I just got my RX-8 a few days ago. All black manual trnasmission. This is my first manual car and I am having problems going from 1st to 2nd gear. Whenever I change from 1st to 2nd the car jolts. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. Any info on this would be great. Info on shifting in general would be good also.




Thanks

The classic response around here is: shift at a higher RPM. I typically do it around 4-5000 for 1st-to-2nd. How many RPM's do you typically shift at now?

Originally posted by crossev
I just got my RX-8 a few days ago. All black manual trnasmission. This is my first manual car and I am having problems going from 1st to 2nd gear. Whenever I change from 1st to 2nd the car jolts. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. Any info on this would be great. Info on shifting in general would be good also.




Thanks

I have been driving a manual trans for 16 years and this is the only car jolts going from 1st to 2nd. I have it smooth now but it took a few hundred miles. It jolts due to the high first gear ratio and that the rev's drop so fast.

When in doubt, shift higher. I agree with the 5-6k. I shift now at 4 and it's fine.

I a shifting around 4000RPM's. today I tried shifting at under 3000RPM's but I will take your advice and shift at a higher RPM.





Thanks for the info.

Are you coming in with a little bit of gas when the clutch disengages? This was my first MT car to own and I was having the same problems. For me it was just a timing thing of coming in with the accelerator when releasing the clutch.

yeah, work on the timing of your clutch and accelerator. pushing the clutch in faster will help too.

I've been driving MT for 24+ years and did not experience this problem with the RX-8. However, when my wife drove it the other day, almost every 1-2 and 2-3 shift had a jolt. I concur with allstate and julian on the in clutch and accelerator seesaw timing. The car has lots of juice, which exacerbates the jolts. I notice the same thing when people drove my 300ZX. Practice.

I think that Zeltar has it right. I have only owned manual transmissions and wouldn't have it any other way (unless I buy that H2 I have been looking at). I will say that since this is a new car that it takes a little time to break in the engine and transmission and that part of what you are expierencing is probably the car still being a little "tight". As time goes on you will get used to the timing on the accelarator and the clutch as well as the car "loosening" up a bit. Let us know how it feels after you have 1,000 to 1,300 miles on it.

What's the problem. The car redlines at 9000 rpms. It's a sports car. It should jolt (translation: push you back into the seat). Push it!

Originally posted by 93rdcurrent
(unless I buy that H2 I have been looking at).

i hope you're not serious. :eek: man, i can't stand the looks of the h2. just my opinion though. i can think of a lot more uses for $50k.

It just takes practice. I'll admit I was jolting too in the first week. All the pedals on the 8 seem overly sensitive to me. Just keep that in mind when braking and shifting.

Are you refering to a jerking? A jolt, to me, is like what XLR8 is refering to, a sudden acceleration upon clutch engagement.

I'm wondering if you're refering to an instantaneuos deceleration, then acceleration.

My wife was doing that every time she shifted, nomatter what gear. Finally, I just had to say to her, "Look, you're really not shifting very smoothly here. You're gonna break my neck. Try to concentrate more, OK?" Yeah, she kinda got ticked off at me for scolding her, but it payed-off. She's been a lot smoother ever since.

Every once in a while, I kind of catch myself doing it, and you know what? The throttle doesn't come off of idle rpm quite like you would expect it to. Sometimes when I pay close attention to it, I really concentrate on making sure the rpm's start to increase before I engage the clutch. It's a split-second timing thing going on there. If you engage the clutch a split second too soon, before the engine sees throttle, you get that jerking decel/accel that's really annoying to me. I don't think it's good at all for the whole drive train and it annoys the passengers.

As a 3-day owner of my first MT (titanium GT with black/chaparral), I can tell that smoothness in gear transition is strictly technique. I've been working like all hell to smooth out my ride and sometimes, the shift from 1-2 is like glass (generally at the higher rpms and with a bit of accelerator as I let off the clutch; as described above). The move from 2 to 3 is generally jerk-free but Lord knows I can screw that one up too. I notice the sensitivity of the clutch the most when I let it out in first. If I'm not really disciplined and smooth, I'll always get a jerk (or two) as I take off from a dead stop. Given where I was on Monday afternoon with stick-skills and how much better things have gotten, I have hope that a smooth ride is not far away.

I haven't lost sight of the fact that this is a sports car and that when I push it, I'm going to expect (and welcome) some jolt as the car finds its next set of muscles, but for wife-in-the-car driving, I tend to look for smooth. It's like someone has already said, a non-herky-jerky-shift technque is a lot more pleasure for the passengers and you gotta believe a lot better for the car in general.

Julian,
Yeah I am serious I like the H2 for winter driving up here in the Inland NW. My wife has a commute to Sandpoint, ID. on Saturday mornings to teach a college class and safety is a concern. A big vehicle is safer in our area in the winter when you are surrounded by Exploders, Suburbanites, and Ford F%*$ 350's on your commute. I sure the hell am not letting her drive my baby out there :D .

Originally posted by FirstSpin
... but for wife-in-the-car driving, I tend to look for smooth. It's like someone has already said, a non-herky-jerky-shift technque is a lot more pleasure for the passengers and you gotta believe a lot better for the car in general.
hahaha, my wife says my car makes her sea-sick. I guess I need to work some more on the smoothness factor. Personally, I don't notice it.

when I first started driving a manual i did the jolting thing also, in fact i still do it when i have been driving something with a really heavy clutch pedal older pickups etc... As far as the H2 goes you should know it is nothing more than a chevy tahoe frame with an uglified body on it. no offense.

