Manual Transmission Tips

[MacAttack7]

Ok......you go first, because I suck !!!

Once in a while I can take off smooth in 1st gear, but usually not.

I'm even worse when I shift to 2nd gear; almost always get a lurch instead of a smooth transition.

It gets easier after those 2 gears. Has anyone mastered 1st & 2nd?. Tell me how !

 

[Richard_rsp]

Slow on the gas, slow off the clutch. If its lurching, you are likely taking your foot off the clutch too quickly... Its about finding the "sweet-spot".

 

[MazdaTwo]

Ok......you go first, because I suck !!!

Once in a while I can take off smooth in 1st gear, but usually not.

I'm even worse when I shift to 2nd gear; almost always get a lurch instead of a smooth transition.

It gets easier after those 2 gears. Has anyone mastered 1st & 2nd?. Tell me how !

Move your seat back two clicks. For me it helped immensely. I think I was getting to a certain point and assuming the clutch was fully engaged, but when I pulled my foot off, it would lurch. Moving the seat back allowed me to keep the same "muscle memory" but the clutch was actually fully engaging.

 

[MacAttack7]

Move your seat back two clicks. For me it helped immensely. I think I was getting to a certain point and assuming the clutch was fully engaged, but when I pulled my foot off, it would lurch. Moving the seat back allowed me to keep the same "muscle memory" but the clutch was actually fully engaging.

That's actually one of the reasons it's a little harder for me. I have long legs (35'' inseam), so I already have the seat all the way back. I don't have the best angle at the pedals, so instead of just flexing my foot up & down I have to lift my leg at the same time.

The seat goes back just barely enough for me to be semi-comfortable. 2 less clicks & I wouldn't fit too good. It does have more legroom than all the other subcompacts I drove though; that's one of the reasons it was an easy decision for me.

I'll try letting off the clutch a little slower in 1st & 2nd. Isn't that slipping the clutch though if you just hold your foot on it for a couple seconds? I think I worry about that too much which is why I try to get off it so quick.

 

[MacAttack7]

I didn't know this was possible, but I can take my foot off all pedals & the car will just crawl up a hill all by itself, just like an automatic. Did it today on the traffic-jammed on-ramp.

 

[gvblake22]

I'm absolutely not a master of the stick, but this is what I was taught:

Slowly press the gas pedal as you slowly release the clutch. As soon as the car starts moving forward, stop releasing the clutch and just hold it in the same spot (while still adding gas). Once the car is in motion, release the clutch completely.​

I think the key is to stop releasing the clutch as soon as you start getting acceleration. Like Richard mentioned, you're probably releasing the clutch too early.

 

[avera01]

I had the same problem, but after putting around 4,000 miles on the car, the problem seems to have went away. Perhaps I have developed muscle memory using the sweet-spot and or the clutch has broken in enough not to "bite" so strong at that last moment before its release.

Another thing I noticed is that the shifting works better for me if I insure that the gas is smoothly applied at an increasing rate as the clutch is being released verse relying on just releasing the clutch while maintaining the same "throttle".

 

[lizardman743]

Practice.

Practice.

Practice.

 

[DocBeech]

careful not to burn out the clutch by riding it to much.

 

[wreckerboy]

Disclaimer: I've been driving three-pedal cars since Jesus was a pup. I drive semis on a regular basis and a racecar as well. I'm pretty comfortable/experienced with the silly things.

I've had the same problem with my 2 - sometimes it's either too many revs, and other times it's not enough and the thing bucks and stalls. A large part of the problem is the calibration of the drive by wire throttle. It is particularly laggy on the 2, and the lag is most pronounced in first and second gears, presumably due to some ECU inherent issues.

It's not (compleatly) your fault.

 

[MacAttack7]

Disclaimer: I've been driving three-pedal cars since Jesus was a pup. I drive semis on a regular basis and a racecar as well. I'm pretty comfortable/experienced with the silly things.

I've had the same problem with my 2 - sometimes it's either too many revs, and other times it's not enough and the thing bucks and stalls. A large part of the problem is the calibration of the drive by wire throttle. It is particularly laggy on the 2, and the lag is most pronounced in first and second gears, presumably due to some ECU inherent issues.

It's not (compleatly) your fault.

