Hey, so Im new to the Z and I am having trouble with my 1st to 2nd shift. I cant figure it out. All my other shifts, you cant even feel, but on that one I cant seem to get it smooth no matter what I do. Any suggestions?


Thanks

 

the car has a lot of torque and a high engagement point.

It is very likely that even driving flawlessly, this car will not feel like butter.

 

If you are fine in all the other gears, then do the same thing in first and second. Only a little faster. A couple of thousand miles and you will be shifting like a pro.

 

I would say the opposite actually. 1st gear is wound down pretty tight (reason why you can start moving without throttle, by slowly letting out the clutch, and also why you redline at 30mph, whereas most cars with the same upper gearing are at about 38), meaning, when you go into neutral, the revs must drop lower to match the next gear- whereas in other gears, the time it takes to shift is precisely the amount it needs to drop. Try shifting slower, and using 1st only as a "getting moving" gear. No need to take it any higher than 2500rpms unless you're driving spirited.

Also, some people think releasing the clutch slower helps, however that just lets the revs drop even more, and I prefer a "too-high" jerk forward than a booming force of the revs back up the tach, but if you're down in the revs, it won't matter as much.

 

shift sooner...like 2000-2500 rpms...its the torque...if you go any higher it hesitates and bucks

 

when i first got my z i found it hard to move off in first under 1000. Now i do it everytime. My shifting now feels like butter. It takes time. I was driving stick for years and it still took me months to get it down everytime, hill or not.

you got rev matching down yet or is that the next lesson?

 

Thanks, Ill have to try some thigns. I sware Ive tried everything from no throttle, to 500RPM and any combination. Guess the Z is a little bit more complicated and it will take time.


Yeah, I got rev matching and heal/toe shifting down fine. Just the pesky 1-2 shift.

Thanks everyone

 

used to be able to drive my acura like butter, the z is a different story.

2k miles and i still haven't figured it out yet.

 

shifts from 1-2 are pretty notchy too, i'm sure that doesn't help it.

 

its not you bro, 1st to 2nd was tough for me too, you have to just learn how the tranny works on the Z, it is hard to explain. I let the stick move a little to the right and then go to second. After putting my evo-r **** on it helped me feel the shift better.

 

ya i remember having this problem. perhaps describing what part of the shift is troublesome could help.

i mean are you having trouble figuring out where the revs match? are you having trouble with the clutch? or is it a problem in the shifter itself?

i learned stick in my Z, and then learned how to drive a normal stick in my vette. i say that because the Z is so different than any other car that ive driven.

i think everyone on here has it about right, the only thing i found that helped me was actually very counter intuitive, but to this day i havent burnt my clutch. the problem i was having was my 1 to 2 shift was dropping to fast, and i couldnt match the 2nd gear rpms with the engine RPMS. by the time i got it into second, the engine was idle and had to come up to 1500 rpms. so when i let the clutch out it would want to buck hard forward. the trick with this is to give it the slightest (EXTREMELY LIGHT) amount of gas while the clutch is fully engaged (pedal to the floor) this will kick up the engine rpms to just around 2 thousand and make feathering the clutch a little easier. its tricky, but with practice, i can shift the z like butter.

just a disclaimer, idk about other Z's cuz mine has a nismo lightweight flywheel and nismo clutch, so that may be why mine is different.

 

Yeah, think so.

 

+1 I typically rev 1st to 4000 RPMs because it causes less frequent notchiness/grind (I have an '03) and I usually get a into second a few hundred RPMs above the rev match.

I'm think revving gears higher is less cumbersome on the motor in short term, but I don't know what is worse for the motor/tranny: disengaging the clutch above rev match or below. Anyone?

 

Shift quick and at around 3k rpms. I do it each time and it shifts smoothly with limited jerking.

 

i either switch 1 to 2nd in low revs or very high revs... 2000rpm or 4000rpm

 

2000rpm = quick shift

4000rpm = slow shift

all = as smooth as butter as the z will get

 

I'm still inconsistant on 1st to 2nd shifts after 5 years & 45,000 miles.

 

ya ...what rpm do u start letting the clutch go....because i keep trying different things and it sounds like it bogs down and i feel the vibration through the clutch...it works better when im holding the clutch for a little 2 sec then its smoother from a stop...but does this hurt the clutch??

ALSO i was wondering what gear to put it in when im at like 8-9mph because when i put it in 2nd it bogs down then acclerates and was wondering if im burining out the clutch......or should i put it in first..?

 

no, typically first is just a starting gear. The Z has plenty of tourque to keep going in 2nd at low mph. If you try you will see it is hard to get it into first when your rolling. Unless there is a big hill or you are trying to accelerate fast, stick with 2nd.

 

for a smooth butter like shift..when you hit 8 mph, shift to 2nd gear. If you shift around 15 mph and above..it will feel notchy.