged, it automatically applies breaking so my car doesnt fall downhill and hit the car behind me. Does the S4 manual tranny do this?

Furthermore, even worse and more dumb, if I'm on the highway and need to make an aggressive manuever stop etc...let's say I downshift by accident by too many gears, which would blow up the tranny, does the car have some type of calculator or built in feature that will prevent the car from shifting down to that gear to prevent an implosion. Sorry for the stupidity, but its actually kind of important for me as a relatively new manual driver. Thanks!

[flashovermac]

the hill assist feature is completely not needed with an oem clutch/flywheel/pressure plate. period. you simply need to learn to use the clutch engagement point (sweet spot) to keep the vehicle stationary before removing your foot from the brake pedal and moving to the accelerator. incredibly simple once you gain more driving experience. i experience ZERO roll back on the steepest of hills without any aid of the sort. as far as an over-downshift protection feature, I cant speak to the B8, but again, with more driving experience, there exists no need for this type of feature, and i can say that with some certainty, it does not exist. simply put... GET PRACTICING

you're gonna notice, in learning to drive a manual shift car, the learning curve seems to be incredibly mono-directional. its like learning to ride a bike. t first, you'll stall, roll-back, jerk, whatever... but after time, you LITERALLY wont be able to intensionally stall if your life depended on it. you'll start to see what i mean in a few short miles. best of luck

[audifan22]

Well of course I hope to never rely on either, and I am very good at switching gears etc, I just would hate it if I had to make an emergency manuever on the highway or something and I messed up on a downshift and killed the car hah.

[SugarTTRS]

i'd think in an emergency situation, you'd throw it in neutral and hit the brakes.
then once you assess the situation, put it in whatever gear is appropriate for the current speed.

[audifan22]

i'd think in an emergency situation, you'd throw it in neutral and hit the brakes.
then once you assess the situation, put it in whatever gear is appropriate for the current speed.

True, it would be my first manual car, do you guys with the manual find it to be so much more fun to drive than the automatic? And out of curiosity, does it have a hill assist feature on the car or not?

[Stubek]

I think the manuals have this pattern...

1 3 5
|**|**|
2 4 6

I know there is a lock on first that you can't put it in if you are over some speed. But if you are in 6 and try to down shift quickly to 5, worst is you will hit 3, but it is pretty hard to do that. If you are in 3, you might pull to 2 or 4, not bad either way. If you are in 5, you would probably pull into 4 or 6, not likely 2. As said above though, you are more likely to throw to neutral. I would say just hit the brake and put the clutch to the floor and keep both hands on the wheel then once the situation is clear, figure out the gear you need to be in.

As for the Audi manual. I had driven a few manuals, never more than a hundred miles at a time or so and not often. My B6 was the first manual I owned. The first week was a bit rough, but what I did was go find a parking lot and practice starting. Once good at that, go find a hill, start at the bottom and go up, as soon as you hit 5 mph, stop the car and repeat. On a good hill with no traffic, you can get 10 practice starts by the top.

[SM_ATL]

Hill assist may depend on model year or trim level, not sure. I have a 2011 P+ and do not have hill assist, but I do not feel it is needed. If you are in a VERY steep descent, you can always use the e-brakes and they would automatically be released when you start rolling afain.

I have always had at least one manual car in my garage for the last 20+ years and would not trade it for an automatic (whether it's DSG or anything else). Sure manuals take a little more effort at launch and gear changes when you are running 0-60's or 1/4 mile, but the fact of always being instantly in control of the gear and your RPM's is great. Then you'll learn to heel & toe and it will be even more rewarding. I drove a DSG with paddle shifters the other day and liked the manual even more after that. The piece I really liked though was the little 'farting' at gear changes

I bought a Mazda MX-5 for my wife and my son last week and tested them in manual and automatic: again, no hesitation to have. Even the 5 speed manual on the base model was a blast.

In the end, it's just a matter of personal taste, but do not worry, you'll get great at it and feel more excited everyday

[Tracker_168]

I was in the same situation 3 months ago. Never even test driven the B8 S4 before purchase, just drove the DSG model.

My hours driving a manual prior could have been counted on one hand with fingers to spare.

1) There is no hill hold feature in North American models (ie: brakes are applied automatically on an incline). However, if you set the electronic parking brake on a hill, its almost the same thing. The parking brake will disengage when the car starts moving. Unlike a true hill-hold assist that automatically keeps the car stationary on a hill, you have to hit the button everytime.

