Getting into 1st gear in the Mazdaspeed without any jerking

[jon2000]

I recently picked up a 2007 CWP Mazdaspeed3 and have been having a lot of fun with it but I'm finding it a little difficult to get the car rolling in 1st gear at a decent speed 100% smooth. It may be me just being a perfectionist but I'd prefer to not look like a noob. LOL I should mention that this is my first manual car - I had a 2000 Mazda Protege automatic for the last 8 years and an automatic Grand Prix before that.

For regular starts do you guys creep the clutch out to the friction point then feed it bit of gas while easing the clutch out the rest of the way as smooth as possible? ...or do you give a bit of gas, say around 1500rpm then ease the clutch out slow and smooth while increasing throttle? I've tried all kinds of different things - the first method seems to be the smoothest but it can be tricky for me to quickly get the clutch out to the friction point so I can start feeding gas. I don't want to fuss around slowly with the clutch when the light turns green and traffic is itching to move.

Thanks for the help!

Jon

 

[Huligan]

LOL I should mention that this is my first manual car

 

[Huligan]

p.s. get an aftermarket motor mount

 

[speed3guy]

Yeah the Speed3 is definitely a hard car to have as your first manual transmission car. I had driven 2 manual's before and I had problems with 1st and 2nd gear. 2nd gear still isnt smooth 100% of the time. I noticed that once I removed the shifter weight from the car, it made the 10x easier for me to drive but maybe thats just me. I bring it up to 1500 rpms and then slowly let the clutch out. The sweet spot is right at the end of letting it out and as you have experienced very very small. Itll just get some getting used to really. All you can do is just drive and get used to the car. Hope that helps.

 

[speed3guy]

p.s. get an aftermarket motor mount

Ya know Ive heard this from many people before but it didnt really help me drive the car any better. It just gave me some vibes and I enjoyed the car a lot more cause it felt more rigid and raw lol.

 

[charlessss]

Not gonna lie this was also my first manual transmission. I was in the same boat as you last year trying to figure out how to launch smoothly. Great advice I got was seating position, pivot your left foot when coming out of the clutch, and actually going out and seeing where the clutch engages so you train your foot to save yourself. You'll eventually be driving more smoothly in no time. Confidence is key.

 

[jon2000]

I did move seat a little bit closer this morning just to mix it up and did slip the clutch a little more once it was grabbing then slowly and smoothly finished clutching out while giving slight throttle. The take off was very smooth even though it was really cold and snowing. 2nd gear I find I have to baby a bit too - clutch has to come out a little faster than 1st but a little slower than 3rd. Thankfully I have only stalled this car once in traffic - it was on a hill at a traffic light and I started to roll back and dumped the clutch. I started up VERY quickly and peeled outta there with my head down. LOL I bought the car right before Christmas so it sounds like it's going to just take a while to get used to. It's still nice to hear everyone's launch technique though as I like to try different things to find out what works.

Downshifting is another thing I'm trying to get used to. I can usually do it somewhat smooth if I get the revs right. I have tried 'blipping' the throttle but I find the rpms drop too fast when I clutch out. It seems I have to ride the throttle ever so slightly while letting the clutch out for it to be a smooth down shift. It's taking some getting used to to try to get the car in the right gear BEFORE turning rather than through the turn when coming down from higher speeds. ..like going from an 80km/hr hwy to making a left turn. I try to stay in 3rd gear when possible.

 

[JamesCH]

Practice, practice, practice, practice.

It's a very grippy clutch. I watched a mechanic squak my tires as he pulled it out of the garage bay without revving the engine over 2krpm.

Oh yeah, practice helps.

 

[gtlaw]

I recently picked up a 2007 CWP Mazdaspeed3 and have been having a lot of fun with it but I'm finding it a little difficult to get the car rolling in 1st gear at a decent speed 100% smooth. It may be me just being a perfectionist but I'd prefer to not look like a noob. LOL I should mention that this is my first manual car - I had a 2000 Mazda Protege automatic for the last 8 years and an automatic Grand Prix before that.

For regular starts do you guys creep the clutch out to the friction point then feed it bit of gas while easing the clutch out the rest of the way as smooth as possible? ...or do you give a bit of gas, say around 1500rpm then ease the clutch out slow and smooth while increasing throttle? I've tried all kinds of different things - the first method seems to be the smoothest but it can be tricky for me to quickly get the clutch out to the friction point so I can start feeding gas. I don't want to fuss around slowly with the clutch when the light turns green and traffic is itching to move.

Thanks for the help!

Jon

cwp wasn't until 08.5

 

[jri4]

The good news is the car doesn't take much to get it moving. I just tried to remember that the clutch isn't going to break or wear out after a few hundred of thousand miles of learning how to let it out properly. So try different things and don't worry about lookign good. And for those minivans riding your tail and sitting behind you at lights, just smoke 'em once you hit third gear and are in full boost!

I've got down launching, its selecting the right gear on downshift and rev matching that is still tricky for me (it's my first manual as well).

 

[jon2000]

cwp wasn't until 08.5

I'm from Canada so was able to get a 2007 CWP. It's got xenon headlights, led brake lights, heated mirrors and rain sensing wiper blades.

