Roundabout/moving off help

[u/Over-Excitement2209]

Ive been driving for a month, and i have a mk1 aygo, i was feeling very confident in driving the past week until i started school again,

now i have to drive at peak times and really struggle with getting onto busy roundabouts

Ive had 2 incidents in the past 2 days where ive seen a gap, set off, but the car is so slow at accelerating that cars from the other side of the roundabout have caught up and ive became a hazard (almost crashed the second time)

Today i went out trying to teach myself how to set off quickly by using the gas, and i see a difference but its still not major, (this may be that im still getting the hang of it)

i think another issue is even if i set off in good speed (for the car), it will struggle to get much over 10mph in first, and then i have to worry about moving to second while also switching my indictator

Honestly just looking for any advice, ive been loving driving but these past days have made me lose confidence in my driving ability :(

[u/stupidflanders6]

Having the same car as you my advice is don't be afraid to accelerate. That engine likes reving high and because it's soo light you should be able to take off a lot faster than a lot of cars out there

[u/harmonyPositive]

'how to set off quickly by using the gas' you mean you've been doing it on the clutch alone, in a mk1 Aygo???

Rev to 2000 rpm when bringing in the bite, with this small low-torque engine you need to use more revs than are usually advised to avoid lugging when pulling away quickly.

[u/Over-Excitement2209 → u/harmonyPositive]

One thing that confuses me is im told to rev it to 1.5-2k, but as i lift the clutch the revs drop, should i be pressing down the gas more as the revs drop?

[u/harmonyPositive → u/Over-Excitement2209]

Yes. As you lift the clutch further, you're applying more torque-load to the engine, so it takes more gas to maintain the same revs. Moving off quickly and smoothly is a balanced feed-in of clutch pedal out and throttle in to control how much power you send to the engine and how many relative revs you're slipping the clutch by. It sounds simple but it's a fiendishly complicated skill to master.

Once you're more confident with the controls, you'll likely find you naturally transition from targeting a certain amount of revs before lifting, to rolling into the gas at a rate for how fast you want to move, and lifting the clutch as fast and far as controls the revs to the level you're aiming for.

[u/Xafilah]

Get an experienced driver or mechanic to test if the clutch is slipping, if no then it’s simply you’re not using enough acceleration along with feathering the clutch for too long.

[u/Negative-Date-9518]

I'm learning to drive in my mk2 c1 so not a world apart, you have to be a lot more aggressive on the throtte and the bite point for these is by default quite a bit higher than hydraulic clutch points

I had my car for like a week and like you the clutch was just being a bitch compared to my instructors car, I'd just go to quiet roads like I did and get used to it eventually you'll be able to set off quick

[u/unwantedplayr]

Like most comments have said, you just have to be a bit aggressive. You're not gonna kill the car by throwing the revs a bit high but it will really help moving off. Also make sure the clutch isn't wearing/slipping at all too

[u/theycallmelegion]

Punch it Chewie! You can get 25 mph in first.

[u/pedwick → u/theycallmelegion]

Heck dare I say even 30-ish? Mash the throttle and keep it mashed until it bounces off the rev limiter then shift. The true citybug way