I read somewhere that you shouldn't downshift into first unless your car completely comes to a stop. This means if you are going really slow you can just stay in 2nd and hit the gas to get going again.

My problem is that in stop and go traffic, sometimes you think you are going to stop, but traffic gets going again and you press on the gas while in 2nd. However, many times when this happens to me, the RPM drops below 1,000 and there is this low deep growl that comes from the car until it reaches 1,300 RPM. I really don't like the feeling of that growl. It tells me the car is straining.

So what I do to prevent it, is downshift into 1st even though I haven't completely stopped. While most of the time this does work... once in a while when I let go of the clutch after downshifting into 1st, the car lurches big time with a whineing noise, and I start to do the newbie MT break dance when I press the gas, until I quickly shift into 2nd. This seems to happen even when I'm going as slow as 5-10 mph.

Any thoughts and advice?

 

I don't have a 350z as yet. However, my Silvia S15 with a 6 speed box would be similar.

When in heavy traffic, I change between 1st and 2nd. I don't wait to come to a complete stop to change to 1st but almost. I like to keep the RPM arround 2k.

Cheers,
Rudi.

 

What I do in traffic is give lots of room in front of me. I can just coast in 2nd at slow speed. Most of the time the cars in front of me would start to move before i have to downshift to 1st or come to a stop. But otherwise you cant really avoid 1st in traffic.

 

could always slip the clutch a bit...

 

Most cars dont have syncros for 1st gear, so you have to double clutch. (Not F&F just trust me....)

1) take it out of gear
2) let out the clutch
3) rev the engine
4) depress clutch put in gear

I am pretty sure that is how to do it, but if someone tells me I am wrong I wont argue.

 

I heard that too, but Ive tried it, its never worked for me.... maybe Im doin something wrong tho.

 

For the double clutch to work right, you'll need to rev a bit higher than where you would be in first. That way, as the tranny slows down when you depress the clutch to enter first, it will end up at the right RPM when you finish the shift.

However, instead of messing with all that shifting, I've found that you can either just barely ease into the throttle, which will prevent that lugging sound, or slip the clutch a bit until you pick up a bit of speed. I personally have accelerated from idle in second gear with no lugging, but you just have to be easy on the throttle.

Finally, I try to leave an "accordion" space between myself and the car in front of me. I then work hard to keep my speed fairly constant so I don't have to shift all the time, and let that space grow and shrink as required.

These are just some techniques a lazy person will pick up when driving in traffic frequently.

-D'oh!

 

Most modern manual transmissions have synchros in 1st gear. The last car I drove without a synchro 1st gear was a 1965 MGB. Have you been in a time capsule?

 

As Boomer said, modern cars do have synchros in first, some big trucks don't have any.

Press gently but firmly on the gear stick into the first gear position as you are slowing down, there will be a point where it will slip into first with no effort, when the gear speed matches the intermediate shaft. But the car will just about be stopped at this point!
Double cluctching to slow down in traffic would kinda be overkill IMO, I have to agree with riding the clutch in second.
It's pretty simple to start from a dead stop in second, and easier to keep moving from a roll.

 

Correctomundo, especially w/the Z's torque.

 

I understand this, but do you get what I'm saying about that really low bassy growl? Which is worse for the car, slipping the clutch or accelerating in 2nd from near stop speeds?

Regarding double-clutching... I've tried this but it takes to long. By the time I'm done, I could have slipped into 1st normally.

Slipping the clutch... thats when you don't rev-match and let the clutch out real slow like?

 

Accelerating from a near stop in 2nd gear doesn't hurt the car at all, its common practice in European countries and should be used more in the US. I don't see much utility in double clutching an all synchro gearbox, sorry, but I don't.

Slipping the clutch for me was to rev higher in a gear other than 1st to get a car moving from a dead stop, like in 2nd. Rev it to 3000rpm and let out the clutch slowly to avoid lurching or stalling the engine. I did this all the time with a 97 Accord w/145hp in rush hour traffic. Ease along in 2nd until you had to stop, start in 1st or 2nd, letting out the clutch slowly. With the Accord, I almost always used 1st because it didn't have much torque, but easing along in 2nd and using the clutch very lightly worked very well w/o any damage to the clutch. Remember, you are not racing, so don't use a racing start. After starting in 1st, shift to 2nd almost immediately and just flow w/traffic, its a snap.

 

The low bassy growl is probably because the engine is lugging a bit. You should try using much less throttle and very gently ease the car up to speed. Combine this with slipping the clutch a bit to get the revs up (to maybe 1500 RPM) and you should have no problems. The key is just to be very light with the pedals, and then the engine should be very smooth.

-D'oh!

 

Thanks for the info guys! I will just ride 2nd gear whenever possible.

 

Sorry, I was not sure about that when I posted but if I can start from second in my limp wristed Integra then you guys can easily start from second in your 350z...

97 gsr