I have an 06 SS/SC, stock besides exhaust. I've had it for a week, 23000 miles on it. I've also only been driving a stick for a week, I learned on this car, so I'm thinking this problem is probably soomething I'm doing wrong but I'm not sure...

Anyways, during normal acceleration, when I shift into 2nd and 3rd, the RPMs drop to the normal level on an upshift, then shoot up to around 3500, the acceleration slows a little bit, then it drops back down to the normal level and accelerates like normal. This just started today, and it just started after I stalled a couple times (accidentally had the car in 3rd, not 1st). Did I **** something up? Will it go back to normal?

My dad says from this description it sounds like the clutch is slipping, but I don't know anything about manuals and I won't be home for him to look at it for two weeks. Any ideas? Anything I could be doing? It's not bad enough that it's affecting my ability to get to work or anything, I just want to have a general idea what's going on without waiting two weeks for my dad to look at it.

 

It sounds like you arnt letting out the clutch out all the way when you add some gas between shifts.

 

That was my thought, I tried paying more attention to it but I lose focus...I was just worried because it just started today. Tomorrow to/from work I'll pay more attention to it, see if I was just getting lazy today for some reaosn.

 

i Drove my first stick shift in an srt-4 and it didnt work out for me and i did notice that sumtimes when i downshift but it could be the clutch..maybe the person that haded b4ore u beated on it alot

 

It was a lease before I got it, so I wouldn't be suprised if it got beat up. My dad is telling me I burned up the clutch...I don't know much, but I know I didn't do it in a week. I kinda figured it would have to be replaced pretty soon, I think it was abused. But these are on upshifts, not downshifts.

 

Seems like if you are on the gas pretty hard, the rpms go up quickly and you don't have acceleration something is slipping. And since the tires aren't squealing its probably the clutch. Especially if you've been learning on it. It could just be glazed over and might go away. This could be the case if you've been riding the clutch a lot. From what other say, to deglaze the clutch just shift at 3500-4500 rpms during daily driving with good firm shifts. Then within a few days to week it should grip better.

 

I would try this. Good advice. When I first got my car at 5,000 miles I wanted to get on it and see what it could do. I gave it gas and the clutch was slipping. I was pissed at first, but started to shift with more authority and at a higher rpm and since then it hasn't done it once. As long as I completely let the clutch out I can floor it and all I will get is tire spin and wheel hop (I'm about to put my tranny mounts on so this will go away to some extent).

 

Hopefully it is just glazed. I've been shifting around 3k since I got it because I had read that that was what needed to be done, but I have probably been riding the clutch more than I should. I'll try that for a few days, since I can't do anything else for 2 weeks until I can get home.

 

Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

Today on the way to work I stayed on it and shifted around 3500, making sure I was completely off the clutch before I hit the gas. It seemed like it fixed the problem in 3rd, but second still does it.

 

Get in the habit NOW of getting off the clutch quickly. DO NOT give in to the temptation of resting your foot on the clutch. Clutch in, shift, clutch out and on the gas, clutch foot on the dead pedal to the left. I know when you're learning how to drive a stick, sometimes you'll subconsciously jab at the clutch and push it back in when shifting if it feels like it's not going to be a smooth shift.

Sounds like your dad has a lot of experience driving a stick, have him drive the car for a day, not just a quick out-and-back trip. Give him enough time that the clutch can de-glaze in case that's what happened. See what he thinks. Since he's experienced and shifting will be second nature to him, he will get the best feel for what the car's doing and will be better able to tell you yes or no whether it's slipping or whether you're just glazing it.

Do you do any starting on hills? That is THE #1 easiest place to glaze a clutch, so if you drive a hill regularly, it could be that you're glazing it there and it will "slip" for a while.

Does it do this all the time? Pay attention to the driving conditions just before it starts, if you're doing a lot of stopping/starting, could be that you're still dragging the clutch causing it to slip later on. If you're only doing periodic stops and starts, then pay VERY close attention to how you're shifting (ONLY if there's no traffic, if there's traffic, drive how you drive, dont' worry about technique). Pay extra attention to where your clutch foot is and what the RPMs are doing and where.

