2008 Mazda Speed 3 Shifting

[Shane5425]

Just wanted to see if this was normal when breakin in a clutch, 1st and 2nd gear shifting, the clutch bits and the car lunges a bit.. this is my first manual i own, but ihave driven them before. 2nd to 3rd and up are fine, smooth shifts, its just from stop to 1st and 1st to 2nd, i cant seem to get that jerk worked out.. the car has 430 miles....

open to any suggestions

 

[chacon101]

I think you just need more experience with this particular cars clutch characteristics.

I have owned many standards transmissions cars and even for me, I had a pretty steep learning curve to get the car moving along smoothly and quick at the same time.

When you are in first gear (second is almost as bad) and you let off the gas, the car will respond by engine breaking very quickly which gives you that herky-jerky movement.

I have 5k on mine and I can now drive it very smoothly no matter what.

You also have to figure in turbo lag too. If this is your first turbo car, that might another factor. In NA cars, you just hit the gas and go but for this car, you have to get used to the way the engine builds power.

Just give it some time young skywalker (thumb)

 

[sleeper3]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the jerkiness that you get when you let off the gas has a lot to do with the movement of the engine within the bay due to the torque. I bet a stiffer rear mount would help a lot. front wheel drive cars are inherantly more jerky from the experience I've had. (civic, 350z, s2000, mazdaspeed3)

 

[Shane5425]

I think you just need more experience with this particular cars clutch characteristics.

I have owned many standards transmissions cars and even for me, I had a pretty steep learning curve to get the car moving along smoothly and quick at the same time.

When you are in first gear (second is almost as bad) and you let off the gas, the car will respond by engine breaking very quickly which gives you that herky-jerky movement.

not my first turbo car, had a 2000 1.6l turbo charged, with an auto though..
now that you say it like that, it is after i shift let of clutch it jecks a bit slower then it i hit the gas.. should i keep my foot on the gas a bit when i shift?

i guess ill just keep driving till i get the hang of it.. i just need to learn quicker my fiancee is complaining of whiplash.. lol..

 

[BluMicaR]

not my first turbo car, had a 2000 1.6l turbo charged, with an auto though..
now that you say it like that, it is after i shift let of clutch it jecks a bit slower then it i hit the gas.. should i keep my foot on the gas a bit when i shift?

i guess ill just keep driving till i get the hang of it.. i just need to learn quicker my fiancee is complaining of whiplash.. lol..

Yeah... When my fiancee complains I push her back in her seat and knock the wind out of her, then just as fast I stomp the brakes and leave her with whiplash; complaint solved. LOL. Actually I just did that once. Okay, the brakes part. Okay, really, I push her back in the seat all the time, and she thinks I'm mad... Yeah, baby, I'm mad. Mad with power. (mj)

 

[Derek88]

I had trouble with the 1-2 shift. The gears are so short that it's like Im shifting from first to first-and-a-half. There isnt a good amount of drop in RPMs like the higher gears.

 

[sfalexi]

I have about 1500 miles. I can start from dead stop and shift through without a problem. Pretty smoothly. I shift early to keep gas mileage high. But now feeling very comfortably there, I'm going to start shifting higher and higher. 3000, 35000, 4000, etc so I can basically learn little by little what to expect and how to control it.

I have a feeling it's due to not correctly 'rev matching' I think it's called. You don't have enough gas while letting go of the clutch, it'll engine brake hard. Too much and it'll throw you back hard. Find that happy medium and I think you'll be allright.

Alexi

 

[djdanny5000]

Shane dont worry i think you just need more time with the car and learn it's characteristics. I have a mazdaspeed 6 and it is my first manual car. When i first got it i couldnt shift smoothly from 1st to 2nd or take off smoothly. I would always jerk the crap out of it. I'm now at about 5500 miles and I have just now started learning how to take off smoothly and shift into 2nd smoothly. As sfalexi said it's all about rev matching.

 

[ZooZoom]

I've owned a dozen manual tranny cars. Even after 28,000 miles I find the 1-2 shift to be finicky. If you're not shifting in a big hurry, I find it shifts smoother if you let the shift level settle for just a moment in the neutral position.

If you are going for the fast 1-2 shift, just make sure it engages fully into 2nd gear. I've let the clutch out a few times a bit too early and the synchros sure don't like it.

 

[Sierra117]

Yeah... When my fiancee complains I push her back in her seat and knock the wind out of her, then just as fast I stomp the brakes and leave her with whiplash; complaint solved. LOL. Actually I just did that once. Okay, the brakes part. Okay, really, I push her back in the seat all the time, and she thinks I'm mad... Yeah, baby, I'm mad. Mad with power. (mj)

I push my girl back in the seat too...

But not with the throttle

Giggaty giggaty giggaty gah!
(idhitit)

 

[Shane5425]

I push my girl back in the seat too...

But not with the throttle

Giggaty giggaty giggaty gah!
(idhitit)

trust me , my girl is gettin the throttle ........

she left an impression on the seat of her back yesterday.... (butthump)

 

[nig3]

practice makes perfect. and also try easing into the clutch rather than just dumping it into the next gear. I noticed you cant really drive this car like a honda or it will bounce around when shifting, i actually slip it a hair into every gear to maintain momentum and have a smoother transistion into the next gear.

 

[Vengure]

I tend to find my self when im driving alot of different manuals using the clutch fluidly for smooth gear transitions when im regular driving ill ease my self into each gear and ease out quickly but softly I just dont dump it. I dunno if thats a bad thing though i might be causing more clutch wear then needed.

 

[staples187]

Seems like it takes a little bit of getting use to. I went from an automatic accord to this and had to get use to the torque. If you shift and let out the clutch too fast you'll jerk because of the torque to the front wheels.

 

[chuknorrisrules]

yea man this is also my first manual car.. I,ve had it for about a month and I've got it down pretty well now.. Pay attention to what you are doing when you get a smooth shift.. I find that the engine responds quite differently when the engine is cold.. hope it helps

 

[Colleptic]

Yes, I too find clunky shifting when it is cold. Nevertheless, I think there is a consensus that the MS3 gears are too short, especially 1st. It took me a while to shift smooth, but I found out that if I hold the clutch a weeee bit longer than I should, I can shift smoother at lower RPMs for smooth gas-friendly-shifting. If I am givener-s***who cares if I am smooth or not!

 

[sfalexi]

I haven't driven too many manual vehicles (just this car, a UPS truck for a few months, and a very small toyota bus while overseas for about a year), but it REALLY does seem like 1st gear is very short. I find myself in second gear by less then 10 miles an hour. What would happen if I start off in second gear instead of first? Bad? Or just slow?

 

[Mallitious]

I haven't driven too many manual vehicles (just this car, a UPS truck for a few months, and a very small toyota bus while overseas for about a year), but it REALLY does seem like 1st gear is very short. I find myself in second gear by less then 10 miles an hour. What would happen if I start off in second gear instead of first? Bad? Or just slow?

I wouldn't think you would do any damage. You would just take off slower.

 

[fourthmeal]

I think you'd find advanced clutch wear over time if you took off in 2nd, but I wouldn't say it would be catastrophic. Thing is, the hardest job a clutch has is that initial take-off. The very low gear aids this. Generally, I use first gear just to get moving, then immediately shift to 2nd, and go from there. Also, you'll be grateful for such a low gear when taking off on a hill, for instance. At that point, the low 1st makes perfect sense.

 

[cosmic_spd3]

Hey man practice alot and u'll get the heng of it.thats all...hope u dont get caught in stop and go traffic..thats where u can prove urself..