Genesis

Have you guys seen the series Band of Brothers? Well, I'm Shifty :D Got my 6MT 8 and lovin' every second of it. Trying real hard to keep the revs under 7k before I put the first 1,000 clicks on 'er, but c'mon....this thing just WANTS to rev!! After the first bit of driving and shifting in the 4k or lower area (was pure pampering, after all it's new), I realize very quickly that I'm not getting enough torque to the wheels and the car just kind of jerks around. So, I up the shifts to 5k...MUCH better, smoother, more responsive, but I can simply feel that the car wants more. Off the line, I take 1st up to 5k and then drop into 2nd, it falls to about 3k and then I up it to at least 5k before 3rd. Thing is, once I'm in 3rd, I've noticed you really have to get the revs up over 5k before going to 4th or else it jerks around again. I can see it, I'm going to lose my license here

Highway driving, similar issue. In 5th I can cruise between 90 and 100 kph smoothly, but I can't help the desire to push it over 100+ so I can drop into 6th. And yet, at that speed in 5th I'm only revving in the 4k area! Man, how do we drive the 8 in Sing for the long term...stay away from the highways? This is one rev-tastic car...cornering along the tight and narrow roads here is pure pleasure.

Needless to say, I'm one happy Genesis, maybe I change my nick to Shifty

Fab 8

Congrats on getting your car, Genesis! But what do you mean when you say the car just kind of jerks around? Not actually jerking, I presume? It would be worrying if it was actually jerking.

irish8

Welcome to the cult!!! :D

- Irish

M-ster

Congrats on your ride!

Agreed with Fab8, the jerking does not sound normal to me too. Or unless, you're not use to manual

Anyway, I drive pretty often with 2k rpm - 3.5k rpm in the city traffic, never have the jerking experience unless its a poor handle of the clutch. If it persist, get it check!

Genesis

Thanks Fab....perhaps my description of "jerking" isn't the best way to describe how the car behaves when shifting frequently when the revs are too low. It's not a problem with the car, but the simple fact of shifting up to 2nd, 3rd, etc. too early without generating enough torque. So, instead of saying "the car kind of jerks around" I should be saying it's the driver causing the jerking by not shifting at the appropriate revs. Hmmm, now I'm calling myself a jerk :D In any event, once I realized that I needed to stop pampering the car and push the revs up, the responsiveness is amazing and smooth as silk.

Genesis

M-ster, I take full responsibility...the driver was the jerk, not the car haha :D

Manwe

Even at low rpm it shouldn't be jerking right? Unless you release the clutch too soon...(bad co-ordination between left and right leg)....happen when u are not used to driving manual. Shifting at higher rpm is not the solution...the reason why it is not so jerky is not the rpm...it is due to higher speed(cos you get higher speed when you rev up to higher rpm) and thus feels smoother.... why not give this a try...stay at lower rpm...but for a longer time to let your car pick up some momentum, shift the gear and de-clutch slowly...if it still jerks ask them to check it out....could be something wrong with the clutch...

ethan113

hEHE, hm, it takes some getting used to on the 8. You know the day i collected the car from Mazda....I felt like I was so cool and all and everyone was staring at me. And then i got in the car, started the engine...and just when I was about to take off, I stalled!!!
Well anyway i learnt you cant let go on the clutch too fast, you'll get used to it after a while I guess. Have fun!

Genesis

Right on Ethan. What an experience getting used to this car! Actually, took Manwe's advice on the lower rev shifts cause I was really wondering if something was indeed wrong with the clutch. Once I started to get a better feel of the car at the lower revs, I'm starting to settle in and shift it smoothly. What's cool about this 8 is that you can really take it easy and it rides just fine, contrary to my initial impression that you have to rev it up to smooth it out. Fortunately for me, else I'd be labled as the Schumacher of Singapore :D Thanks for all the advice guys....

Neon

Tokin abt Schumacher, my frd saw a crazy yellow in CTE tunnel a week ago.

He said " Kanina, seow eh. See every **** car also overtake. Every lane he go tailgate and swing dangerously to other lanes to overtake...all the way thru tunnel. Est Speed about 150ish.Seow Kia!"

The first thing i asked " Izzit weekend plate?" D:D Luckily answer was no. Hehe

Hopefully not our forum member man, realli spoil our image! Unless...Its an emergency, then i support him!

