Alright, I bought a new, 2006 rx-8 6 speed about 3 weeks ago. This is my first stick car, so I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I learned on a nissan sentra, and it was very easy to shift into gears (moving or not). When I'm coasting to a stop sign or a red light, I put it into nuetral. I like to put it into first also (with the clutch all the way down) just to be ready when it changes green. It seems that there is a lock on the gearbox type thing, where you can't put it into (easily) lower gears.
Today, my foot was all the way down on the clutch, and I was going about 25 mph. As a habit, I pressed the clutch all the way down, and tried putting it into first. To my suprise, I heard a very loud grinding sound. I knew my foot was all the way down on the clutch, and I have no idea why it did this. Please tell me what im doing wrong!

 

On those lower gears at higher speeds I think it is harder to put it into gear regardless of the clutch depression. What you'll find is that when the road speed and engine speed are just right the stick just about fall into gear without any clutch at all. I might be wrong, but w/every car i've had it is difficult to get into a low gear when the road speed is too high. Like today (still getting used to the close gears) I down shifted accidentally into 2nd instead of 4th from 6th. I almost couldn't get it into gear. So I don't think its you....

 

Hi,
You are not doing anything wrong as long as you press in the clutch all the way. I find it is kind of difficult to get into 1st gear if you are shifting down from 2nd gear and the speed is over 5 mph on my car too. It feels like the car won't let you shift into 1st isn't it? When the speed is right around 5 mph or lower you can feel the 1st gear just slip right in very easily. There is anything wrong with the transmission of your car. Drive it easy and follow the rule for a while until you get to know the car better.

 

I don't know many people who can downshift to 1st at 12 or over let alone 25. I think it blocks you from doing that. Any other gear where there would be a significant increase in RPMS say from 5th or 6th to second at 54 mph, rev matching helps.

 

I'm not really downshifting...My clutch is all the way in. I understand rev-matching and everything, just not good at it yet. I just dont understand why i got the grind when the clutch was all the way in :|

 

I've never tried to force the shifter into 1st at 25, so I don't know if that is normal or not. What I do know is that the car resists going into 1st unless I'm at 10 mph or slower.

 

eeek, well i was so used to doing it on the sentra, it carried over to the rx-8. I hope I'm not doing damage to it! Ill try to stop the habit

 

You are fighting the synchro. You should not try to put the gearbox into 1st unless you are at a stop. You can rev-match and get it into gear rolling, but there is no reason to. It is not good for the thrust bearing to "ride the clutch" while stopped.

John

 

The 1st gear synchro is locking you out. Do a search on 'double clutching' on this board. Before you go into 1st, shift into neutral, let out the clutch, blip the gas, then clutch in again and shift into 1st. Using this technique you can easily go into 1st while the car is rolling.

It's easy to be caught flat-footed in 2nd in the RX-8. Kind of important to know how to downshift smoothly into 1st up to 15mph or so. It can be done with zero damage to your transmission/clutch if you double clutch properly.

 

Just because you're not "cruise-clutch-shift-go" immediately, doesn't mean you're not downshifting. The bottom line is you're still selecting a gear that is lower than the one you came out of. Moreover, 1st gear is by far the hardest gear to downshift into since the gear ratio is so much tighter than other gears.

At 25mph, I can't see why you wouldn't drop to 2nd gear, as you'd need to rev to like 5K to drop it in first. But, if you really want to do this, what you need to do is 'double-clutch rev-match.' "Rev-matching" in general minimizes clutch wear, "double-clutching" while rev-matching reduces synchro wear as well. Most people will say modern synchros don't need the help, ut when you're trying to downshift into 1st, they definitely do!

So, to answer your question, what you need to do is:

* clutch in
* gear to neutral
* clutch out
* raise RPMs (again, at 25mph to 1st gear, probably quite high, maybe 5K?)
* clutch in
* gear to 1st
* clutch out

And you'll have to do this all pretty fast. Honestly, people who can accomplish this quickly/smoothly are usually the auto-x champs.

 

Thanks a lot for the information

Another thing..When downshifting, ie: When turning, is it ok to select the gear im going to drive off in, then, with the clutch fully engadged, rev-match, then drop the clutch? Thats what I have been doing, and never double-clutched yet.

 

If I recall correctly the manual specifically states that damage may result if you try to shift into 1st gear above 20 mph.

 

If you don't double-clutch, of course. If you double-clutch properly, you can downshift into first and bang against the redline with no damage done to the transmission or clutch. If you get the revs matched perfectly while double-clutching, the shifter will slide into the gear with zero resistance. In theory you don't even need the clutch if you time it right, the gear will just suck itself into the slot with no clutch. I've done it before by accident, it's an amazing feel, almost like a sequential gearbox.

 

Remember, "rev-matching" is not a method, it's a concept; the idea of matching the rpms to the desired gear before engaging that gear.

'Single-clutching' is one method, which is what you're doing, which is when you blip your RPMs with the clutch pedal depressed (fyi, the clutch pedal on the floor is "disengaged," meaning you've separated the clutch from the trans).

'Double-clutching' is anothe way, which is when you blip your RPMs with the clutch ENgaged and in neutral gear. Same goal, different method.

These are pretty much the only options. "Heel-toe" is an additional feature that can be added regardless of which of the above methods you're using, and it just means you're able to depress the brake pedal with part of your foot while using another part of your foot to blip your gas pedal. It's independent of what your clutch foot/gear selector is doing.

Here's a scenario showing the difference: You're going 40mph in 3rd gear, cruising. You're going to take a sweet little twisty and you want to drop it into 2nd. The average driver just clutches in, puts it in 2nd gear and lifts the gas pedal, which results in "engine-braking" and probably a firm jerk when you try to accelerate out of it. The better driver blips the throttle while the clutch is depressed, raising the RPMs, lets out the clutch and takes off smoothly. In either case, the lever probably went into 2nd just fine.

But, that good driver tries the same thing going from 2nd to 1st. They have to repeatedly mash the gear lever to get it into gear, then they blip their throttle, release the clutch and it's smooth from there. They think, hmm, maybe my clutch is bad or maybe I have to push it in farther. No, in that case, the clutch is fine, and the rev-matching saved the clutch from wear. But, you just beat up a synchro. In that case, you MUST double-clutch as your technique, and your gear lever will slide right in and your transition out of the shift will be smooth as well.

* Clutch in
* Gear to 2nd
* Blip throttle
* Clutch out, GO!

 

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...04-06-1641.pdf

 

Trynot pushing the clutch alll the way to the floor. Just push it to engage it.

Down shifting to first is a no no and should never be done unless your at a stop.