How to stay consistant after every shift.

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bk7794
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How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by bk7794 »

Hello,

I am still quite a noob when it comes to standards...been driving one for about 4 months now or so. I have been working very hard to get every shift right everytime, so there is little to no shift shock...however I noticed that even auto's do a bit of shift shock...so I have gotten away from that issue...but there is one thing that aggravates me to an extreme, and that is extreme shift shock. I said earlier that I am beginning not to mind it...but I still strive to make it comfortable and it seems that after every set of shifts when I come to a dead stop and I start over I seem to screw it up. So my question to you guys, how do you make all your shifts consistent with each other in terms of smoothness...


also when you yield through a stop sign and put it in first how do you get rid of the sever buck...rev match right?
Last edited by bk7794 on Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by AHTOXA »

Smoothness and consistency comes only with experience. There is nothing that we can tell you to make you go out and drive like a veteran two weeks from now. Being extremely consistent with my shifts took me many tens of thousands of miles to master and since I'm not a robot I still make a small mistake here and there.

I don't think about how I shift but I do remember myself doing that and worrying about it earlier in my manual driving carreer. My advice - keep driving more and thinking less. One you are comfortable driving, everything else will come with time.


P.S. After yielding at a stop you put it in reverse why? What am I missing? I usually go forward from a stop. Rev matching into reverse??
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by bk7794 »

[quote="AHTOXA"]Smoothness and consistency comes only with experience. There is nothing that we can tell you to make you go out and drive like a veteran two weeks from now. Being extremely consistent with my shifts took me many tens of thousands of miles to master and since I'm not a robot I still make a small mistake here and there.

I don't think about how I shift but I do remember myself doing that and worrying about it earlier in my manual driving carreer. My advice - keep driving more and thinking less. One you are comfortable driving, everything else will come with time.


P.S. After yielding at a stop you put it in reverse why? What am I missing? I usually go forward from a stop. Rev matching into reverse??[/quote]
Doh! My fault...I willl fix that.

Yeah I noticed when I stopped thinking about what I was doing I was okay...but its just quite aggrivating that one time I will be feeling good about it...then the next time I will give it too much gas in 2nd..
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by AHTOXA »

I hear you - we all do here. It's truly a phase that most manual drivers seems to go through. The learning curve isn't smooth. Sometimes you feel like you drive like crap for a week and then you get perfect days again. I remember that the more frustrated I got, the worse my driving would be and in retrospect, my driving wasn't bad as I look at it now.

Don't beat yourself up about it too much. You're probably better than most that claim that they can drive a manual.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by AHTOXA »

To answer your stopsign question:

You might be bucking bad because you are still rolling while trying to launch in first. Either come to a comets stop the launch in first, use second and slip the clutch a little (called rolling launch used when you're rolling too slow for second but too fast for first) or just revmatch into first.

2nd gear rolling launch is the most commonly used method. It's what I use, at least.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by bk7794 »

Slipping the clutch in 2nd...doesn't that burn the clutch up?

I try to keep my head high...its just rough you know? like you say you feel good for a bout a few days then you mess up again.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by AHTOXA »

It burns the clutch no more than applying the brakes to stop your vehicle under normal conditions. You don't worry about that one too much, right?

Fear of burning the clutch exists as well at certain stage of learning. Dont worry about that either. Clutch is designed to be slipped and this will not put a ton of extra wear that will eat your clutch in a year or two. Won't happen just by doing that.

Keep your RPMs low like a normal standing launch. You are doing the same thing in 2nd while slowly rolling as you are in first while stopped. I bet similar amount of slip as well.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by bk7794 »

AHTOXA wrote:It burns the clutch no more than applying the brakes to stop your vehicle under normal conditions. You don't worry about that one too much, right?

Fear of burning the clutch exists as well at certain stage of learning. Dont worry about that either. Clutch is designed to be slipped and this will not put a ton of extra wear that will eat your clutch in a year or two. Won't happen just by doing that.

Keep your RPMs low like a normal standing launch. You are doing the same thing in 2nd while slowly rolling as you are in first while stopped. I bet similar amount of slip as well.
Alright, I guess its just the determination of speed, like if your rolling I would use first...but if your like going 5mph or grater then I would use second. Something like that. Right?

Also what about take off just like casual? Its hard cause I have no tach...91 civic, but I always feel like I take off too high of an RPM when I am good, and when I feel like I am good it turns out to be low. The revs aren't redline high, they are like 1500-1700 I would say...That about good?
Last edited by bk7794 on Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:02 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by zooom »

bk7794 wrote: Alright, I guess its just the determination of speed, like if your rolling I would use first...but if your like going 5mph or grater then I would use second. Something like that.
In my car, even if I'm moving just a tiny bit and need to launch again, I do it from second. I don't even look at the speedometer or tach.

Also, my car even launches in second from a TOTAL standstill pretty easily. I'd say try these things out on your own car. Best to know what various options are available to you in tight situations.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by bk7794 »

zooom wrote:
bk7794 wrote: Alright, I guess its just the determination of speed, like if your rolling I would use first...but if your like going 5mph or grater then I would use second. Something like that.
In my car, even if I'm moving just a tiny bit and need to launch again, I do it from second. I don't even look at the speedometer or tach.

Also, my car even launches in second from a TOTAL standstill pretty easily. I'd say try these things out on your own car. Best to know what various options are available to you in tight situations.
Yeah, I actually can take off in second...I did it by accident haha...I just felt like I burned the clutch up a bit more...but I gotta stop that stupid OCD feeling of mine...I am so happy I found this forum..It really made me relaxed.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by zooom »

^^ As AHTOXA said, you only burn the clutch at high RPMs. You don't burn it at no-gas or basically no-gas launches from second.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by bk7794 »

zooom wrote:^^ As AHTOXA said, you only burn the clutch at high RPMs. You don't burn it at no-gas or basically no-gas launches from second.
yeah, now its first i am kinda worrying about. i should make a vid of me and make sure what I am doing is ok. It just seems that when I start off in first I can't find the perfect balance. I am either too high in the RPM range to make me feel a bit uncomfty...or too low to make it chatter.
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by zooom »

bk7794 wrote: I am either too high in the RPM range to make me feel a bit uncomfty...or too low to make it chatter.
Sorry, I don't get it. How can you launch in first with an RPM that is too low? Haven't you practiced no-gas launches, as recommended by so many people here?!
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by bk7794 »

To be honest with you, I don't know what a no gas launch is...when I first started I used to just go to a level ground and just ease off the clutch until I started to go and can take my foot off the clutch...is that what you mean?


What I mean is when I take off...like casual...if I am sitting at a light sometimes I feel like I don't give it enough gas.

edit: Yeah I practiced those back in the day...just gotta go to a lot and start practicing again. Maybe that will help me become more consistent..
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Re: How to stay consistant after every shift.

Post by Reverence »

after the required mileage, when you think you would be through with the learning and smooth enough for your expectation, you'll get 4 passengers in your car, or you'll turn the air con on, and your newly acquired smoothness will go out the window :P

you will buck and stall again. :lol:

reasonable smoothness will come after you go through all the variables and deal with them accordingly repeatedly. Ultimately, your feet will become sensors that will know how to act accordingly in function to the accelerating/decelerating feedback you receive from the car.

It will not be a conscientious reaction "now I should do this" "now I should do that" approach, all subconscious.
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