When I was learning on this car, 2nd was the MOST common gear that I would drag the clutch because it's darn near impossible to get a good shift, so I would baby the clutch out and end up dragging the clutch and it would do the same thing you're talking about.

 

You gotta give it a few days to take full effect. Also 3.5k is your low point, try shifting at 4~4.5k if you can.

 

Ok, lots of stuff to reply to...lol

1. I don't rest on the clutch, but I think I am hitting the gas before I'm completely off it.

2. I will be having him drive it, it's just a matter of getting home. I don't like with my parents, and I won't be home for about two weeks, that's why I'm trying to get a temporary fix/reason for it.

3. No hills. I live in Detroit, flat as a board around here. I do, however do a ton of starting a stopping, they seem to time stoplights around here so you hit every one. And yes, I do drag the clutch when I'm starting, it's the only way I can not stall/hop/make a mess of my launch right now. Last weekend however, when I was learning to drive it, I took it on a hill and just practiced hill launches for about an hour, and I could smell the clutch when i was done. So I probably f-ed it up a little bit, but I haven't had problems since so I thought maybe it was temporary.

4. I have been dragging the clutch into 2nd also, but today I tried to avoid it since I started noticing the problems, because I was having a rough shift into 2nd like you mentioned. So I'm working on not dragging it and we'll see if this will unglaze it if that's what's happening.

5. I'll work on shifting higher, it's a pain in the ass around here because I'm in gridlock traffic with stoplights every quarter mile, so I can't really work it too hard. If I get the opportunity I'll shift into 4k though. I just don't like being at 3k for 30 seconds waiting for traffic to move fast enough that I can get that high.

 

Yup, I would say MOST of your problems are typical for learning to drive a stick on this car. Same stuff happened to me and it'll go away as you get more comfortable with the car. Best thing to do, go to a nice, flat, open parking lot. Since most of your driving is stop and go, try and practice 1-2 shift then stop. 1-2 stop. 1-2 stop. Etc. Only since you're in a parking lot with no one around, don't drag the clutch at all. You might hop it, stall it, or get those super fun throttle-induced speed bumps where the car jerks violently because you're just not used to driving stick. That's the point of practicing. I got ALL that stuff when I first started, too. Now after almost 2 years driving it, it's second nature. I don't drag the clutch, I don't hop it, I don't get the jerkiness, and I don't stall it. But when you start, you have SOOOOOOO many things on your mind it's impossible to be smooth....you're worried about the clutch, the gas, shifting, getting off the clutch, not stalling, not being jerky. All that stuff has to become one smooth process before you can drive it every day without any issues.

 

Yea I need to work on getting in some practice. I have so much going on I haven't had a lot of time to do just that. Hopefully in a couple weeks when all the local high schools let out I can go kill some time doing it.

 

great info guys, i think you nailed it on the head. I had similar situation, its just this clutch is different. when i would do my town driving i was shifting lower rpms. then when i would wanna really go, as soon as i shifted it was nuthing but slipping clutch. i found a post on here about that and it stated to shift at 3k or so instead of 2. since then i have not had a problem with the clutch. good luck to ya and yes, the revving up then down is an indication of hitting the gas before the clutch is fully disengaged.

 

Well I will work on this for a few days and see if things get better. Thank you all for the info!

 

It hasn't gotten any better, I'm pretty sure the clutch is shot...how much do clutches cost for these cars? (Parts only)

 

When I downshift, I clutch in, then give the gas a shot while going from, say 4 to 3, then release the clutch.. Most of the time its smooth as long as I match the revs correctly.. Im totally new to stick so mabey Im doing it totally wrong... By the above quote, Im kinda confused.. Should I be shifting from higher gear into neutral, then hitting gas, then clutch in again, then shift from neutral to lower gear?? Is it harmful to be doing it the way Ive been shifting all in one clutched in motion??

 

no what your doing is right.
rev matching is good.

what that quote is about, is applying throttle before the clutch is out, and STAYING on it.
releasing the clutch while your throwing torque at it, makes it harder to grab.
and causes glazing if done to much.

 

Well, just got off the phone with a friend that runs service at the local dealer...they're going to warranty it. So I lose the balt for a few days, but she'll be runnin good when I get it back!