Did a little experimenting...

Read the FAQ and still not sure about something? Want to shift faster? Post here.
much2much
Junior Standardshifter
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 2:24 pm

Did a little experimenting...

Post by much2much »

I've been driving manual for over a year now and when upshifting i usually just put it in gear and continue driving without a second thought (shift shock/ lack of smoothness doesn't really bother me). I wanted to try and see how many ways i could get the gas/clutch balance "wrong" when shifting so I tried a couple things. I tried shifting just letting off the clutch with no gas. (pretty smooth with lack of acceleration after the shift). Then i tried shifting without giving it enough gas ( sort of jerks/ bucks ass the car catches back up in rpms for the next gear). I also tried giving it too much gas (where you feel the car move forward a bit).

My question is, which I think a lot of people tend to ask when learning to drive manual, is are slight fluctuations like this during daily driving harmful to the clutch or drivetrain in any way (for example the little jerk of the car when not shifting smoothly from 1-2)? When shifting I prefer to not think about it and would like to continue doing such lol. It seems kind of hard to butcher upshifting unless you miss and grind a gear or excessively slip the clutch.
User avatar
AHTOXA
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 14693
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2007 6:31 pm
Cars: '19 4RUNNER TRD ORP
Location: Irving, TX

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by AHTOXA »

No. Small imperfections, bucks and jerks here and there wont break a car.
'19 Toyota 4Runner TRD ORP
'12 Suzuki V-Strom 650
User avatar
potownrob
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 7833
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:35 pm
Cars: '17 CX-5 GT
Location: Dutchess County

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by potownrob »

AHTOXA wrote:No. Small imperfections, bucks and jerks here and there wont break a car.
what about terrence??

c.f., viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7500&hilit=terrence&start=15
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
User avatar
theholycow
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 16021
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:36 pm
Cars: '80 Buick LeSabre 4.1 5MT
Location: Glocester, RI
Contact:

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by theholycow »

potownrob wrote:
AHTOXA wrote:No. Small imperfections, bucks and jerks here and there wont break a car.
what about terrence??

c.f., viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7500&hilit=terrence&start=15
I don't think things like "My tires are gone because of burnouts from dead stop. 5k rpm clutch dumps thats it." and "Over rev code came from downshifting beyond 6k which that is its rev limit. And I didn't let the car break in. " would be considered "small imperfections".
1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT

Put your car in your sig!

Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig
watkins wrote:Humans have rear-biased AWD. Cows have 4WD
User avatar
Squint
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 3390
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:44 pm
Location: KY

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by Squint »

theholycow wrote:
potownrob wrote:
AHTOXA wrote:No. Small imperfections, bucks and jerks here and there wont break a car.
what about terrence??

c.f., viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7500&hilit=terrence&start=15
I don't think things like "My tires are gone because of burnouts from dead stop. 5k rpm clutch dumps thats it." and "Over rev code came from downshifting beyond 6k which that is its rev limit. And I didn't let the car break in. " would be considered "small imperfections".
Yeah, those are major problem/choices. Not small imperfections.
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT
'97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi

For Pony!
Golfer
Junior Standardshifter
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue May 15, 2012 11:21 am

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by Golfer »

much2much wrote: My question is, which I think a lot of people tend to ask when learning to drive manual, is are slight fluctuations like this during daily driving harmful to the clutch or drivetrain in any way (for example the little jerk of the car when not shifting smoothly from 1-2)? When shifting I prefer to not think about it and would like to continue doing such lol. It seems kind of hard to butcher upshifting unless you miss and grind a gear or excessively slip the clutch.
I really, really hope not. I feel all sorts of tiny imperfections when I shift. Some days I'm smooth as silk, practically dumping the clutch on shifts that are rev-matched perfectly. Other days. like today, there are little catches all over the place (though I did have a super nice rev-match to 2nd gear today, I was very very happy).

I've asked my passengers to be brutally honest, do they notice my little mistakes? Everyone says I'm very, very smooth - almost like driving an auto. I'll "botch" a shift, or be a few hundred RPM off a rev-matched downshift and swear to myself. My fiancee says "Did you mess up? It felt perfectly fine to me....".

But in the back of my mind I'm thinking "Dude, how long have you had this car and how many miles have you driven it, and you still can't perfectly nail each shift?" :oops:
User avatar
Squint
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 3390
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:44 pm
Location: KY

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by Squint »

Golfer wrote:I've asked my passengers to be brutally honest, do they notice my little mistakes? Everyone says I'm very, very smooth - almost like driving an auto. I'll "botch" a shift, or be a few hundred RPM off a rev-matched downshift and swear to myself. My fiancee says "Did you mess up? It felt perfectly fine to me....".