This DBW is driving me nuts. Sometimes I press the throttle & I get no response for almost 2 full seconds it seems. Leaving work today I backed up, and then went to 1st & let the clutch out real slow w/ no gas to start rolling. Then I hit the throttle to get going & I thought my car broke. Nothing happened. 2 seconds later it finally realized I was hitting the throttle & went forward in it's jerky fashion.

I have absolutely no idea how to shift from 1st to 2nd in a smooth manner. I've tried everything. I feel like I'm riding a rodeo bull until I start accelerating in 2nd. After that it's not too bad.

Anybody got any tips? Is this something that might improve as the car gets more broken in? Are there driver's out there who can actually master a car with DBW? It seems impossible right now.

 

[MazdaTwo]

This DBW is driving me nuts. Sometimes I press the throttle & I get no response for almost 2 full seconds it seems. Leaving work today I backed up, and then went to 1st & let the clutch out real slow w/ no gas to start rolling. Then I hit the throttle to get going & I thought my car broke. Nothing happened. 2 seconds later it finally realized I was hitting the throttle & went forward in it's jerky fashion.

I have absolutely no idea how to shift from 1st to 2nd in a smooth manner. I've tried everything. I feel like I'm riding a rodeo bull until I start accelerating in 2nd. After that it's not too bad.

Anybody got any tips? Is this something that might improve as the car gets more broken in? Are there driver's out there who can actually master a car with DBW? It seems impossible right now.

I had an '06 VW GTI for about 4 years before this car. It was, hands down, the smoothest MT I've ever driven, and it was DBW as well. I literally couldn't stall that car short of standing on the brake and dumping the clutch in gear. This Mazda took me a full 5K miles to get used to it. It's smooth now, but I still have my moments.

I really think you might have a relay issue or something though... mine is super responsive. I never have lag to the degree that you're describing.

 

[MacAttack7]

Somehow I made 5 smooth shifts today going from 1st to 2nd. It was a combination of a deeper stab at the throttle, going into a little higher rpm range in 1st, and holding the clutch steady for a moment. Maybe I'll actually get the hang of this thing. I think maybe the computer likes the throttle to be pressed down more aggresively than I've been doing. I've been pressing it gently trying to be nice to the clutch, and it seems very inconsistent when doing that. I made deeper stabs at it today in both 1st & 2nd & it seemed more consistent & smoother & it didn't seem to be any harder on the clutch; it didn't really vroooooooom like you'd think it would when hitting the throttle more aggresively. It seems like the computer controls it somewhat.

 

[MacAttack7]

What do you guys rev to before upshifting? It seems to like 3000 rpm & above when upshifting.

If I shift below 3000 rpm the rpm's drop too fast & I get a jolt by the time I upshift.

 

[lizardman743]

Give it a touch of throttle before releasing the clutch. Much smoother. Matching revs isn't just for downshifting.

 

[MacAttack7]

Give it a touch of throttle before releasing the clutch. Much smoother. Matching revs isn't just for downshifting.

I've actually been giving it a touch of throttle right before I shift if there's no danger of hitting the car in front of me. Like if I'm in 3rd & want to shift to 4th I'll just rev it up a little bit real quick, and then shift to 4th. If I blip the throttle real quick like that it doesn't really accelerate much.

I've been trying to rev-match on some of my downshifts; haven't quite mastered that yet.

 

[lizardman743]

Future heel-toe hero. ^^^

 

[Joker2]

I shift at about 4-5,000 because at around 3500 you get the VICS or V-Tech thingies kicking in and increasing torque a bit. By the time the revs drop, you lurch unless you rev the throttle a bit.

 

[MacAttack7]

I shift at about 4-5,000 because at around 3500 you get the VICS or V-Tech thingies kicking in and increasing torque a bit. By the time the revs drop, you lurch unless you rev the throttle a bit.

I don't think I've gotten quite up to 5,000 rpm's yet. I just can't bring myself to do it, but from what I read it might be a good idea. I'm at about 1000 miles today, so I should be fully broken in. I'll have to force myself to hit 5000.

Ok......so what's VICS or V-Tech? I thought that was a Honda thing. Can you explain that a bit. I don't know much about this engine or what it likes/doesn't like.

I agree with revving it up before shifting though. As long as I get near 3500 rpm's the shifting is smooth; below 3000 rpm & you either get a jolt or you have to blip the throttle which is just too much thinking for me sometimes. I'd rather rev high & shift smooth & be done with it.

 

[lizardman743]

Just give it a touch of gas as you take your foot off the clutch. Smooth inputs on the controls.