It's all good.

Originally posted by jonalan
hahaha, my wife says my car makes her sea-sick. I guess I need to work some more on the smoothness factor. Personally, I don't notice it.

LOL. Let your wife drive, she won't notice it but you'll feel every jerk. It's amazing the difference between being the driver and being a passenger in any stick car. The driver never spills drinks on em while the passenger does quite typically.

I found that from 1st to 2nd, reving it up higher (as others said) and, pushing the gas when releasing the clutch, AND holding the clutch a bit (a second or 2) when its enging really helped smooth out the ride. Im not sure if thats good or bad (someone can correct me) but gave me a pretty smooth transition most of the time.

Yeah, you surely can't just "boink" it outta there, nomatter how much gas (unless you really do want to hear the rear tires).

You have to modulate the clutch, but the longer it's only partially engaged, the more clutch wear. A clutch never wears-out when it's disengaged and it never wears out when it's fully engaged, only when it's partially engaged, you know, rubbing, slipping, cuz the peddle is not all the way out.

Now, don't go popping the clutch all the time cuz good ole Racer X-8 said you're wearing it out. There is wear going on every time you engage a gear. The thing is to let it out smoothly, buy don't take forever. Don't hold the car on a hill by playing with the clutch engagement. That's childish, cuz only children can afford to do that, cuz daddy winds up paying the bill to fix the worn-out clutch. Use the brakes!

Just tonight, I screwed-up a shift into second gear, I took forever to finally fully engage the clutch. It was kind of one of those retarded things that you do & you think back on it and wonder why the heck it happened & finally tell yourself that you don't know, it just happened & that's all there is to it. Anyway, I could just see those $ signs with wings, flying away... :mad:

shift at higher RPMs or let go of the clutch slower.

I've been driving stick for 3 years now and when I test drove the rx8 I had the same problem. I just figured that it was because I wasn't use to the car, but it jerked like no other from 1-2.

Not to mention when starting in first the clutch won't really come up, and when it does it POPS! up. I think it's because the clutch is new, once it gets older it'll have a more springy feeling to it, should be a lot smoother.

There is a known shifting problem going from 1st to 2nd at high RPM. It's happened to me once, and others a few times. There is a thread here somewhere about it. I don't think it's chronic -- it just seems to happen sometimes; especially if you're used to power-shifting through the gears (which I am from my FB).

Anyway, the clutch seems to have a very short sensitive spot IMO so modulating it requires extra finesse. I don't have that with the other 3 manuals I drive. Not a gripe, just an observation.

In my '91 MR2 Turbo 575hp beast I had to put a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch in because I was burning them out to fast. I was very used to it but everyone I had let drive the car had a hard time in 1st, 2nd, and sometimes 3rd gears. With the high revving rotary I would be interested in seeing what Mazda stuck in the 8. If anyone knows please post. I think it shifts pretty smoothly for a new car and considering the type of clutch I'm guessing it is.

93rd - ever consider getting an awd car and throwing on a set of winter tires. that'd be pretty sweet. better gas mileage, less propensity to roll over, better handling, cheaper.

can you say impreza sti? :eek:

i kind of assumed you knew it's the tires that make the difference in winter, not the car. unless of course it's through unplowed roads.

easy on the ford jokes buddy... we're trying our best. heh ;)

Originally posted by Literatii
There is a known shifting problem going from 1st to 2nd at high RPM. It's happened to me once, and others a few times. There is a thread here somewhere about it. I don't think it's chronic -- it just seems to happen sometimes; especially if you're used to power-shifting through the gears (which I am from my FB).

Literatii,

By power shift, do you mean leaving the gas pedal depressed while you shift?

Julian,

It's not the traction I am so worried about my wife drives an Audi A4 Quattro now. It's the size of the vehicle. People drive the highway there in speeds ranging from 30 mph to 80 mph in the winter with snow and ice. You can imagine what happens when some of the vehicles going 80 catch up with the vehicles going 30 in cold conditions. Most of the vehicles are much larger than our Audi and a grill in the passenger compartment anywhere on the Audi is no good. It just happens to be one of those highways where there are a lot of fatality accidents year round (for such small communities around it). The Hummer is big enough to compete well in size and it gets almost twice the gas mileage of the Suburban (don't tell this to any enviromentalists). We test drove the Hummer for 2 days and let me just say no one could say they didn't see it coming.

Sorry, I meant quick shifting... with the clutch.

Wow, I thought I was the only one having the occasional problem with smooth starts and first to second shifts. The throttle off idle seems pretty sensitive to me; sometimes I'll zing the RPM's a bit high without trying to, sometimes I'll get a bit of stumble 'cause I didn't give it enough throttle. I don't want to burn out the clutch prematurely, but I don't want to damage the engine from that momentary lug either!

From first to second, I've found I have the best luck if I let off the throttle just slightly, and at the very last moment. I'm still trying to train myself to remember that every time.

At any rate, I find the throttle and clutch action to be a bit better than my WRX, and the shifting to be MUCH smoother and more positive.