Clutch
 

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?

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!).

#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.

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

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).

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.

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!).

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:confused:).

yah, i haven't looked back either. :p

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.

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.

I'I also like where the pedal engages on the Z. It does have a decent amount of spring to it...I still get caught off guard sometimes by how easily to travels back up from the floor.

hahaha, yah, it takes me a few min to get my Z drive mode back after driving my other MT cars.

yah, it's very progressive to full engagement but starts pretty close to the floor.

Biggest difference was definitely my friend's saab 900cs. Cable clutch, the thing is has about 5 inches of travel before it actually does anything. then once it starts to disengage, you need the super strength to get it to the floor. the friction point is about a cm off the floor.

when the flat bed driver came to pick up my car a while back, he was able to get used to my clutch in about 2 seconds, then drive it up at a 40 degree angle onto the truck without burning it or stalling. i was impressed.

I believe the manual states that the Z should never be flatbedded. Only moved via teleporter.

I just added turbos to my z and left factory clutch in. If I get into the trottle and shift when turbos are engaged and am not completely off the clutch when I hit the gas again the clutch never catches almost like its in nuetral. I guess motor over powers the clutch.

I'll try not to repeat what has already been said, but the shift indicator light was usefull in learning when to shift. I set it to light up at 4,000 rpm.

Letting the clutch out slowly won't burn the clutch, it only starts to wear just as it begins to engage/disengage. Too much gas and slow release will cause more wear however because the two components are not "locked". My advise would be to shift the car "smoothly" instead and ignore how much time it should take you to shift.

1st to 2nd is always the hardest to master. Just shift at a little higher rpm to give yourself enough time to release the clutch smoothly. It also prevents the rattle you hear if you stomp on the clutch too fast in 1st. You can then shift a little quicker with the other gears. Also, just stay in 2nd gear when cruising slow like in parking lots. It will only stall if the car comes to pretty much to a complete stop.

duude... i trully feel you~~;;

1. I really cant help u there... i've only been drivin stick for like 2months...
2. in residents and parking lots i just put it in 2nd... these were the places that i have hard time with... and this is what i do now...

bumpers- i just put it in neutral until the front tires go over the bumper... and i usually put the gear in 1st or 2nd... i think if the cars rolling i put it in 2nd gear...

parking on hills- to be honest... i still have hard time... but when parking on a steep hills... this is when i press both clutch when rolling in...

btw what do you guys do when your parked on a steep hill when reversing the moment you let go of the break and ur car moves foward toward the bumps???

Hold the car with the hand brake and let go as car goes backwards.

wow... so press the gas and at the same time let go of the ebrake?

This is what I do when I shift into second. I'm in first, rpm @ 3, press clutch, put shifter in 2nd, put foot on throttle and keep rpm in 2,500 range and slowly let out the clutch (like very slowly since Im afraid that if I let it out faster it would not be good for the car).

Is this right? Am I wearing out the clutch since Im releasing it VERY slowly?

And should I not apply throttle?

Releasing the clutch quickly at that speed and rpm won't do any damage or wear. It will make the car "jerk" but thats it. The clutch is more durable than you think and releasing it a little slower is better than losing control of the car. Just let go as soon as its fully engaged and you'll be fine. As far as throttle, If you do it quickly enough, you won't need to apply more until the clutch is already engaged. This stuff happens in less than a second. Just practice your timing.

Yes. You give it enough gas/clutch to feel the car pull the direction you want to go in, then let go of e brake and continue to use gas and clutch. It is awkward at first, but it works. It is probably the most coordinated situation a manuel driver faces.

I'm just quick. hold the brake pedal put it in reverse get the clutch near engagement then slip it for a half second until you move your foot and start putting the gas on and back up. Oh and first to second you should be doing about a quarter of what you do from a stop i.e. slip it a tiny bitto match the motor and throttle because there is a big ratio difference between 1 and 2

I learned years ago, when you are in parking lots etc, let the clutch out and when you are moving fast enough.... rolling, just push the clutch in and "Coast". If you need to roll faster, just let the clutch out without slipping the clutch enough to roll faster and then push it in again. This takes a little practice, but it works great when you master it. This keeps you from "Lugging" your engine and it is much easier and faster to stop fast if you need to.