Having said that, I have not used the parking brake for hill starts yet. The friction point is actually quite easy to find and there's enough torque to prevent stalling. One of the first things I did though after purchase was find the steepest empty hill I could find and practice. But I got bored after five minutes because it is that easy.

2) At normal highway speeds, if you are in 6th, you pretty much cannot grenade your engine unless you downshift to 1st or 2nd. 2nd gear maxes out at ~105kmh. I find 1st inherently needs more effort to get in (not sure if this is intentional or not) which might be a safety feature.

I would recommend getting a manual if you want one. I think you'll regret getting a DSG if you really wanted a manual in the first place. You can always go take some lessons prior to practice.

Another thing Ive noticed with a manual is that you have to be much more aware of your driving, planning ahead of time your turns and stops etc so that you can shift in time. It does take more concentration but I think its also much more engaging and fun.

[SM_ATL]

Another thing Ive noticed with a manual is that you have to be much more aware of your driving, planning ahead of time your turns and stops etc so that you can shift in time. It does take more concentration but I think its also much more engaging and fun.

+1. It rapidly becomes second nature, but the fun of being totally in control remains. Sure for commuting and being stuck in traffic jams, one can consider that manual is archaic, but for spirited driving, it is just sheer pleasure!

[BadandyAudi]

True, it would be my first manual car, do you guys with the manual find it to be so much more fun to drive than the automatic? And out of curiosity, does it have a hill assist feature on the car or not?

You're overthinking this. Manuals are fun, you'll get used to them.

[CBRmatt600]

After romping through some insane mountain roads in Andrews, NC this weekend, I am so glad I didn't get the DSG. This car is such a pleasure to drive with the 6MT. And my god, it can corner so well. I was literally leaving sport bikes for dead in the twisties. I did not find a car all weekend long that could keep up with me.

[phillips2024]

this is my first manual car and after awhile its second nature. I find it harder to drive an auto now because im always pushing down on the inexistent clutch (or sometimes the brake ahhah). however, you should learn fast. just practice on a desolate road. Once you feel comfortable and have enough confidence you wont have to worry about your 2 questions.

[Kandiru]

The E-Brake is a God-sent for the novice driver, like said above, makes your life easy.

My advice is not to keep the car on the clutch on any incline more than a few degs
or you will be smelling clutch soon. Engage the ebrake, then you just hit the gas.

I will not miss the handbrake, that is for sure.

[helix139]

This is a rather easy manual to drive once you get used to the low clutch engagement point. between the e-brake and the ample torque it makes it really easy to start on virtually any slope and hard to stall. The one suggestion I would make is to invest in a JHM short shifter as I found it was too easy to accidentally go 6-2 instead of 6-4 due to the slop and long throw in the stock shifter and caught it just before dumping the clutch out a couple of times in the first week or so I had it before I installed the JHM. It's a fairly easy DIY mod that is well worth the price.

[zillmc]

No, it doesn't have true hill assist, but the electronic parking brake can serve that function pretty well. It will definitely give you more confidence as a novice manual driver in those sticky uphill situations with cars behind you. In the SF Bay Area having the option to use the parking brake on hill starts has been a really nice option to have. Yes after some time you won't really need it, but I practice better safe than sorry on some of the nasty 60+° inclines with a foot of space between the car behind me.

You don't have to be over worry missing a gear and blowing up the tranny, unless something completely horrible goes wrong. Everyone's missed a gear in their day and people aren't dropping trannies left and right because of it, typically you will notice by the high revs pretty and quickly take it out into neutral or appropriate gear before any serious damage is done.

I think you are making a good call on getting the 6MT even if you don't have a lot of experience driving manuals. The car is one of the best feeling manual transmissions I've ever driven. People will defend the DSG to the grave, but it can be erratic at times just like any automated box. There's just something irreplaceable being in complete control over the transmission with a manual; especially on the curvy roads in this car. Rowing through the gears in a straight line is always fun, but the car/transmission shines on the twisties. I live in an area with lots of windy roads as part of my daily driving and REALLY enjoy the driving experience with the sports diff and manual transmission, much more so than my previous bmws and g35 with 6mts.

[NHS4]

In my opinion the combination of a manual, awd, and great engine in the S4 are what truly makes it unique (yes - the diff is cool too...). I've always had a manual in "my car" which has been a wide variety of cars/trucks over the past 20 years. I think you'll find this one very user friendly and most importantly very entertaining to drive. Enjoy- you won't break it.

