amurobo

Hi Everyone,

I have a question and need some opinions from you guys.

Right now, when I switch my gear, I always step on the clutch until I hit the floor, switch gear, and then let go the clutch until the point where I feel the engine has greped the gear. Then I will hold my leg at that position for half a second (to smooth things out), then let go.

Is this what everyone it's doing? I'm trying to shift gear smoothly.

What do you say? Are we doing something different?

Thanks!

biker

No need to stop. Just release the clutch all in one smooth motion.

amurobo

Wouldn't that make the car "jerk"?

xizor

don't push it to the floor, the engagement point is very high on the clutch, going just past it will allow you to shift a lot faster.

one smooth motion, but slow enough so it doesn't jerk.

Dan Martin

Amurobo, you want to release the clutch slowly in one smooth motion as Biker and Xizor suggest but you also want to apply a little throttle as you're letting the clutch out. The best way to think about it is as your left foot is going out, your right foot is going in. Don't put a lot of throttle in while the clutch is engaged but just enough to smooth things out. If you put too much throttle in you'll wear the clutch out.

dom

I wish I had these problems :'(

ClutchPerformer

Your fault!

dom

No, lets place blame where blame is due. It was my wife's fault.

peetah

The key is rev-matching. If the engine is reving at the right speed to be engaged into the next gear, the clutch can be released quickly without jerking the car. You can practice this by observing the tach when shifting. For example, when you shift from 1st to 2nd and release the clutch, the ideal shift is when your RPM doesn't "jump" at the moment the clutch is released. If it jumps up, you released the clutch too late; jumps down you released the clutch too early. I've observed that if I shift from 1st to 2nd at 3000 RPM, I need to wait until the tach reads about 2000 RPM before releasing the clutch. Any sooner, the shifter will feel jerky as the synchro's prevents you from shifting if the RPM is too far off from where it should be.

peetah

You're sharing the TSX, right? If you each have a car, there's NO reason for you not to get a manual.

kstatematt

Has anyone noticed that the shifts from 1st to 2nd after sitting overnight are a little less smooth? I don't know if it is just part of break in or just normal for being cold, but when I shift from 1st to 2nd around 3,000 RPM it sometimes feels more forced than the other gears and more forced than the end of the day (after the car has been driven) I have only had the car a week and have 350 miles on it. I am only comparing it to my Toyota Celica that I had before the Acura which had extremely smooth shift in in all gears. Thanks!

peetah

Yes, 1 to 2 shift is more notchy until the car warms up. If you do a search, you'll find many posts on this topic.

prballard

I know this has been mentioned in the past, but the shift from 4th to 5th and 5th to 4th seems a little bit more difficult than I am used to. Any pointers?

ClutchPerformer

On 4-5, I find you just have to push the shifter to the right a whole lot. I don't know what you mean about 5-4. It happens like magic for me (just like a 2-3 shift). You can almost just pull straight down, and it's there.

prballard

Clutch, I have had more trouble on the 5-4 than with 4-5 so far. I only have had the car since Saturday. That shift is little different than my Vigor, but overall I love the shifting on my TSX. Just have to get used to the little differences.

ClutchPerformer

Yeah. Once you get used to this box, all you'll complain about is that early morning 1-2 shift

gabdot

Think of it as 'for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.' If you are accelerating slowly, the clutch should be let up slowly and if you are accelerating quickly, the clutch should be let up quicker. It takes practice and time to get the feel of any clutch. I've been driving a stick for 30 years and each car is different. Keep an eye on the tach, try to maintain an operating area of about 2k to 3k rpm --- upshift around 3k and downshift around 2k under normal acceleration.

As you gain experience with the car, you won't feel the need to push all the way down to the floor.

amurobo

Yes, I agree with you although I've only drive manual for 6 years...

Sometimes I will only step on the clutch half way as well...but then why does the manual ask me to "always" floor the clutch

Also, someone just told me why I should hold the clutch at the engagement point for 1/3 to 1/2 a second; He said in racing car, they have double plane disk (or something like that) in the gear box so when the gear actually engage together, the smaller one touch first..then the larger one. So that's why you see people in Best Motoring do it soooo lighting fast and won't hurt the gear box. On the other hand, in our car, it only has single plane disk in the gear box (of course you can upgrade them if you want to) Then you will have to hold it a bit to make the shift feel smoother.

And he said if you don't understand, go play GT3 and on the gear box section, you can buy double, or single plane disks and you will see what I mean...

And that's what he told me.....seems make sense...

Sorry, I'm not good at mech and I don't understnad well on how it works...just want to find how everyone shift

Thanks everyone for the input

biker

Again, that stuff is for the track. On the street all you need to do is come close in matching revs. If you have a good Internet connection watch the heel-toe viedo in the other thread and you see how regular cars are shifted at the track. Heck if you match the revs perfectly you don't need to use the clutch at all - just shift without the clutch. This works better is some cars than others and in general probably not a good idea. YMMV.

amurobo

Thanks for the info biker! let me go find some videos now and enjoy them