Clutch

madonps

I am new to driving a manual. My shifting is not pretty smooth but I really want to improve it. I have 2 questions though.

1. When shifting from 1st to 2nd, do you let the clutch out (and press on gas) pretty quickly (like the whole motion of letting out the clutch takes place in less than a sec i.e. immediately)? Or do you let it out slowly similar to what you do when going from a stop?


2. If you're driving around a parking lot pretty slow in 1st gear. Do you also press the clutch since the car is slowly and tends to shake?

shadow2k

1. It depends...I shift slow when driving slow, and fast when going fast. It is easier to get the smoothness down when going slow. Once you have it perfected, speed it up a bit and go from there. And yes, when going fast, the whole motion of the shift is as close to instant as you can get it so you can get back on the gas again...but again, this skill is learned over time, not something perfected in a few days.

2. Use 2nd gear. 1st is basically just to get you started from a dead stop. You can go very slow in 2nd without killing it without even giving it gas, but yes, if you are feeling the car starting to stall...clutch in.

ProfessorDave

My advice is to not release the clutch pedal too slowly between gears. You are bascially "slipping the clutch" which will cause premature wear of your pressure plate. Also, you might find that shifting at higher RPMs (3000 - 4000 should do it) will produce smoother shifts, particularly in the lower gears.

Congrats on moving to a manual transmission!

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Rain, snow, sleet, hail: 2009 Mazda 3 sGT HB
Everything else: 2009 370z, PW Touring 6MT

Cjanik

ive been driving a manual for about 5 years, and i still dont have the smoothest shifts.

so dont worry about making that happen.

biggest thing that works for me is when i get out of 1st, shift to second, by time i release the clutch again, the rpm's from first gear should drop a couple thousand RPM and match up with second gear no problem.

if it doesnt match (rpm's raise a bit or drop a bit) then your shifting too fast or too slow, unless you are purposely trying to slip the clutch a little to slow down/speed up faster.

wh!plash

This is my first manual transmission car too, but I've ridden sportbikes for about 6 years now.

I can get around just fine now, but first to second is tougher for me too. I guess because it takes so long for the revs to fall on the Z. A sportbike revs from 1k to 8k in under a second. I figure in the Z you just get rolling and then short shift first just to get in second as quick as you can. If you run first gear up to high, it takes forever for the revs to fall for second.

It's getting annoying having to think about it still (had the car not even a month). On a bike, I'm smooth enough that a passenger can't even tell when I shift, except for the sound. I'm looking forward to shifting in a car becoming muscle memory like it is on a bike.

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Cell

I have been driving Manual for about 9 years now.

There is no way to drive smooth unless you slowly release the clutch. If you drop it too fast you will have a rough ride.

I notice that the clutch's range of engagement isn't the same as what people have reported here on the forums. Some said it was either in or out and when I was driving it felt like driving a honda.

ProfessorDave

Any manual transmission with gear ratios like the Z (e.g., 3.7ish for 1st gear, 2.3 for 2nd, etc.) is going to be more difficult to master compared than your sport coupe or sedan (where 1st will be around 3.3 and 2nd under 2.0, etc.).

Just to clarify, when I advised not to release the clutch too slowly I was focusing on the length of time it takes for the pedal to travel. Waiting for revs to fall is certainly a factor in smoothness (unless one is looking to "chirp" the tires, of course!).

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Rain, snow, sleet, hail: 2009 Mazda 3 sGT HB
Everything else: 2009 370z, PW Touring 6MT

kenchan

#1 for normal driving i take it gentle. you also want to apply very slight throttle while engaging 2nd so that the flywheel has momentum.

#2 if im driving slow i do that mostly in 2nd gear. i start using 1st but as soon as the car is rolling forward, shift into 2nd.

if i need to creep then depending on the slope or wat not, i do half-clutch (han-kura in japanese) with very minimal throttle in 1st so that i dont heat up the clutch.

hope this helps.

kenchan

professordave- how are you liking the Z vs your ex-MINI?

Mt Tam I am

Answer to #1) I shift by sound and feel so I will give you a concept not actual rpm's. Between gears you need approximately 1000 rpm's* difference. You want the engine speed to match whatever gear you end up in for smoothness. Shifting up (in any gear) from first to second means dropping from 4000 rpm to 3000 rpm while clutch goes in, shifting gears then letting out clutch smoothly. Do this slowly and smoothly at first to get the feel, then later you can shift quickly.
The opposite applies to down shifting when you raise rpm's between gears. Third gear at 3000 rpm's means raising to 4000 rpm's then shifting into second, clutch out smoothly.

* If it is 1500 rpm's please forgive me.

Answer to #2) Shaking means clutch in (raise rpm's as needed).

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ClemsonWill

I disagree. Every car I have ever owned has been a stick (15 years of driving). It takes practice but you can shift smoothly. You just have to learn the optimum point of releasing the clutch and engaging the accelerator for each gear. A smooth shift is matching the engine speed with the speed in which the transmission is turning. It is not the same in each gear or under different types of driving. It just take practice. I was able to shift smoothly 75% of the time with my S2000 (given I daily drove that car for 3 years).

I will agree with the fact that shifting smoothly everytime is near impossible. Humans are not made to be perfect everytime. But shifting smoothly most of the time is definitely possible with concentration and learning your car.

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ProfessorDave

Hi Ken. The Z is so much more car. The MINI was fun and great to mod, but of poor quality. Including the clutch (so as to keep on topic!).

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Rain, snow, sleet, hail: 2009 Mazda 3 sGT HB
Everything else: 2009 370z, PW Touring 6MT

ProfessorDave

Good point about practice, especially when going from on manual trans to another (e.g., gear ratios for the S2000 are quite different from the Z- much more "user friendly"). I go through an adjustment period of a couple miles everytime I get into my daily driver, the wife's car, or my son's (daughter seems to have not gotten the manual shift gene).

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Rain, snow, sleet, hail: 2009 Mazda 3 sGT HB
Everything else: 2009 370z, PW Touring 6MT

kenchan

yah, i haven't looked back either.

the clutch pedal (to keep on topic) is so much easier to press on the Z because the MINI's pedal swung so close to the floor. the engagement point was close to the floor like on the Z, but the pedal position was so werd on that car.

Jeffblue

i just drove my friend's '87 300zx yesterday. i learned to drive stick on it a while back. i always thought our 370z had a high clutch, but that 300zx is really high. i almost stalled my car when i went to drive mine afterwards.