Rome wasn't built in a day... That being said a little bit of practice will go a long way. Head down to your local arcade and jump in a racing simulator (the good ones that have clutches and all). Sit in there for a few hours and practice practice practice. When you are tired practice some more. I bet if you did that for about an hour a day you would be a superstar .

You might also want to find some classes. Maybe see if there are any upcoming track time you could get from the club and have one of the professional buggers be in your car with you.

That being said I am not a professional, i know enough to get me in trouble. Hell the first time I drove a mini, I could never find 1st gear, I always thought I was in it, but happened to be in 3rd everything takes time. Keep up the good work and the smiles per mile will be there forever.

*Theres nothing like a good education, go find a class *

 

This happens to me on occasion when I'm not paying attention, and I've been driving a stick for a couple decades now. My trick is if choppiness starts, immediately put the clutch back in and try again, releasing the clutch more slowly.

 

ChiliCooperS,
I agree with FlynHawaiian on this one too. Your just gonna have to give it more practice and time. You could try an old trick I use to use on my 72 Celica to shift it with no clutch by tapping the gas in between shifts. It will get the rpms up a little and then when you let out the clutch it should be a lot smoother.
Just a thought.

Good luck!

 

I've also driven nuthin but sticks for about 30 years (well there was one very forgettable Reliant K car with auto , but like with bad dreams, my brain has exorcised itself of those demon memories)...

I've also found that during some 1st to 2nd upshifts, I have the occasional jerkiness - it bugs ME more than any passengers, since I "know" how to drive this car ! Interesting that it only happens going from 1st to 2nd.

One way I have found to smooth out 1st to 2nd, is to shift sooner than you otherwise might, at lower speed and lower revs. At least it's hugely FUN, accelerating in 2nd, from 16mph to 40 in like 2 seconds . Once you've smooovely locked in 2nd gear, smile, remove your foot from the clutch pedal, and depress the throttle! (don't mind me, I live for those delicious .5 second long moments of pleasure ).

On the other hand, I don't do it this way all the time (usually don't need to), and I definitely don't get jerky 1st to 2nd shifts all the time either.

Drive by Feel vs "drive by wire", what a conundrum!

Tatt

PS - Just like the age old truth "red cars are faster", I believe that my freshly Zaino'd MCS shifts much smoother now, directly related to the 3 coats of Z2 polish!

 

By jerking do you mean you head snaps back,or the car is bucking.Fast shifts at high RPM should push you back in your seat,and even jerk the car,if it bucks your not holding revs high enough,goes back to my comment on taking your foot right off the throttle.If you get the revs high,5500+ RPM,then take your foot right of the gas as you shift,the revs will drop to much,and as you engage the next gear the engine will "brake",jerk one,then as you get the revs up,jerk 2,you get flustered back off,jerk 3,foot back into it,jerk 4.
If your shifting below the RPMs that really make the car pull hard,4500+RPM in my MC,then letting your foot off the throttle will not have much effect.But if you get the engine working,let off the throttle all the way,shift,then put your foot back into it,the car is more likely to buck,than if you shift fast,not hard,get used to the throw,but keep the revs up,the only jerk you feel is your head going back,and your butt pushing back in the seat.
But like others have said,this takes time.
To get the most out of the clutch,don't bother with burn outs,and don't ride or slip it.As long as the clutch is fully engaged,you can't hurt it much,and the closer you keep the revs,either up shifting or down,the better for the clutch,and the less jerking.
40 years using my left foot to make vehicles move

 

I agree with everything you said tattman, including the strange effect a good coat of polish has on a vehicle. Everything runs smoother after a good wax job!

I think the 1st to 2nd occasional jerky shift is a 05 quirk. With the super low gearing in first it doesn't take long to hit redline. I can't explain it mechanically but shifting earlier, as you said, does seem to help.

 

My guess on the jerk felt between 1st and 2nd has to do with forward momentum.The car slows faster at slower speeds than faster speeds,so it will jerk more if you don't keep the momentum up.Gearing,throttle responce play into this,but if the car slows to much while shifting,its going to buck,or jerk.

 

Excuse my french. What I meant by choppy was that they were sloppy!
My passengers say I don't slip the clutch but it sounds to me that I do. Then when I try to let the clutch out faster (all this while in hard acceleration, okay 0-60), that's when I get the dreaded jerk.

Mikey

 

Sounds good to me Lot.
With the 05 gearing I think you can launch faster (0-60) by shifting to 2nd sooner. 2nd gear is very strong and 1st is almost superfluos once you're moving. As I said redline in 1st comes very quickly! Just a observation here, I'm not encouraging anyone to do faster launches on the street.

Again Chili, I think you need to turn off the radio so you can hear your engine and develop a feel for when its proper to shift. I know thats hard when you're young and booming with your friends but give it a try.

 

1rst is only good to get your tires rolling really. At about 5-10mph its toast. 2nd is a great gear... since you can jump from 2nd to 4th/5th and just cruise!

 

At 5000RPM in 2nd gear my MC is doing 50MPH,just getting set up to take it to 80MPH in 3rd,with no jerk.First gear gets you rolling,then you GO in these cars.4th gear in my car is used to pass on the highway,otherwise I never use it.

 

While it is possible to shift from first to second gear when going less than 15 mph it isn't always the best time to shift if you are doing performance driving.

You'd want to get first into the 4000 rpm range and smoothly shift into 2nd when ready. This allows you to be in a reasonably good rpm range to make use of 2nd while still going at a slower speed.

If you shift too early it's OK for good gas mileage but your 2nd gear will be at a really low rpm to be able to generate much torque or HP.

So while at Autocross, I usually stay in first until redline or about 45 mph and then shift into 2nd and keep it up to about 67 mph.

As always you have to practice your shifts to smooth things out. It will happen over time. The smoother your throttle input the better. Pause a moment when moving the shifter from one gear to another also helps.

 

Just don't make it a long moment

 

i had the same problem when i first drove my mini.


i'm used to driving a 60 horse karmann ghia what you can drop the clutch in any gear change and is doesnt do anything besides slide nicely into the gear and not jump around.

i dont know what it is, wehter its the hydraulic clutch or the new clutch disk or just the way the car shifts in general, but i had to re teach myself to drive stick when i gor in the mini, its unlike any other stick shift car ive ever driven. (given the only stick shift cars ive drievn were pre 79 VW's and muscle cars hehe)

 

Always squeeze onto the gas (and brakes too, really). You definitely should not hammer the gas pedal at any point. Smoothness is better 99% of the time for everything related to driving.

 

Good point,except sometimes you have to squeeze hard:smile: