Shifting Gears

[Militant-Grunt]

Well im 16, I had my share driving a SUV on an auto gearbox.., Now if i were to get into a manual bmw Id be screwed because im not fully sure on how to change the gears.. I know that first gear is like 0-5mph. then 2nd 5-20 or 30 but it varies, When switching gear i heard that you need to press the clutch (Still holding gas or letting go?) when you finish doing that release the cluth.. and repeat the process as you shifting up and down. I am just really unclear, so can some one in great deph and detail explain it to me ?

 

[VANCE]

let go of the gas
and ease the clutch out
....you should practice finding the spot where the clutch engages
once you do can let the clutch out pretty fast to that point then ease it out....
otherwise your passengers are going to get whiplash

 

[demq]

Hi,
I am not a big expert in this area, but I am still driving a manual for a year or so. First of all you should understand what the clutch and gearbox do. Basically clutch detaches the engine from the gearbox, so you can change the gears, and the gearbox chnages the ration between the nubers of your wheels' turns per one engine turn . So when you press the clutch there is very little load on the engine, so if you will not let the gas go engine is gonna rev up very high, which you don't want to do. But when you are letting the clutch you should similarly push the gas, so the engine will not stall or jerk. When you are shifting between the gears to make it smoother try to get your engine revs as close as it is possible to the value it is having under current speed and current gear, for example if you know that your engine's revs are 2000 under 50 mph on 3-rd gear, and you are shifting to the 3-rd under 50 mph get the revs to 2000, so you can let the clutch fast and the car wouldn't jerk(passengers seem to like that ... ) Don't underpower the engine, i.e. don't let it go under 1000-1500 revs when you are driving, downshift, cause you might need to make a fast move and the car simply wan't go. Don't keep revs too high either cause it is gonna wear your engine faster and reduce your gas milage, unless you need a lot of power to make a sudden move...
You need some practice to get the feel of synchronization of your gas and clutch pedals, and you also need to learn to get to the revs you want with the gas pedal on neutral (the same as if you would engage the clutch), and as VANCE sad find the clutch point , it’s important.
You need just to drive the car and you will start to feel when you need to change the gear or so...
Hope this will help you...

 

[Ben]

ive been driving a manual for about 6 years now, and theres not really a way to tell someone how to drive one. sure, what demq and vance said help a bit but the only real way is to do it. and also, dont try to drive a manual bimmer for the first few weeks/months, borrow a POS to learn on.
ben

 

[xLibelle]

Its not necessary to remove all the gas. But the idea it that you need to get the RPMs down so you dont jerk your car around. You would let off the gas, clutch in, change gear, clutch out with a bit of gas to keep the engine rev up, you will notice how you can do it smoother and quicker.

when you are shifting up to that next gear, you want to have your RPM real close to what might be expected for the gear change at that speed you are traveling at. Thats why like the guys say, get used to your clutch release point, but also learn your gas pedal.

you could put a load of gas on while changing gears and release the clutch slowly and make it real smooth, but that will only wear your clutch right out because those plates (much like the brake pad and rotors at your wheels) create a lot of friction. So just practice smooth quick shifts with rev matching.


Once you get all that down, you can move to the next lesson, really only used when down shifting. In your standard tranny, you have what are called synchronizer bearings which slip when engaging gears so the tranny can more closely match the speed of the input to match gears, thus called the synchroizer bearings.

When down shifting, you have to rev up the engine and release the clutch so the wheels end up engaged to the engine at the right speed to keep it smooth, but you will find its hard to do because the tranny has to catch up in that process. this will make down shifting seem flawless!!
1. clutch in
2. shifter to neutral
3. clutch out
4. blip throttle to speed up input shaft and synchronizers
5. clutch in
6. shifter to lower gear
7. rev match with throttle to anticipated RPM
8. clutch out
This might seem like it takes too long, but once good at it, it takes no longer than a regular shift. Once really good at it, you can skip parts 1 and 3 just by taking the weight off the transmission and pulling the gear at the at the right moment.
You can read up a little more here: http://www.strictlyeta.net/doubleclutch.html

Happy shifting!

( i cant wait, im swaping auto to standard in my e30 )

 

[flashinthepan]

One important thing to a manual clutch learner-

Remember letting the clutch out is what gives you forward momentum, regardless as to how much gas you give it.

