(2004 black z.. no mods yet)... this is my first manual car... ive only been drivin it 2 days( ive put 250 miles on it) .. i seem to have it down alright but my shifting is still really unsmooth, it seems that when im shifting gears my car almost bounces from excellerating to much... does any one havin any shifting tips for me or any explanation as to how im doin that...

 

MAybe you broke it while you were learning. You should REALLY REALLY REALLY garage that bish and drive a 5 speed geo around for a month or so... It will really save you some money.

 

or an old beater truck... most sports cars arent great learners

 

do you have your VDC on? (VDC= Traction control) If so, and you try to rev match and over-rev it will slow you down. I think it's something you will just get used to. When i first bought my car I took my mother for a ride the second day i had it, and she said "i feel like i'm being thrown all around in this thing". Just takes some getting used to. I am guessing this occurs mostly in 1st and 2nd gear.

 

its is most def in first and second... the rest i dont have a problem with... but especialy 2nd gear i seem to bounce alot... i dont stall or grind or anything... it just jumps

 

I didnt learn stick on the Z but it was my first stick car that I drove alot, The Z's clutch is a lil tricky, just let the clutch out slow once you shift from a gear, you will get use to it, You cant even really feel the shifts now when I drive, you will get it

 

Your giving it to much gas relative to releasing the clutch. Try to let up abit on the gas.

You will be fine with practice.

 

slowly let go of the clutch when you are in the right gear. if your rpms drop too low, give it a bit of gas as you take your foot off the clutch.

 

awsome... thanks for the advice... i have tried to not give so much gas and let go of the clutch a little slower since i read all of your suggestions and it is def. seemin to help... i do have alot of work to do though still and unfortunatlyt i dont have access to any other manual car to learn on

 

clutching takes a while to get down smoothly,
if you let go of the gas, press shifter.....shift and gas again fast enough the cars inertia will keep it going at the same speed, with no gas

^but thats for like racing

 

Don't worry about it; Z is fine. You might shorten your clutch life a bit but not a biggie.

Lots of folks on here try to make out that driving a MT Z requires special magic. Bull manure. It has a clutch, gas pedal, & gearshift...............just like every MT ever made.

 

My Z is an AT but I drove many a stick in my younger days. Last MT was a Civic I sold in 92. Its all a matter of practice and coordination of clutch action and engine speed. Things are frequently choppy when your a novice and get smoother over time.

 

Practice. By the time you have 1,000 miles you will be shifting like a pro.

 

yeah thanks... it def. has improved 100 percent... and just to put it out there, no longer stock, installed the popcharger today... no huge dif. but im lovin it

 

With the high engagement, it can be a b*tch 1-2 shifting. The best way i found to shift into second as smooth as possible is when shifting, don't shift too fast. I usually shift from first into second a little slower than normal and then let out the clutch and it doesn't jerk or anything.

If your having a hard time with 1-2 shifts don't worry too much about it, iv heard a lot of people complain about this on the Z.

 

im just curious... does the jerkin eventually go away?? it has been reduced so much the last few days, but it can still be kind of a pain in the *** when im just tryin to cruise... def wouldnt trade it for an auto trans but i wouldnt mind bein able to drive my mt like an auto( obviously there are still big diff.)

 

I'm sometimes still a little jerky from 1st to 2nd.

 

Practise makes perfection.