frescagod

one comment: people were saying that yes, they downshift every time they come to a stop sign or a red light (from 6-5-4-3-2-1 or whatever). that is not a very good idea. how much do brake pads cost? you can get a set for under $100. how much does a new clutch cost? you get my point. since this is your first manual transmission car, i'm guessing you're not driving like a pro, so you're putting at least some unnecessary wear on the clutch. the more you try to heel-toe and basically, the more you shift, the more you're going to wear out the clutch. for some people, the clutch has been a weak point on their TSXes.

definitely downshift when you're going down a 7% grade for 2 miles through Pennsylvania or something. that's a perfectly appropriate time to leave it in a lower gear so that the higher engine speed keeps the car at a steady speed (say, 4th gear at 60mph). but with in-town driving, where you're stopping and going all the time, downshifting when you come to every light is ridiculous. i'd rather swap out my brake pads than my clutch (a cheap one costing probably $1200 with labor).

Othello

I'm with Frescagod on that one, why put unneeded stress on the clutch? Use the brakes for what they were put there for...to slow the car down and leave the clutch/tranny to do it's job.

afici0nad0

i'm probably running a 60/40 split between downshifting and just popping it to neutral @ 1000rpms in city driving.

it really depends on the driving conditions. whether there is lagging traffic up ahead, whether i know i'll have to come to a complete stop, etc.

jaspillera

talkin about all this shiftin got me thinkin of what my dad told me when i first started when i was 16:


"hey pay attention! if you wanna race....shift faster and let go of the clutch faster, if you want the girl.....shift at the same speed but let go of the clutch slowerand make the ride smooth. you don't want her neck to hurt until after the end of the date."

thought it was funny.

initialtsl

i think i might get an 07 si so im diggin more about learning to drive a 6mt, and i thought of another question. so my friend told me, to get the car going, you press cluth, put into 1st, and slow press gas as i slowly release cluth. does that go same for reverse? like coming out of a parking lot? and what happens if i dont let go of clutch as i slowly press gas? what if i juss let go of when and Then press gas. is that okai?

DAYTA

Check out the website below to answer all of your shifting questions:

Standard Shift

5o9

Other than double clutching, is there any other way to downshift to first when you are going pretty fast?

Do quite a bit of commuting below 20 mph, and there are frequent reasons to skoot

synthetic

Unless your car is completely or almost stopped, there's no reason to go into 1st.

Downshifting to 1st is one of the things nervous/amature drivers do. Don't make it a habbit.

afici0nad0

^

i agree.

try creeping in 1st until you know you'll be speeding up.

psteng19

Not lugging the engine in 2nd is a pretty good reason to downshift to 1st.
5-10mph going uphill, I will double clutch into 1st.

synthetic

Your engine should not lag in 2nd while going 5-10mph. If it does, you might have dirty injectors or old spark-plugs(or many other things).

There might be a very small lag if you're accelerating hard going uphill, but it shouldn't last for more than half a second.

DAYTA

10MPH = no lugging in 2nd

5MPH = minimal lugging in 2nd, so I'll sometimes shift back to 1st.

Anything less than 5MPH, I'd definitely shift back to 1st.


Engine warmup also factors into the equation. For a warmed up car, idle RPM is ~750-800. However, in a cold car, idle RPM can be as high as 1500. Anything close to idle RPMs and below will cause your engine to lug and most likely stall, so keep that in mind when driving at lower speeds.

synthetic

True.

psteng19

Lug, not lag.
And it definitely lugs in 2nd @ 10 mph going up any incline.

yungwunn911

very good thread. I have been driving stick for 4 years now, and still have not mastered the smoothest shifts. Always good to hear other people's techniques.

5o9

Learn to double-clutch, get pwnd, or move to North Dakota

TSeXy_Grl

new tsx owner (2006 mt)

ok...how about this, would this do much damage.....

i am at the parking space (still on 1st gear) and put the parking brake on. i forgot that i still had it on 1st gear and let go of the clutch. the car stalled and lurched forward. does that do any type of damage? it's my first time doing so. the tires screeched a little bit cause the parking brakes were on when the car lurched forward and stalled.

anything i should watch out for?

jlukja

It didn't do any damage, but try to not do it again. Stalls happen.

psteng19

Same thing as stalling.
Probably lucky you had the parking brake on or else you would've hit something in front of you.