This kinda helped me on hills and tough areas - when I learned.

 

[E30 Kid]

Practice makes perfect...I'm the same age as you, and that's how I learned.
Have someone who has driven stick before take you to a large empty parking lot and practice until you get it right.

 

[adrean8j]

Practice makes perfect...I'm the same age as you, and that's how I learned.
Have someone who has driven stick before take you to a large empty parking lot and practice until you get it right.

What he says is true....I didnt start driving a manual until about 6yrs ago(I am 29). What I did was rent a car(if you have any friends or parents are cool enough) for a day. We then went to a big empty parking lot(with out the wheel stops in it). Then my buddy taught me in about 15min.

I think the main keys are:

1. Learn where to release the clutch in 1st gear. It is the hardest gear to learn and the other gears seem to follow almost naturally. (a good exercise is to let the car roll into first gear.....WITHOUT EVER TOUCHING THE GAS PEDAL!!! If you get the hang of that you will eventually be able to tell when to give it gas...it a feeling in the pedals.

2. I dont know if I am right but I usually shift each gear in between the 2500 and the 3500 RPM mark for everyday normal driving. When I am teaching little Honda Civics who Daddy is and who the Child is I shift between 4000 and 5500 RPM-although I wouldnt recommend doing it to often depending on your engine and the age of your car and its parts.

uhhhh Thats all I can think of.....except that I will never buy another automatic as long as my legs still work.

 

[E30 Kid]

adrean8j is right.

1st gear is the hardest to learn, once you get that...shifting to higher gears is easy as pie.

Downshifting will be easy as well, just make sure an experienced stick driver is teaching you.

 

[Militant-Grunt]

wow guys really helpful stuff, the first gear is like 0-5 right?

 

[jrt67ss350]

It's gonna be different for every car depending on gearing. When you shift also differs depending on how fast you want to accelerate. If you want to get moving quickly, you aren't going to shift out of first gear at 5 mph. You'll take the engine close to or all the way to redline before shifting. You may be moving 30-40 mph or more before shifting out of first gear. I don't know exactly what the speed of my BMW is at the 5000 rpm speed limiter in first gear, but I know that my 2.73:1 geared Camaro is doing about 45 mph when shifting out of first gear at 5500-6000 rpm under full throttle.

What I'm trying to say is that you don't shift (or shouldn't shift) gears based on mph. You should shift based on RPMs, the power band of the engine, and your acceleration intentions.

 

[mikev]

When down shifting, you have to rev up the engine and release the clutch so the wheels end up engaged to the engine at the right speed to keep it smooth, but you will find its hard to do because the tranny has to catch up in that process. this will make down shifting seem flawless!!
1. clutch in
2. shifter to neutral
3. clutch out
4. blip throttle to speed up input shaft and synchronizers
5. clutch in
6. shifter to lower gear
7. rev match with throttle to anticipated RPM
8. clutch out
This might seem like it takes too long, but once good at it, it takes no longer than a regular shift. Once really good at it, you can skip parts 1 and 3 just by taking the weight off the transmission and pulling the gear at the at the right moment.
You can read up a little more here: http://www.strictlyeta.net/doubleclutch.html

Happy shifting!

( i cant wait, im swaping auto to standard in my e30 )

What ever you do don't do that on downshifts!!! it wont harm the car and while technically correct it is pointless for any car with syncromesh. while learning a manual take it slowly. the biggest hurdle is not ability but confidance. go with your best mate (not wife or girlfirend ) to a parking lot and practice "finding BITE" then you can pull yourself forward WITHOUT any throttle at all! what xLibelle has said describes the process of downshifting if you are in a non-syncro car. (very old or racing gearboxes) I blame the fast and the furious for this common misconception. the part when Vin Diesel starts talking about "granny shifting" and not double clutching. well with a syncro 'box on the way up you just put the clutch down put in the gear and release the clutch. thats why these 'boxes were made! down shifting doesn't NEED a blip of throttle that again is a benifit of the syncro 'box. blipping the throttle on a BMW just means you can be hevier on the clutch on the downshifts and take less time releasing it. but your not racing just learning.

