Okay...I'm a noob at manual transmissions so will someone please give me a step by step "lesson" on shifting correctly? Thanks

 

When you push the clutch in, it basically disconnects the engine from the transmission. You need to have no load on the transmission when you change gears, so in other words, any time you wanna change gears, you need to push the clutch.

So the basic procedure is (1) push & hold clutch to take the engine load off of the transmission, (2) change gear from 1 to 2 or whatever, and (3) release clutch to reconnect the engine to the rest of the driveline.

Beyond that, it's all just feel. No one can really help you with that, you just have to drive the car and get the feel for it yourself. It really is just like riding a bike ... get on it and pedal. That's all the instruction someone else can give you. The rest you just gotta get the feel for. Good luck.

 

Thanks man ...very easy to understand

 

Oh yeah...One other thing...When you push in the clutch to shift, do you still keep you other foot on the gas to keep the same rpm's or more rpm's?

 

No, not for normal shifting.

1. Take foot off accelerator
2. press in clutch
3. shift
4. let off clutch
5. accelerator

thats the basics, theres more to it, but you'll learn better doing it yourself.

NB: Don't try downshifting into 1st unless you're doing about 5mph, and even then you may need to revmatch.

 

Generally no. If you're upshifting (like from 1 to 2, or 2->3), then the result of your shift will be lower engine speed, right? So there's no need to leave your foot on the gas, you actually want the engine to slow down. By the time you push the clutch, shift and release it, the engine speed will have come down to probably just where you want it anyway...

If you're downshifting, as a beginner, you should still take your foot off the gas. Once you're more experienced though, you might try 'blipping' the gas a little bit to match the revs. In other words, when you downshift, your engine speed is gonna go up, right? What most ppl do is while the clutch is depressed and they're shifting, just tap the gas a bit to rev the motor up to where you want it to be when you release the clutch. It'll just be smoother that way. But for a beginner, just keep your foot off the gas until you let the clutch back out, then go on your way...

 

Check out:

http://standardshift.com/

 

thx guys