[b6onboost]

Get one, learn, practice, master it...its worth it (especially on a sports sedan like an S4).

[FrimmelNoJerz]

i'd think in an emergency situation, you'd throw it in neutral and hit the brakes.
then once you assess the situation, put it in whatever gear is appropriate for the current speed.

smart woman....I can't believe i just said that.

[BobbyJim]

Really? I would have said neutral is a bad choice because it takes time and removes one of your options for avoiding a crash - acceleration.

Staying in the gear you are in or possibly downshifting if you are feeling nifty would be the best options. The only advantage of neutral is that you won't stall but if you have to brake that hard then stalling is the least of your worries....

[FrimmelNoJerz]

In emergency situations there's no time to be "nifty." Hard braking to a complete stop is best achieved by putting both feet in and doing your damndest to imply threshold braking. I don't know what insane scenario you've cooked up in your head that would involve braking from 75 MPH to 15, making a quick move to avoid a toddler chasing a rubber ball bouncing into the street, and accelerating as hard as possible away from the scene because said child is 4 seconds from exploding. These things don't typically happen and if they DO then take some advice from a fellow retard(me) and stop driving like you belong in an insane assylum.

[QW1000]

here is how it has to be done in emergency situations:
two feet push and both hand on the wheel.
1 foot clutch, 1 foot brake, change gears only after it is safe to do!

in extreme emergency same as above but BOTH FEET ON THE BRAKES.
engine stalling will help with braking
wrong gear and engine stalling should be least of your problems.
you should actually practice this, from different speeds to the complete stop, (engine stalling)
this maneuver saved my life few times, use it.

[QW1000]

and i agree with FrimmelNoJerz,
if you trying to get away after this maneuver you are doing some thing "wrong"

[BobbyJim]

I was responding to the people who thought that changing to neutral in an emergency situation was a good idea, and not suggesting that if you have to brake then changing down first is a good idea!

Emergency situation != emergency braking and there will be some (admittedly rare) situations where fast acceleration will be the best option, hence the downshifting option (e.g. car+trailer alongside you starts snaking and you have someone up your ass - I would definitely change down and floor it). For braking, of course, first thing is to slam your foot on the brake pedal and then (if at all) worry about clutch, gears, etc.

And don't forget, if you think acceleration is the answer, you have to be damn sure because if it doesn't work out, trying to accelerate out of a bad situation will probably hurt a lot more than braking into one.

[FrimmelNoJerz]

Let's punctuate this thread with some generic advice before shit gets super hypothetical and dumb.

I learned how to drive a manual car three years and one month ago when I leased a 135i. Before that I had tried to drive manual in college twice. Both times were quoted as being a "scary but albeit hilarious event." Within about a month of owning the car i had figured out how to not give passengers whiplash, break rear axels when i launched the car, and most importantly miss gears by being a retard boy racer because someone in a kia sedona looked at me cross(seriously..i pulled off my gear lever knob about 30 times in the first two weeks of owning that car)..... And probably for some time after all that I was still abysmal at manual driving until I randomly completed two 3 day courses with skip barber.

point is...buy a manual and drive it. there's no better way to learn. But until you DO figure out how to properly operate the vehicle, don't do anything that would put yourself in a situation where you will have us buying your wheels/headliner/steering wheel/boost gauge/whatever organs you have left. Feel me? Plus girls get wet over dudes who drive stick.

[BobbyJim]

let's punctuate this thread with some generic advice before shit gets super hypothetical and dumb.

Quite amusing from the guy who came up with "I don't know what insane scenario you've cooked up in your head that would involve braking from 75 MPH to 15, making a quick move to avoid a toddler chasing a rubber ball bouncing into the street, and accelerating as hard as possible away from the scene because said child is 4 seconds from exploding."

But anyway, my advice to OP (bearing in mind that I am from Europe where manuals are common) is simply to buy, try, experiment and enjoy. Your clearly have the desire to try and the potential risk (having to sell the 6MT for an automatic) is not huge. I like the laziness factor of automatics but the control that is taken from you (deciding what gear you should be in and when) is too much for my driving preferences.

As for emergency situations, whatever they may be, you are unlikely to fare worse in a manual by reacting as if you had an automatic...steering and braking are the key elements. Like I said I'm from Europe and for many cars manual is default compared to the states where automatic rules. No need to spend a long time thinking, if you like the idea of a manual then go for it - just remember to take a short time out in a parking lot or similar to have a play with the clutch and the gear changes. It really does become second nature.