After you have mastered all of that you can move onto the more sporty moves

--- Upshitfs ---

You only need "DAB" the clutch. if you want to change quickly do it all at once. Push the lever (for example) from 2nd to 3rd while putting the clutch only 1/2 way down. this will ruin your gearbox and you have to be pretty harsh and forceful with it. but it allows changing in alot shorter times.

--- Downshifts ---

To be honest the Blip the throttle then release the clutch method works best here and its only used when you want to either downshift to get better response through a corner or to shift from 4th to 3rd for a quick overtake. when approaching a roundabout or stop brake for most of it then (when the revs naturally drop) shift into 2nd then put the clutch down and wait to stop! when you do blip the throttle you don't need to leave the car in neutral just keep the clutch down and let modern technology help you out!


Alot of what we will say will not make a lot of sense to you and each person creates there own way of shifting. We can tell you how to be smooth and you'll have to adapt it to your own car and driving style.

 

[Militant-Grunt]

how long did it take you guy to pick it up?

 

[mikev]

My advice is to take 2 or 3 1hour sessions with a gap of a few days to let it sink in. start off in a car park, move up to residential streets and hill starts then, (and i'm dead serious) join the rush hour traffic its the best intensive course you can try.

 

[jrt67ss350]

It took me about an hour or two to learn the basics - to get the vehicle moving without stalling or over-revving the engine. My first lesson was in my hilly neighborhood in my dad's '89 Chevy S-10 pickup, which is a difficult stickshift and clutch to master. Learning in a vehicle like a BMW should be easier - clutch is more responsive and has better feedback and the shifter throws are considerably shorter and more intuitive.

Once you have the basics and can start and stop the vehicle without stalling it or overrevving it, the only way you will improve your skills is to drive the car in traffic in real life situations. Downshifting skills and such will come with experience - you just need to get the basics down first.

 

[tyler]

do you bottom out the clutch predal when shifting ?

I feel like I don't need to push the clutch pedal all the way down when shifting . Is it bad to do that ? Since the point of engagement is quite high , it makes the shifting much smoother and releasing the clutch since it does not have to travel farther. Am I hurting engine doing that, and just press the clutch all the way down to the floor?

 

[jrt67ss350]

You probably don't need to push the pedal all the way down when shifting, but I like to make a point of pushing it all the way down. Although, my E30 has 230,000 miles on the original clutch, and I'm trying to maximize the amount of use I can get out of the clutch and avoid any unnecessary wear. You won't hurt the engine by doing this, but you could potentially wear out the clutch prematurely if you aren't disengaging the clutch disc enough.

 

[AndrewBall]

perfect shift in my sense is from 6500, which will put in the next gear at 4500 about, putting you right back in the powerband of the car. but yeah, get a feel for the cars clutch where it comes in at, and clutch in, Gas Off, Next Gear, Clucth Out a little, Gas on/clutch out, you really need to teach yourself. other people can only give you ideas. now downshifiting is another story, i know alot of people that can upshift, but they cant downshift for thier life, getting into teh habit of downshifiting through every gear when you come to a stop, which in effect will help slow down the car, is a good thing to learn to do, cause if you ever have to down shift to find power, you will be able to.

 

[mikev]

and yet another example of why this is the worst board to ask that question. that advice is for racing. your just starting out. getting professional lesson on how to use a clutch is the best way as always.

 

[cprogrammer]

I'm learning manual also, it's been about 2 weeks. One thing I can't seem to accomplish, though. Maybe it's because I've only been using manual for 2 weeks but the problem I'm having is this. When I first start the car, and begin to go, I let the clutch out very slow so it doesn't stall. If I do this then the chances of stalling are slim. However, in traffic I don't have the time to go very slow on the clutch because of traffic; if I let the clutch out very slow I'll hold up traffic. So, in a parking lot I attempted to let the clutch out a little faster. I did this by first not putting the clutch all the way down, just below the "catch area". So, I let the clutch out fast till I heard it grab, at which point I gave it gas, and then just completely let go of the clutch. This worked once, but the rest of the times it just stalled. Is this something you just need practice on? I can't while in traffic take my time on the clutch to prevent stalling so I'm trying to learn how to do it quicker in parking lots.

Thanks in advance.