OK, looks like I need some tips on manual tranny shifting

[Chythar]

I always have a hard time getting the car into 1st. Sometimes I get it just right, other times the car bucks before it settles into gear. And of course, I stall it at just the wrong times. I have trouble with 1st to 2nd too most times, it's like the car is bouncing back and forth a couple of times. I haven't quite figured out what I'm doing wrong. And this behavior isn't good on a new clutch either.

I've been reading up a bit online to get some ideas. The best I can come up with is that I'm letting up on the clutch too fast, kinda like slamming through the gears. Doesn't feel like it, I can certainly shift faster if I try. I did experiment working the clutch a little slower on the drive home from work today, and I certainly got smoother shifts.

I also wonder if I'm upshifting too soon. When accelerating, I seem to upshift between 2000-2500, always seems to feel right. Should I keep in gear longer? Will that help smooth out the shifts?

I feel silly posting about this, but it just feels like I'm missing some simple component.

 

[JJ95GTID]

Sounds like you just need to practice more.
A new clutch can take some to time to get used too as well. Going from a stock clutch to the King Cobra clutch setup took me a few days.

 

[desertcox05]

your on the right track. let the clutch out slower and some more rpm's on the up shifts. and more practice

 

[Killercanary]

While crusing around I shift no higher than 2000rpms in any of my vehicles, and in most I shift them 1-3-5. I've been driving manual cars/trucks though since I was about 10 years old though too which helps. I don't see why you would have to shift any higher than that when driving normally. It does sound like you are letting the clutch out too fast though.

 

[94-302-vert]

I find that my car is MUCH easier to ease off the line if I pre-rev it and then let the clutch out as the rpms fall...

Try adjusting where the clutch catches till you find a place you like better then practice....

3.73 gears helped me out big time too...

Oh and just cruising I usually shift at 3k and keep my car in the 2k-3k rpm range.... My car always feels like it is running like crap at under 2k so I try to keep it there (not hard with the 3.73 gears)... I don't drive for mileage....

So go out and play aorund with it... it'll take some miles but before you know it you will be shifting perfectly smooth...

 

[rock4451]

what you NEED to do is powershift, especially when you're cruising...
i am obviously kidding. what always worked for me when i was getting used to my 5.0 was always make sure you're givin it more gas than amount of clutch you're releasing. and if you're going from a stop to 1st i'd give it just a few more r's than just sitting at idle. my .02$

 

[Black Stampede]

The most helpful thing I have found when I have taught people how to drive manuals is to not slow constantly let out the clutch, but rather let it out part way and hold it there for a moment. The cluch release does not need to be a notstop motion. Let it part way out to the point of engagement, hold til it starts to grab then slowly release the rest. Constant release is going to make the car jerk. So slowly let out, when you feel it begin to engage hold it there, then as it begins let the rest out. Just go practice alot.

 

[ProKiller]

While crusing around I shift no higher than 2000rpms in any of my vehicles, and in most I shift them 1-3-5. I've been driving manual cars/trucks though since I was about 10 years old though too which helps. I don't see why you would have to shift any higher than that when driving normally. It does sound like you are letting the clutch out too fast though.

not all of us are lucky enough to have cams that idle at 600rpms

 

[nmcgrawj]

I find that my car is MUCH easier to ease off the line if I pre-rev it and then let the clutch out as the rpms fall...

I feel like that will cause extra wear and tear on the clutch

The most helpful thing I have found when I have taught people how to drive manuals is to not slow constantly let out the clutch, but rather let it out part way and hold it there for a moment. The cluch release does not need to be a notstop motion. Let it part way out to the point of engagement, hold til it starts to grab then slowly release the rest. Constant release is going to make the car jerk. So slowly let out, when you feel it begin to engage hold it there, then as it begins let the rest out. Just go practice alot.

Great minds think a like


Quick story, my sister used to love Cougars. She found an 02 a few years back that she loved....but it was a stick. So i test drove it and she decided she still wanted it. So she signed the papers without knowing how to drive a stick! I drove it off the lot and took her to a big parking lot in back of a plaza. My technique is similar to the one described above but i further dumb it down.


For 20 minutes or so, i let her doing NOTHING but touch the clutch and brake pedals. She would start at a dead stop, clutch in. Then i would tell her to slowly....very very slowly start to bring her foot up off of the clutch. When she felt the car start to try to move i told her to put the clutch back to the floor. She repeated this in 1st gear and in reverse COUNTLESS times until she knew exactly where the clutch would begin to engage at.

Then i told her once she was comfortable with that, release the clutch and when u get to that engagement point, hold it until the car starts moving, as it gets to a decent roll, continue coming off the clutch...next thing she knew she was cruising along in first gear. So then i had her put the clutch back in and come to a complete stop. AND REPEAT. REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT. Until it was second nature on getting the car rolling in first gear without touching the gas pedal. Then we did reverse the same way.

Then once we were rolling i had her apply gas to accelerate, then shift to second. Then put the clutch in and repeat over starting in first, taking off without the gas pedal and repeating. Once she was 100% comfortable with all of this, i let her start applying gas on the take off. And when she did this, she was no longer thinking about the clutch pedal anymore...it was second nature because she knew the "feeling" of what the car wanted to do.


I say go out in a parking lot and do a bunch of take offs using just the clutch. You will see that how u operate the clutch pedal will determine how smooth the shifts and take offs are. Make it too smooth and u will be riding the clutch and thus...wearing it out prematurely. Make the clutch action to quick, and it will jerk into gear. You just have to learn what your car likes. Take some of these tips and get that take off down as smooth as butter...i bet the in-motion shifting will automatically improve.


Also, if you struggle to get it into first and shift to second, the synchros may be bad. Sometimes i'll let the clutch up every so slightly to help align the gears to get it in gear. And i know for reverse i got in the habit of stopping, putting the clutch in, put it in first, toss a rev, put it in reverse and back up. Sounds like a lot but its only 2-3 seconds of movement. Helped me engage it better though


Good luck!

:SNSign:

 

[Chythar]

A lot of good tips. Black Stampede hit on the same thing I read elsewhere online after my first post. One guy calls it the "Rumble Spot". It's the point on the clutch pedal from neutral to 1st where the clutch starts to grip; RPM's drop a bit and the engine sounds like it "rumbles". The rest of the "tutorial" is the same as Black Stampede mentioned. I never had that concept of a "rumble spot" before, but it worked really well on the drive to work today. Shifting into 2nd at a higher RPM helped a lot, and slowing down my shifts helped even more.

I think I've got some good tips now, thanks all. I really like nmcgrawj's way of teaching a stick, though it will be hard to find an empty parking lot here in Los Angeles. Maybe late night at the local Best Buy, though I don't think they'll like my exhaust at that time of night.

 

[Chythar]

Also, if you struggle to get it into first and shift to second, the synchros may be bad.

No extra effort to shift into 1st or 2nd, all my problems have had to do with releasing the clutch. All user error, I'm afraid. I'll certainly keep that issue in mind for another time.