Imagine you’re driving up a hill in a busy town centre and the traffic lights ahead of
you turn red. There is traffic all around you and you know you will need to do a hill
start. If you drive a car with a manual gearbox you will know that a good technique for hill
starts is essential, as it can be embarrassing or even dangerous if they go wrong. In this
video we will show you how to master your clutch control to achieve the perfect hill
start without any fear of stalling.
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When driving in hilly areas we will need to have good control over our car. On downhill
gradients we must use our brakes and gears to keep the car at a safe speed, and when
driving uphill we must combine the correct amount of engine power with the best gear
choice. This is most important when pulling away uphill, as we must use the correct technique.
If we forget to select 1st gear, use too little engine power, or are clumsy with the clutch
then we could stall the car’s engine. However, once we have mastered the technique for hill
starts we will be able to confidently pull away without any fear of stalling. Let’s
watch and listen as we pull away on this hill.
We’ll stop on this hill and have a look at how to do a hill start in 3 simple steps.
When doing a hill start on steeper gradients we always prefer to use the handbrake to hold
the car stationary. The benefit of this is that it frees up our right foot to increase
the engine revs precisely.
Once we have checked it’s safe to go, we press and hold the accelerator to increase
the engine revs to 2000rpm. This extra power is important as it will allow us to pull away
confidently - which could be useful when driving in busy areas.
Next we lift the clutch pedal slowly until we find the biting point of the clutch. On
the rev-counter we can see the engine revs lower a little, and the nose of the car lifts
up a little as it tries to drive forward.
Now that we have our feet in the correct position, all we have to do is release the handbrake
and keep our feet still. The car will smoothly roll forward up the hill as if by magic! We
lift the clutch pedal fully once the car reaches walking pace and continue driving normally.
Lets’s watch that once more, this time in slow motion. We get ready to go, increase
the engine revs, find the clutch’s biting point, release the handbrake, and keep our
feet still.
Now that we have learnt our technique, we should practice it somewhere quiet before
we venture back to the town centre. This steep hill should do. There is no need to rush anything,
just complete one step at a time, and then be patient as the car starts to roll. We would
repeat this as many times as needed until we are confident that we can pull away smoothly
every time.
So, remember to; Increase the engine revs
Find the clutch’s biting point Release the handbrake, and
Keep both feet still until walking pace
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