My Cobb SRI just came in the mail a minute ago - sweet. I've got some Ford Motocraft synthetic tranny fluid to install as well and have adjusted the shifter so it slots in better now. Everyone who test drove my car would start it in 3rd - it's much better now.

 

[jon2000]

Practice, practice, practice, practice.

It's a very grippy clutch. I watched a mechanic squak my tires as he pulled it out of the garage bay without revving the engine over 2krpm.

Oh yeah, practice helps.

Good advice - I'm not sure why I'm being so hard on myself trying to be a perfect manual driver so soon. I've logged maybe 2500km's driving stick so far. My girlfriend has always driven stick (10 years) and is very good at it but even she still has bad days/shifts but she doesn't worry about it like I do. LOL

 

[Khasmordan]

I have driven manuals before, but this is the first car that I have bought myself. It took a while for me to get used to the clutch as well. I have had it since June 09 and I am now able to get it through the gears very smoothly, even under hard acceleration. What I found to make this easiest was to depress the clutch with your left foot NOT resting on the floor. With this method you can feel the resistance in the clutch in your foot. This lets you know exactly when to press on the throttle accurately and smoothly. Not only that, but it has helped my gas millage because I am not just dumping more fuel for a smoother gear transition.

BTW, if you get a MS CAI, make sure you get a tune done! Fried a set of plugs since the car ran lean when the weather got cold.

 

[jon2000]

I have driven manuals before, but this is the first car that I have bought myself. It took a while for me to get used to the clutch as well. I have had it since June 09 and I am now able to get it through the gears very smoothly, even under hard acceleration. What I found to make this easiest was to depress the clutch with your left foot NOT resting on the floor. With this method you can feel the resistance in the clutch in your foot. This lets you know exactly when to press on the throttle accurately and smoothly. Not only that, but it has helped my gas millage because I am not just dumping more fuel for a smoother gear transition.

BTW, if you get a MS CAI, make sure you get a tune done! Fried a set of plugs since the car ran lean when the weather got cold.

So you are letting the clutch out to the friction point then adding gas from there rather than revving up a bit then letting the clutch out? I'll be adding the COBB SRI - hopefully I don't have that prob. The tailpipe is always very sooty as is.

 

[matsuda]

For regular starts do you guys creep the clutch out to the friction point then feed it bit of gas while easing the clutch out the rest of the way as smooth as possible? ...or do you give a bit of gas, say around 1500rpm then ease the clutch out slow and smooth while increasing throttle?
Jon

You ease up on the clutch and down on the throttle at the same time. When you get it right (it's easier said than done), the RPM's won't be any greater than ~1000 with the clutch fully engaged.

The bottom line is that you want to minimize clutch slippage and be as smooth as possible. To minimize clutch wear, don't use a lot of throttle (maybe <10%) until the clutch is fully engaged.

So you are letting the clutch out to the friction point then adding gas from there rather than revving up a bit then letting the clutch out?

With practice, it's not a two step process. The clutch and accel pedals should move simultaneously.

 

[jon2000]

Just drove around for a while after work and had much better shifts. It seemed the less revs the better as I had to slip the clutch less and was able to get the clutch completely out in less time. I was actually doing what matsuda said and moving both pedals simultaneously. I moved my seat back a bit further as well so I didn't have as much leg weight down on the clutch.

 

[JamesCH]

I was actually doing what matsuda said and moving both pedals simultaneously.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. When you master this technique going slowly, you'll be able to do it faster and faster and before you know it you'll be driving like a pro.

 

[Saskatchewan17]

It is my first manual as well. I agree with what everyone else is saying. Practice x1,000,000.
Now I pretty much have everything down for MT driving. Starting, launching, heel-toe downshifting, rev matching, hill starts... ect... And that's a year and change with it. You'll get it eventually, trust me. I stalled the car 4 times at the same stop sign the first day I had it.

 

[BillTheCat]

Just drove around for a while after work and had much better shifts. It seemed the less revs the better as I had to slip the clutch less and was able to get the clutch completely out in less time. I was actually doing what matsuda said and moving both pedals simultaneously. I moved my seat back a bit further as well so I didn't have as much leg weight down on the clutch.

Matsuda hit the nail on the head. It's best to think of the whole process as one fluid motion. Don't get too antsy with your progress. On cars with more forgiving clutches, you actually feel the friction point gradually engage, which gives you a signal to start pressing the throttle.

The MS3's clutch is among the least forgiving stock clutches I have ever driven (22 years driving, 21 of them in manual transmissions). By the time you feel the friction point engage, you're about to stall the car. Over time, you'll learn to both anticipate the friction point and become supersensitive to the engagement feel so you'll know when to start giving it throttle without revving too early.

Been in my MS3 for about 18 months now, and I recently picked up a '92 Supra TT as a weekend project/fun car. Every time I drive the Supra for a few days, I have to concentrate like hell to launch the MS3 smoothly the next time I get in it.

 

[shuura]

my first manual as well... I had a much harder time due to impatient OH drivers. I stalled at least 10 times on the first day, in traffic. I practiced launching and shifting techniques in my jobs parking lot mostly. I think the impatient and dangerous OH drivers actually helped me get over the hump.

my advise would be to just take your time. it'll happen faster than you'll realize. I'm no pro, and certainly have a lot more to learn, but didn't expect to improve as much as I have in only 7 months.