This happened a couple times and I'm not sure if this is a common problem for others. Basically, when I'm slowing down approaching a red light or stop sign, I usually downshift until third, then press the clutch down and coast to the light/sign. If it's a light, I put it in neutral while I coast, when I'm coasting to a stop sign, I put it in first while holding the clutch, then come to a stop with the clutch down the whole time.

One time when I had the clutch down and went to put it in first, there was a loud grinding sound so I quickly pulled it back to the neutral position (the clutch was held down the entire time). I can reproduce the problem 100% of the time. It seems whenever I'm going over about 20 mph and press the clutch and trying puting it in first it does the same thing. Even if I try puting it into the first position a little I can feel shifter start to rattle. I have an 07 with about 700 miles on it. Anyone know whats going on?

 

may i ask where did you learn to drive a stick shift?

 

What is with all this coasting in neutral?
Where does this technique come from?

 

rolling at 20mph you should go into second.

 

Or at least rev match to get 1st in.

 

Yeah you are going too fast to throw into 1st..so thats why you got that grinding. I never throw the car into first unless I am going like under 6-8 mph. I love that digital speedo. I don't know what I'd do without it

If you really want to put it in 1st...double clutch. That is. clutch in..shift to neutral..clutch out. then clutch in again to shift to first...but like NGZ said...rev match it.

 

You should not be putting into first gear at 20 or so MPH. Best if stopped completely but not more than 5 MPH is my experience.

 

I never downshift to 1st. I only go into first from a stop. However, as Brickyard Rat said, if you must shift into 1st, do so below 5 mph.

 

Maybe I worded the question poorly. I never intend on taking my foot off the clutch until I come to a complete stop. What I'd like to do is

-Clutch in
-Select first
-Brake until competely stopped (clutch still pressed down)
-Clutch out and accelerate

So really I'm not trying to shift into first while slowing down, I just want to select first with the clutch pressed down to have it ready for when I went to release the clutch and accelerate once I've stopped.

So, that being said, I'm confused as to why it would grind if I have the clutch pressed down completely while selecting first.

Thanks

 

Oh I understood it as you trying to down shift into 1st. I have no idea what your problem could be but if it is easily duplicated take it to the dealer.

 

Don't shift into first if you are going faster than 10 miles an hour, even if the clutch is in.

I could be wrong but doesn't this have something to do with the first gear syncro?

Rob

 

Uhhh, i never downshift into first unless i'm at a dead stop or maybe less than 5mph.

 

I'm not the tech guy here but I believe the MT is set so you can't go into first, even with clutch in, until at or near a complete stop.

 

doesnt matter if you have your clutch engaged or not my man. only go into first after youre at a complete stop. or at the very least, under 5mph.

 

Did you know that the transmission is spinning whenever the car is in mouvement? The clutch only separates the engine from the transmisison. But the wheels are always making the transmisison spin.

Engine - Clutch - Transmission - shaft -wheel - road

So you're grinding because you're trying to get the first gear in while still moving too fast. Don't do that to your new car please. You absolutely need to double clutch to get that gear in at such speeds.

Unless things have changed in '07, first gear has only a double synhro while second has a triple. Second is always easier to shift into.

 

Yeah, I have this "problem" too, so it's not just your Z. As Brickyard has said, only shift into 1st if going at 5mph or slower. Anything else, 2nd gear is good enough for.

 

Thanks for the help everyone. Sorry, I've only been driving a manual for a couple weeks now. I've only caused it to grind twice so far, both were like I said, trying to put it into first while moving too fast, but I'll never make that mistake again. I'll be careful not to hurt my car anymore

 

also try not to shift into 1st if your car is rolling back.

 

+1 ...

you can't get it into 1st @ more than ~5mph unless you rev match the enigine / transmission speeds

 

Best to just not shift into first unless from a dead stop.