BSLNoel

I've had mine for less than a year and want to be better at making seamless shifts.

When I do rev match alright, I'm slow with the shift. If I shift quickly I get a jerk out of the transmission. I can't rev match at all when downshifting.

It's my wife's daily driver, but I take it out and try to practice fairly often. Is it memorization (pedal position vs sound or rpms)? Is your gas pedal heel supposed to be tucked into that fulcrum.

My brain wants to operate my feet at the same time instead of leading with the gas pedal before releasing the clutch. Any way to practice this?

Appreciate your time...

jaycal3

For me its all feel... feathering the clutch and gas... I am not sure I ever look at the RPM's... you can feel it. Practice - easy off the clutch...

jm545i

Practice, practice, practice. Nobody does it perfectly 100% of the time. I generally shift slow (I don't think these transmissions do well shifted quickly - maybe that's just mine), rev the engine, and match the revs of the engine to the speed on the way down. If I end up revving it too high, I wait a little extra. I mostly do it by sound. Keep in mind that on these new emissions-compliant masterpieces, the engine doesn't always respond the same way each time to stabs of the throttle - you've got that working against you generally, so don't expect perfection.

Practice your footwork with the car off to get the rhythm down (particularly for rev matching on downshifts).

Oh and if you've got one, get rid of the Clutch Delay Valve.

BSLNoel

Off to the google...

My pedals seem crazy responsive, but it is a 528 so it may be there.

BSLNoel

See I feel like I'm too easy off of the clutch, I can't get my brain to match the cadence of the gas pedal foot. Seems to always come off slowly. Too slow and I get an audible feedback through a higher rev than I want.

1st to 2nd is the tough one, or at least the one that offers the most variation in experience.

JayArras

When I was teaching my wife how to drive a stick, I would have her stop in the middle of a hilly street and then start again. Try this in a place where there is no traffic and nothing behind you to hit. With confidence, s-l-o-w-l-y let the clutch out and g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y give it gas. Once you can start up again without jerking, try stopping again and holding the car in position without using the brake pedal.

Eventually, you'll gain a sense of where the clutch starts to grab and it will become easier. I admire you reaching out for help on this because I remember when I took delivery of my first car with manual transmission how frustrating the experience was. But I was determined to learn and used to drive the car to a secluded area where I could practice.

Don't worry, you'll get it eventually.

...unless, of course, you're totally uncoordinated. Then there's no hope <kidding>

Note: It's also possible that the clutch on you wife's car is not functioning properly or that there is something wrong with the transmission. If they'll let you, ask someone with a stick if you can try their car. Every car feels a little different.

info@trinityautosport

+1 practice practice practice, and I always favor feel more than watching the revs as well. when teaching the gf, most important I always find myself saying is easy on the clutch, control that left leg more, and just do it. dont think about it too much.

BSLNoel

The transmission is slick as duck shit when operated correctly, I just analyze every single shift I make. Maybe I need to relax a bit about it. Almost every time I drive though I flub a few and it makes me self conscious.

When I get on the gas shifting seems easier to nail, casual driving is where I find myself over revving trying to match or getting jerky with a quick shift.

BSLNoel

Ugh, it feels like it's someone else's when I try to focus on it. I try to not even think about the gas side since I can regulate my right without thinking. I get a slow leg every time I focus the left. Maybe my seat position is incorrect. My right foot seems like it's all ankle movement, my left side is all quad/ham.

twh

When I teach someone how to drive a manual, the main focus is on clutch feel and clutch grab. Too much gas before grab is too many RPMs. Too little gas after grab is stall or jerky.

This is my method for teaching a new person to drive a manual. Go to a parking lot with no cars. Level surface. Practice over and over starting from a stop using first gear and no gas. Only letting the clutch out. After 10 tries, you can feel the clutch grabbing and where that is on the pedal movement. If your clutch release is fine enough to not stall, you know the feel. Once you know the feel, you start adding a little gas when you hit the sweet spot on the clutch release.

Once the car is moving and you have the clutch feel, shifting to higher gears is easy.

In the old days, the hardest thing was stopped on an incline and having to take off from that. Now, the car is held for 2 seconds after you release the brake, so that anxiety and skill is less needed. If you really want to practice that, wait the 2 seconds and practice taking off from an uphill incline. For this, you really need to master the clutch grab feel.