I finally got the car past the break-in period and I'm running the engine a little higher to see what kind of power it has (second gear pulls like a train!!). Is it normal for the RPMs not to drop enough while shifting? For example, say you're in 3rd gear at about 5000 rpms, and you want to shift into 4th. You would need the rpms to be around 3500 in the next gear for the shift to be smooth. Well, when I go to shift, I take my right foot off the gas, left foot on the cluth, and shift into the next gear all in a nice fluid process. But by the time I'm in the new gear, the rpms havent droppen enough (appox 500-1000 over the desired speed), and I'm not sure if I should just let the clutch out and have it take some of the abuse to match things up, or should I just wait another second so that the engine speed drops?

Oh, and I still havent taken the car to redline yet, because by the time I'm going past 5000 rpms, I'm already well above the speed limit.

 

If I'm trying to shift smoothly/fluidly, I don't take the rpms above 3k. If I'm not driving like a bat out of hell, I'll often times skip a gear, say like 2nd to 4th, or 3rd to 5th, depending on the road speeds. Though I do also give it an extra second or so sometimes to drop in rpms.

Honestly, I don't worry about it too much, the car wants to go go go, so if you don't, you have to be patient with it. Not waiting to the perfect rpm can't be worse on the clutch than high rev down shifting.

On-ramps are your friend. But watch out, you can eat through 1st and 2nd faster than expected, careful not to peg it. You've got a rev limiter, but I wouldn't test it too often.

 

the Z has a picky tranny. sometimes you need to be slow and fluid with your shifts in order for them to be smooth. this isnt a Honda shifter!

 

Yeah, I find myself either getting funny looks from SUV drivers for going too slow, or funny looks from SUV drivers for going too fast. Not much happy medium.

 

drive like you stole it...it won't hurt the Z.

 

AH So THATS why i keep getting pulled over! LOL

 

when i shift, normally, i'll make sure no one is looking, especially not women. i mean, women are pretty understanding that we men need to shift from time to time but still, it makes me uncomfortable if a female sees me shift. sometimes i try to shift from one side to the other but shifting right in between can be good just depending on what kind of underwear your wearing. but always shift how you want to, dont let other people influence you on how to shift. its your equipment after all. hope this helps some.

 

Start to push the clutch in before you take your foot off the gas, or at least do it simultaneously, especially if driving it hard. You don't want to engine brake, and thats what will happen if you let off the gas first.

 

If you shift at 3000-4000 rpm you should try to be smooth. If you are shifting at 5000 rpm your foot should be to the floor and you should be letting the clutch out as fast as you can while mashing the gas to the floor! There really is no need to shift at 5000-6000 rpm unless you have your foot to the floor

 

Right now because my Z is still under 1k miles I try to shift at 2000-3000 rpm... but yeah I know what your talking about... How when you shift the rpm stays the same then it goes down a little... or it stays the same then goes up... When I started to drive the Z this was happening to me too... not sure if it hurts the Z or not but when I see others drive their Z.. the rpm goes drops down 1k rpm from 1-3 gear and then 750-500 from 4-6... So what I normally do is just let the rpm drop when I shift and then start to gas again... you know give it like half a second before you use the gas...

Not sure if what I'm saying is actually true or not but thats just me... correct me if I'm wrong please

 

If I am shifting at 6000+ RPM I have no idea what the dang tach is doing! All I do is see the little light (shift light) come on in my peripheral vision, shift, mash and go. I do _listen_ to the motor though.

 

what I usually go to shift fluidly...take foot off gas and simultaneously clutch, and as my clutch reach shifting point, I shift...then I let of my clutch and slowly ease the gas pedal in before I completely release the clutch...

maybe I'm wrong...anyone???

remember the basics of driving a standard, you release gas as you press the clutch to shift, and you release clutch and apply gas as you come out of your shift...you're suppose to use both pedals simultaneously

 

nothing wrong with shifting....just don't shift in anger and too often.

 

make sure you dont let the clutch out TOO SLOWLY while giving it gas. when i had my civic i made the mistake of letting my left foot use the clutch as a foot rest... so sometimes id have it like pushed in like not even 1/4 inch.... but doing that every so often over a year will make yer clutch suck.

i couldnt shift past 3k rpms and i could NEVER go past 50% throttle or else it would quickly hit the rev limiter.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that you are breaking in a new clutch and drivetrain. When I got my 05, I thought that it was the hardest, pickiest thing to drive. After a few thousand miles on the odometer, things got much easier.

Be careful with the the hard 1-2 upshift tho... hit it right, and the back tires chirp, hit it wrong, and it'll grind harder then a Cambodian *****

 

oh, is that how a Cambodian ***** grinds? i've never had one, but i've always wondered how they grind...

 

The car does what it was made to do. The clutch is very loose and hard to feather. Learn to feather off slowly and you won't have problems. It's not exactly the type of clutch you can side-step.

 

couldn't have said it better myself

 

it all depends on how much throttle u put in. like if ur goin full speed, then u nd to drop the clutch n if ur goin slow then let it go slowly and give gas accordingly. u should be spinning out tires when goin from 1st to 2nd full speed if ur shifting correctly.

 

Yup, you have to time it pretty good to get a smooth shift. I finally got used to it, you just have to shift gears a little slower so the rpms will drop enough by the time your in the next gear. I know its not my driving, because when I sit passenger with someone else driving, the same thing happens to them. Just try shifting a little bit slower (not too slow) see if it helps.