Genesis

Wow...maybe he just found sixth :D Hey, no speed traps in that tunnel??

sqflyer

If it's an OPC... then we all know who liao... waha hah hah...

Anyway, it's not me either... I always drive very slow thru the tunnel... that whole bl@@dy road is lined with cameras. Actually, I figure it's so easy to calculate what speed you're doing thru the CTE tunnel. Just take the time from when you enter the tunnel to the time you exit and since the distance is fixed and known, your average speed can easily be calculated and a speeding ticket sent to your doorstep.

Yesterday saw two boys in blue with a tripod mounted 'hairdryer' on the overhead bridge outside Serangoon Secondary School facing towards Punggol. Flashed oncoming traffic (I was going the other way), but they didn't seem to get the message coz they still sped like they just robbed the bank. I guess Singaporeans just assume that when people flash their lights, they are just being "guai lan"... too bad. Serves them right for speeding anyway...

Manwe

Next you might wanna do the heel-toe shifting.... not easy but if you are persistent enough, would be able to get used to it within a couple weeks. Makes your down-shifts even smoother....

EBS

Or since u are not so used to manual yet, try braking with ur left foot instead of the right. Now left foot control the clutch and brake, right foot only the accelerator. This is similar to heel and toe.
Does wonder when u take fast corner.

Manwe

My friend, it is not similar at all.

Heel toes all 3 padals have to be depressed. You will not be able to use your left to depress the brakes cos the clutch have to be depressed cos you are shifting. You will need

1) Left on the clutch
2) Right toes(ball) on the brake (to slow down for downshift)
3) Side of leg(wonder why is it call heel cos I never use heel) on the throttle

The purpose of stepping on the throttle is to match the rpm of the engine to the speed of the gears needed to match the wheels. If we do not do that, the engine speed would drop to idle speed(since we stop stepping on throttle) and thus the shifting would be a bit more jerky as the engine is forced into higher by the gears(which is inter-interconnected to the wheels). But if you give the engine higher rpm(preferably the exact rpm required for the speed) then it would be extremely smooth. Of cos matching the exact rpm is easier said than done.

Manwe

Of cos one may argue you can heel-toe the clutch and brakes. But it is very dangerous(that is why nobody even venture as heel toe is supposed to be safer and not more dangerous). That is because while the clutch is depressed, the engine's power is not transmitted to the tranny and thus to the wheels. You need only a slight depression on the throttle to cause a significant increase in rpm as there is no load. Even if you screw up(under depress or over depress) it is not significant. Using the same principle on clutch brake is disastrous as any screw up would cause excessive braking or insufficient braking which is very very dangerous. I personally would never advice ppl to use left leg on brakes as it might cos confusion and thus someone stepping on brakes and throttle simultaneously and could possible cause a spin or other funny things to happen

Neon

Easier said then done.

Practical and theory are worlds apart....

Manwe

yea....but even if you dun match the rpm, the engine would benefit from extra momentum and feels smoother...something like the new proton gen 2. Downshift feels smoother cos the engine appears to have delayed response when foot is off the pedal and thus the rev is still slightly higher.... if you can master all the exact rpm then you will not be here but will be giving loeb and solberg a run for their cash liao

EBS

I stand corrected. It is not similar to heel and toe.
But u can still practice using left to brake instead of right so the left control clutch and brake, right only accelerator. Ur right will always be on accelerator and u don't need to take it off to brake.
Easier to say then done naturally.
Personally find it very hard to use left leg to brake cos driving so long always use right leg to brake (natural liao). Heel and toe practice always get leg cramp hahahaha (maybe leg too short).

Manwe

not leg too short my friend... you are probably trying to use your heel literally. Use only the tip of the side of foot. Another tip is step on the right most of the brakes. That will make your side closer to the accelerator....

sgrenesis

cant believe 'gen' actually have the same design handbrake as us

Genesis

Heck, I'm not even in the same "vicinity" as you guys when it comes to driving MT...I'm only granny shifting :o Not quite sure I get the heel-toe technique, but I'm going to find out more and then...practise makes perfect. BTW, anybody care to explain double-clutching?

Manwe

gen actually has quite nice styling compared to other proton. But i read that the interior look very shobby and cheap and might not last....

sgrenesis

lucky it doesnt have 3 dials if not will be outright copy and the interior is as what you said...shoddy

Manwe

hahaha... but what is the point of 3 dials esp with tacho infront. Their engine cannot rev much