Shifting, some tips.

Several folks on this forum are new to shifting a manual transmission. Here are a few tips to help the transition.

Shifting 101

This won’t be a comprehensive review, just some pointers. When you want to learn the feel of the clutch, find a level parking lot or clear stretch of road and come to a full stop. Slowly release the clutch without using the accelerator. Repeat 10X. This will allow you to learn how far you let up on the clutch before it starts to engage and how fast/slow you need to release in order to avoid stalling. It’s much easier to learn this without the distractions of traffic and using the accelerator. Repeat as needed to get the “feel.” This is how I taught my 14 year old son to drive stick and how I got the “feel” when I bought my car (06 Cobalt SS/SC). Don’t worry if you stall a few times during the learning curve. It’s also not a bad idea to practice shifting with the engine off. The best drag racer I know, a fellow with many hundreds (if not thousands) of ¼ mile passes, still practices shifting 1-2-3-4 with the engine off (transmission warm). He does 5 sets of 10 reps in the morning when he arrives at work, and at the end of the day when he gets home. He builds muscle memory to be fast and never miss a shift. That is one of the reasons he is the best.

Later, you can add a little throttle (say 1200-1500 rpm or so) as you release the clutch. This is what I do in traffic.

A few years ago, I attended a high performance driving school that used Z06 Corvettes. The school used to burn out clutches in 7-10,000 miles. They changed the school rules so all starts from a dead stop were made without throttle. The result? No more burned out clutches. This was a school where each student made 3,000+ shifts in a 3 day course. Nearly everyone was a novice to road racing and heel-and-toe shifting. The clutch wear came from the starts, not the heel-and-toe or racing. Slipping the clutch with high revs generates tremendous heat and is a clutch killer.

Four more things for 101

When you are not using the clutch, keep your left foot on the far left foot rest (AKA dead pedal). This will avoid unintentional “riding” of the clutch, another clutch killer. The Cobalt SS/SC has a nice spot for this.

When stopped, don’t stand for long periods (Ex. At a red light) with the clutch depressed. Shift into neutral and release the clutch.

Note that if the car is in neutral, the transmission has a spring that will return the shifter to the center between 3rd and 4th. If you use this feature, you can avoid accidentally shifting into 1st, 2nd or 5th. Always pull straight back or push straight forward from this central position to get to 4th or 3rd. Accuracy is more important than speed. Check this out with the engine off to see how this works.

After you get proficient, practice a few starts on a moderate uphill incline. Use the hand brake to hold position at the stop and release it as you add extra throttle and release the clutch to get moving.

Shifting 202—Rev matching and “blipping” the throttle


Smooth shifts save wear and tear. The goal is to make shifts so smooth that they won’t be felt.

If you’ve never noticed it before, try blipping (quick jab or tap) the throttle in neutral at a full stop. Jab it to the floor (quickly) and release immediately. It is striking that the revs won’t budge for a ½ second and then only go up about 1000 additional rpm. “Blipping” refers to a quick addition of some throttle, it need not, and usually is not, flooring the accelerator.

Practice the following exercise which simulates passing on the highway.

On open road (no traffic), get in 5th gear at 50 mph. Depress the clutch, move to neutral and blip (jab) the accelerator. Note that the rpms will increase by about 1000. Put the car in 4th, release the clutch, and hold 50. Repeat until you can do this smoothly with no “jerk” when the clutch is released. It will be smooth when the blip adds enough rpm to match what is required in the lower gear.

Do the same to get from 4th to 3rd (it will take higher rpms to do this smoothly). Now go 5th, to 4th, to 3rd while holding 50.

Remember the spring will return the stick to between 3rd and 4th in neutral.

Later, try going from 5th to 3rd. Because of the way the SS/SC throttle works, you may need to blip the throttle twice (or hold the blip longer) to get enough rpms.
BTW, you want to do this by sound rather than staring at the tach. Radio off. You can do the same exercise at 40mph going from 4th to 3rd to 2nd. Note that roughly 3800 rpms are required in 2nd at 40 mph. Acceleration is greatly improved at the lower gear for safer passing.

Shifting 399— Heel-and-Toe

Heel-and-Toe is a necessary skill for high performance driving on a road course type track. It’s also a lot of fun when you get the hang of it.

In order to be quick on a track, it is mandatory that the driver be able to brake hard (at the limit), keep the car balanced and smooth, rev match, and downshift at the same time. Heel-and-Toe does that.

First, braking is initiated with the ball of the right foot. The right edge of the right foot is above (not yet touching) the accelerator.

Next, the clutch is depressed and the car taken out of gear (still braking).

Then, while still braking, the right foot is rolled to depress (blip) the throttle to rev the engine.

The shifter is placed in the lower gear and the clutch is released with the revs matching what is needed in the lower gear.

The left foot is returned to the dead pedal (rest).

It takes practice to be able to brake smoothly and consistently while blipping and shifting. Maintaining the balance of the car is essential if the driver hopes to keep control of the car when operating at the “limit.” It takes a lot of practice to get this right!

Remember to brake first, then shift.

I recommend: Speed Secrets by Ross Bentley, a great book.

Every driver should master rev-matching. Not everyone will need or use heel-and-toe. Nonetheless, I love it.

 

Excellent advice, especially for those of us who are new to manual transmissions.

 

thank you VERY VERY MUCH

much appreciated

 

...I though you were always supposed to hold the gas at 4500 RPM when you come out of first?

 

or go jump in a (insert big truck here) and learn to shift without using the clutch!

i sucked as shifting a manual until i started to drive big trucks. now i can shift better in my car than i could years ago.

good write up!