But in the back of my mind I'm thinking "Dude, how long have you had this car and how many miles have you driven it, and you still can't perfectly nail each shift?" :oops:
Good luck being perfect. I have done 21,000ish miles in my Fiesta in less than a year, and I still botch shifts all the time. Normally, it's just little botches, causing a head bobble, nothing crazy. There are days where I'll completely miss a rev match or something... roller coaster! Yay!

Just relax. I like to think about it this way. When driving (or riding in an automatic), look at people's heads when the car shifts. There is a little head movement, a little rock forward, for almost every single car out there. Especially older cars. So when you cause a little head movement driving your manual, it still feels completely normal to all your passengers.

You're probably doing fine. IF you are super paranoid about it, record a video of you driving and post it here, we'll probably just tell you the same thing.
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT
'97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi

For Pony!
User avatar
theholycow
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 16021
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:36 pm
Cars: '80 Buick LeSabre 4.1 5MT
Location: Glocester, RI
Contact:

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by theholycow »

Golfer wrote:But in the back of my mind I'm thinking "Dude, how long have you had this car and how many miles have you driven it, and you still can't perfectly nail each shift?" :oops:
Embrace your imperfections
Image
for only through embracing your imperfections can you achieve thorough enough enlightenment to get in touch with the dark side
Image

...but seriously, do NOT worry about it, and stop trying to be so perfect all the time. There are other, better outlets for that energy. Work on learning to DC and HT, or to fix stuff, or to take corners really fast, or to hypermile, or to do bodywork (then help me with my bodywork).
1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT

Put your car in your sig!

Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig
watkins wrote:Humans have rear-biased AWD. Cows have 4WD
kayubassist
Senior Standardshifter
Posts: 181
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:30 pm

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by kayubassist »

couple days ago i drove for about an hour with A/C on the whole time.
almost every 1-2 shift and downshift were jerky.
can't get the revs up high enough for downshifts.
but i kinda enjoyed rough shifts lol.
2012 Audi A3 S-Line Titanium 6MT
User avatar
theholycow
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 16021
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:36 pm
Cars: '80 Buick LeSabre 4.1 5MT
Location: Glocester, RI
Contact:

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by theholycow »

kayubassist wrote:but i kinda enjoyed rough
Just like your mother, eh Trebek?
Image
1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT

Put your car in your sig!

Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig
watkins wrote:Humans have rear-biased AWD. Cows have 4WD
User avatar
Squint
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 3390
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:44 pm
Location: KY

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by Squint »

theholycow wrote:
kayubassist wrote:but i kinda enjoyed rough
Just like your mother, eh Trebek?
Image
Ah'll tahke "The Rhapists" for 200 Ahlex.
'15 Mazda 3 iSport Hatch 6MT
'11 Ford Fiesta Hatchback SE 5MT
'14 Giant Escape City 24MT
'97 Honda Civic EX 4AT - Retired @ 184,001 mi

For Pony!
watkins
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 15880
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:42 am
Cars: '08 Saab 9-5 Aero wagon
Location: Salem, MA

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by watkins »

I've got to ask you about the Penis Mightier
tankinbeans
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 4029
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:04 pm
Cars: 17 Mazda6 To, 18 Mazda3 i
Location: Shakopee, MN

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by tankinbeans »

I usually always get the bobble when I disengage the clutch as the car stops gaining speed and I haven't gotten that seesaw thing down with the "left brake" - for teh stoopidz - and the gas. I'm usually in the back 40, foot not even contacting the pedal, when I let off the gas to shift. I haven't figured out how to get past my dead spot before reengaging the clutch so all of my shifts are kinda jerky, but whatever. The time will come when I can get a car with a more refined gearbox.


My Banshee is just fine for me.
17 Mazda6 Touring
18 Mazda3 iSport
InlinePaul wrote:The driving force of new fangled features to sell more cars [is to] cater to the masses' abject laziness!
Image
fr4n
Senior Standardshifter
Posts: 146
Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 4:55 am

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by fr4n »

tankinbeans wrote:I usually always get the bobble when I disengage the clutch as the car stops gaining speed and I haven't gotten that seesaw thing down with the "left brake" - for teh stoopidz - and the gas. I'm usually in the back 40, foot not even contacting the pedal, when I let off the gas to shift. I haven't figured out how to get past my dead spot before reengaging the clutch so all of my shifts are kinda jerky, but whatever. The time will come when I can get a car with a more refined gearbox.


My Banshee is just fine for me.
i failed to understand half that post.
tankinbeans
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 4029
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 9:04 pm
Cars: 17 Mazda6 To, 18 Mazda3 i
Location: Shakopee, MN

Re: Did a little experimenting...

Post by tankinbeans »

It was idiotic attempt at humor. When I press the clutch everybody's head bobbles around. I'm trying still to compensate for the throttle delay but am, for the most part unsuccessful.
17 Mazda6 Touring
18 Mazda3 iSport
InlinePaul wrote:The driving force of new fangled features to sell more cars [is to] cater to the masses' abject laziness!
Image
Post Reply