The plus side? As you learn your driving experience with the manual s4 will only get better :)

And finally I have to say that using brakes to hold the car in queued traffic sucks, especially at night (due to high intensity brake lights). I know it is common in the US but with a manual it makes even more sense to use the parking brake when stopped at lights or whatever.

[salmjo1]

So I'd like to get a manual transmission, but I'm not the best manual driver yet, not bad but have a few mindslips/difficulties. Two questions:

I know some manual transmission cars have an automatic hill assist, so for example if I'm on an incline, and I'm not fast enough to get the clutch engaged, it automatically applies breaking so my car doesnt fall downhill and hit the car behind me. Does the S4 manual tranny do this?

Furthermore, even worse and more dumb, if I'm on the highway and need to make an aggressive manuever stop etc...let's say I downshift by accident by too many gears, which would blow up the tranny, does the car have some type of calculator or built in feature that will prevent the car from shifting down to that gear to prevent an implosion. Sorry for the stupidity, but its actually kind of important for me as a relatively new manual driver. Thanks!

I think we are getting off topic:

1. The e-brake serves as a great hill holder. Practice without it when no one is behind you, but use it if you need it.

2. Not going to happen. If you are tracking the car, maybe you miss a shift. Think of all the real idiots on the road (who don't even know to ask these questions). It's not like people blow trannies up all the time.... you will be fine!

The manual is awesome. It will be second nature < 1 month. You will NOT regret it.

The learn heel-toe downshifts and take yourself to the next level :)

[PGP128]

Emergency manuever/stop - press down on the brakes and clutch as fast as you can and keep the pedals depressed until you're safe. The S4 will detect the quick pressing of the break and will apply full force for you without locking up the steering. You can still steer away from the obstacle if you know you won't be able to stop in time - the inertia of the car will allow you to do that without putting the car back into gear and accelerating.

I can't believe someone would recommend putting both feet on the brakes and allowing the car to stall. This would cause you to lose power steering and brake assist and anti-skid functions. We should really take advantage of all the great technology the S4 has.

As all others have said, the s4 6mt is very forgiving and fun to drive.

[QW1000]

Emergency manuever/stop - press down on the brakes and clutch as fast as you can and keep the pedals depressed until you're safe. The S4 will detect the quick pressing of the break and will apply full force for you without locking up the steering. You can still steer away from the obstacle if you know you won't be able to stop in time - the inertia of the car will allow you to do that without putting the car back into gear and accelerating.

I can't believe someone would recommend putting both feet on the brakes and allowing the car to stall. This would cause you to lose power steering and brake assist and anti-skid functions. We should really take advantage of all the great technology the S4 has.

As all others have said, the s4 6mt is very forgiving and fun to drive.

I might be old school, but I've learned how to drive long time ago,
and was trained for to be a driver in the military (USSR),
transporting people and some more dangers things then people.
i also went thru few advance training courses here (Canada)
I have motorcycle, truck
all professionals say when you got to stop, REALLY STOP,
two feet on the brake both hands on the wheel, look were you want to go.
you will not stall til complete stop.

[IvanS4]

The E-Brake is a God-sent for the novice driver, like said above, makes your life easy.

My advice is not to keep the car on the clutch on any incline more than a few degs
or you will be smelling clutch soon. Engage the ebrake, then you just hit the gas.

I will not miss the handbrake, that is for sure.

It's also good practice to learn to use the e-brake since being able to drive a manual well means being able to jump in other vehicles when the time calls. Two weeks of driving a standard somewhat anemic 4 cyl diesel through hilly central europe would be an exercise in clutch torture w/o the e-brake hill start, imo.

[audifan22]

Just got the car in today, my first manual! It's been a little rough for me shifting, I'm definitely not too great yet. Haven't been flooring it and haven't been taking it easy, driving just like I normally do. I will say the E-brake worked fine on a slight incline, but later today I was on a heavy incline pulling up to my garage, I came to a full stop on purpose, put the emergency brake on, had my seatbelt on, was in 1st gear, and tried to go, but the emergency brake just stayed on and I had to rev the crap out of it and the clutch was worked too hard....so I don't think its even close to a true hill assist with the emergency break on, because it didnt appear that the emergency break turns off when you take the clutch out and hit the gas on super steep inclines.

[phillips2024]

tried it in my car...works fine

[vincent9993]

I've experienced a scenario wher this has happened to me before. Can't remember exact sequence but I just went back to nutral released clutch and re-enabled 1st and worked normally.