ok... this is my first stick car

In my first 3 days of ownership I have improved significantly, especially on my starts which are now pretty smooth and low speed parking lot driving is a lot better...

However, my gear changes still suck... especially my 1-2 shift... its horrible. I found shifting around the 14mph mark (as in the owners manual) works kind of well most of the time but is a huge pain in the ass driving in traffic, and I ripped off a nice 1-2 shift at 6500 but I don't want to kill my baby before the break-in, but when shifting between the 3-5k rpm range its almost always jerky. My other shifts are also a little jerky sometimes, but not as bad. I'm starting to feel sorry that my car got a shitty driver :o

So what am I doing wrong?? I had one friend say I should stay in the gas a bit while having the clutch in to keep the rpm's from dropping, had another friend say I'm leaving the clutch out to fast on the shifts and should stay off the gas while changing gears... I'm not sure who to believe at this point

I need some step by step advice on changing gears I think

My suggestion would be to give it a gas with the clutch depressed so it would rev up to about 2.5 to 3 k then let the clutch out. This should make it a little smoother.

Try this and good luck.:)

The trick is to ease off the clutch on every gear... imagine you're taking off from first on every shift, and pull the clutch out nice and slow accordingly.

They should be pretty good then.

Yes, remember that the flywheel is quite a bit lighter than previous RX's (in stock form, anyway), which gives quicker throttle response - both up AND down. So, try giving the gas a little blip just before engaging the clutch in each gear, and you'll find it engages a bit smoother. It's not so much of a problem at higher rpms, but down low (such as during a break in), it is a little bit harder to drive smoothly. If all else fails, then try slipping the clutch a little at each gear. That's a tad more wear and tear on the clutch, though so I recommend the blip method.

Same as what the guys have said, AND remember that it's a balancing act- you have to balance letting up on the clutch and depressing the gas so you match the speed to the revs and you don't jerk.

From what I understand from your post, I'm thinking you may not be shifting soon enough. I am finding 1st a really crappy gear in this car, and shifting into second almost as soon as the car is moving works better than being in first for anything other than getting the car moving. I hit third when I hit about 3500 rpms in second, and everything seems to be fine. Of course, if you're trying to launch yourself, this isn't what you want to do, but just to get used to driving the car it's fine. Just give yourself time, and you'll learn soon enough.

I wouldn't worry about it. Trying to improve your shifting by reading is like learning to play a musical instrument by reading. They're both more about feel than anything else. Just give it some more time - three days isn't very long! If you really want to speed the learning curve, ride along with someone else who's more familiar with a manual transmission. Feel how everything works when they do it, and try to match that when you're driving. Maybe there are some other owners in PA who will take you for a spin in their car. If not, just practice. Not like you needed an excuse to get out and drive more...

Although this can be tricky for someone who's just learning, you can try starting in 2nd instead of 1st. Of course, you can't do that on an incline! :) But especially if you're kind of facing downhill a little, starting in 2nd is pretty smooth and it doesn't take any time to get the revs up.

I do start in 1st mostly because it's just easier, but 2nd is an option.

Originally posted by pr0ber
ok... this is my first stick car

In my first 3 days of ownership I have improved significantly, especially on my starts which are now pretty smooth and low speed parking lot driving is a lot better...

However, my gear changes still suck... especially my 1-2 shift... its horrible. I found shifting around the 14mph mark (as in the owners manual) works kind of well most of the time but is a huge pain in the ass driving in traffic, and I ripped off a nice 1-2 shift at 6500 but I don't want to kill my baby before the break-in, but when shifting between the 3-5k rpm range its almost always jerky. My other shifts are also a little jerky sometimes, but not as bad. I'm starting to feel sorry that my car got a shitty driver :o

So what am I doing wrong?? I had one friend say I should stay in the gas a bit while having the clutch in to keep the rpm's from dropping, had another friend say I'm leaving the clutch out to fast on the shifts and should stay off the gas while changing gears... I'm not sure who to believe at this point

I need some step by step advice on changing gears I think


i am in the same position as u. first stick.. getting into 1st seems to be slow and jerky for me still.. I need to work on that. But getting into 2nd.. i ease of the clutch as i give gas and it comes out a lot smoother. this is comin from a rookie so it might help ya out..

...

hmm... gonna try the throttle blip... hmm, that gives me an excuse to drive my car more :p



starting out in 2nd... l0l... i actually started out in 3rd a few times without stalling.... of course i wasn't trying to do that :p

Originally posted by pr0ber
ok... this is my first stick car

In my first 3 days of ownership I have improved significantly, especially on my starts which are now pretty smooth and low speed parking lot driving is a lot better...

However, my gear changes still suck... especially my 1-2 shift... its horrible. I found shifting around the 14mph mark (as in the owners manual) works kind of well most of the time but is a huge pain in the ass driving in traffic,

...

So what am I doing wrong?? I had one friend say I should stay in the gas a bit while having the clutch in to keep the rpm's from dropping, had another friend say I'm leaving the clutch out to fast on the shifts and should stay off the gas while changing gears... I'm not sure who to believe at this point


First of all, don't shift by the speedometer, shift by the tachometer. When you should shift varies depending on the traffic, road/weather conditions, and how fast you want to accelerate. For example, if you're in bumper-to-bumper city traffic, you probably don't want to rev up past 3000 rpm before shifting from 1st to 2nd. But if you're accelerating from a stop to get up to speed to merge into beltway traffic, you'll probably not want to shift until you hit 5500-6000 rpm!

It may seem very difficult right now, but it really does just take practice. Eventually you'll get to the point where you don't even think about it; you just do it.

So just relax, practice in light traffic, you'll get the hang of it very quickly.

From my experience of driving stick, I have to say the RX-8 tranny is a bit trickier then most cars. I noticed it takes a bit more gas than normal. One thing is for sure, shifting about 3.7K-4K is much better than around 3K. I have about 900 miles on mine and I can comfortably downshift and make it seemless in respect to speed, I can also heel-toe downshift now. The RX-8 took a little bit longer than I expected to get used to.

D

Yeah, I've driven stick mostly, but automatic the last 5 years. Now however I am finally getting into shifting smoother on the 8. The secret for me was the suggested blipping the engine to 3500RPM while letting the clutch out smoothly. I just never had such a high revving engine and was doing 1500RPM shifts still.

Just a thought... is it a jerk of acceleration or a jerk of deceleration you're suffering from?

You're problem is matching the revs before/as you bring the clutch up... it's somthing which has to be mastered for each car anyway, even for people used to a MT... it just takes MUCH less time once you have done it a few times and are comfortable with a Manuial gearbox.

If you get a jerk of acceleration, try to be a little more relaxed and don't shift so quick... if it's the other way round, get the new gear in a little quicker...

t's really hard for me to discribe what I do, simply because it's ao automatic for me... but as long as you can hear the engine, ignore the speedo/tach and change on engine sound because you should be looking out the front anyway.,,, you'll get used to the drop in revs needed for a shift...

Originally posted by pr0ber
hmm... gonna try the throttle blip... hmm, that gives me an excuse to drive my car more :p



starting out in 2nd... l0l... i actually started out in 3rd a few times without stalling.... of course i wasn't trying to do that :p