I Suck At Shifting Gears!!

[Grip72]

ok wtf is up!>? I drive quite a bit, going to work and cruising etc, etc and i am the worst shifter inthe world. i have driven plenty with a 5spd, different vehicles and i've had my car just over a year now (..i think?!). ANyways, somedays i can shift so nicely and smoothly and my car doesn't stutter or bog at all and it feels like, well, NICE. And then MOST days, i shift like shit. If i am just kidna driving fast around town, i shift at about 4500-5000 RPM to 2nd, and then i end up boggin in 2nd and boggin in my shift from 2nd to 3rd. I am practicing alot and alot but no matter what, i can only shift really nicely sometimes. Ok, it's not that i switch the shifter slowly, its that when i let out the gas to shift and then give it gas to go again AFTER shifting, i do it horriblly. I can't seeem to EVER time it right and give it the right combonation of gas and clutching..does anyone have ANY suggestions at all? It's very frustarating!

[ebpda9]

yeah get an automatic lol

[Grip72]

that doesn't help me you sh*thead...haha

U need to learn more on a stick. Practice more if u can.

[pdiggitydogg]

Im like that too...on and off days. Mostly my shift transitions are super smooth and people wouldnt know its a manny tranny...but other times the car jerks around, I rev too high, or just whatever.
Im having a real rough time right now getting used to the new shifter (b&m to skunk2 ss dual bend). Its a whole lot different and sometimes I dont remember what gear Im in because of how different it looks.
Just drive more is the only thing that's going to help.
sorry dude

We all have bad shifting days. Try adjusting your friction point, it can make a big difference.

[thermal]

It's really simple man. Keep practicing. I shift at 5k on normal driving. You ahve to get the feeling of the car first. Turn the stereo down and listen to the engine.......

[ebpda9]

Originally posted by thermalfi'd16
It's really simple man. Keep practicing. I shift at 5k on normal driving. You ahve to get the feeling of the car first. Turn the stereo down and listen to the engine.......

pretty much. i never had a rough shift on a manual in 3 years now and i get to drive sticks all day long. it just comes with practice.

[nonovurbizniz]

honda's shift like poo in general you have to over-rev the engine a little bit an burn the clutch a little to get nice smooth shifts... or PERFECTLY revmatch.

I don't buck mine around by any-stretch but it's definately not the smoothest shifting car I've ever had... and accords are worse...

it has a lot to do with how rough and bumpy the engines run in general.. the h series are supposed to be much smoother from what i hear.

I do get rough starts sometimes, mainly when the A/C is running cuz my car is slow as molasses and has the torque of a hamster, but I don't usually get rough shifts. Then again, I've been driving a manny for around 8 years now....

b

[ebpda9]

heh if honda is shifting rough then what about nissan ? you need to give that shifter a map, directions and still you would need to find the gears. not to mention the rubbery feel of the shifter and the clutch that god only knows where it is gonna engage. i think honda is a lot of the better ones. and for the 4th gen accords they really have some issues

yeah i drove my friends nissan pickup. holy shit she needs to do something about that thing. its a manual transmission from hell

[nonovurbizniz]

yup I've been driving my brothers sentra and I forgot how stiff that thing is... cable type... it's rediculous.

it shifts smooth though.. just has a rediculous stiff pedal and a REALLY long throw.

Give it a bit mroe gas when you engage...i know i used to not give it enough, and my car would like almost shake me to death, lol....it go back and forth like a maniac...that was when i had my permit tho, now i'm good....heheh

Truck transmissions are a little different from car transmissions. Usually you're supposed to kinda shift into neutral for a sec then engage the next gear, you're not supposed to quickly throw it into the next gear......or so I've heard from some Truck peeps. It certainly helped on my bro's old F-150, you couldn't shift fast in that thing.

I like a stiff clutch pedal. I knew a guy who drove a late '80s Maxima, his left leg was noticeably bigger than his right.

b

Originally posted by nonovurbizniz
yup I've been driving my brothers sentra and I forgot how stiff that thing is... cable type... it's rediculous.

it shifts smooth though.. just has a rediculous stiff pedal and a REALLY long throw.

Everything has a long throw compared to Honda's. Especially compared to the del Sol. I had my Rex for a while after buying the Sol and I thought the Rex had a short throw, but I would get in after driving the Sol and it felt really long.

Then there's my sister's '90 Celica...holy crap...it's huge. 1st to neutral in her car is longer than 1st to 2nd in the Rex of the Sol.

Keep the revs up, even while your shifting into a different gear, keep your foot on the gas pedal and don't let the car's revs drop drastically, then you'll be smooth as a baby's bottom. And also, I hope I didn't give you any wrong impressions because I'm a really nice guy and I'm not trying to start any controversy by telling you guys that kill story...just to clear that up. If you don't know the one then man, do you need to surf these forums more often. lol

[Grip72]

Keep the revs up, even while your shifting into a different gear, keep your foot on the gas pedal and don't let the car's revs drop drastically, then you'll be smooth as a baby's bottom.

does this make sense to anyone? Wouldn't it grind my gears like crazy if i was giving it a little bit of gas AS i was shifting gears? I don't think that's very healthy!

Learn it "Initial D" style...

Drift down a mountain road and have a cup of water in the holder and don't let it spill...

Originally posted by Accord17
does this make sense to anyone? Wouldn't it grind my gears like crazy if i was giving it a little bit of gas AS i was shifting gears? I don't think that's very healthy!

Sure, but there's a couple ways it can be interpreted. You could be a little heavy on the gas and do a "power shift" in the next gear where the revs before you disengage the clutch are a lot higher than they will be after you disengage the clutch, kinda like revving high and dropping the clutch for a race start, but while driving.

The other way would be just to make sure the engine doesn't fall below the rpm of what the next gear will want, like rev matching. Shift from 1st at 5k into 2nd and you'll end up at, say, 2.5k. Make sure that your revs don't drop below 2.5k by the time you disengage the clutch.

If you wanted to power shift, you could keep the revs around 3-3.5k and drop into 2nd and give yourself a little kick while also burning a little clutch. Not great for the clutch.....

I can shift like a granny and my car still won't drop below the target revs of the next gear if I stay totally off the gas, it's not a fast revving machine. So I don't bother giving any gas during a shift, unless of course it's a downshift.....

b