s2kpdx01

you should always be in gear when slowing down. You should only be in neutral as you stop. It's always better to have complete control over the car. You can't do that in neutral. It's a bad habit to get into, IMO.

You wanna be smooth on a down shift learn to rev-match or heel-toe. On an upshift it shouldn't be an issue. Just shift at a normal speed and as your foot brings the clutch up start squeezing on the gas.

by skip-shift do you mean go from 1-3 directly? I sometimes just keep the clutch in and shift into second and then to 3rd as 1st might have me going 35 and the speed limit is 40 so going to 3rd from first just makes sense. I don't see how that is going to hurt anything. By rowing the gears the engine revs are just right when I get to 3rd?

overst33r

Skipping gears is fine if you double clutch because it takes the synchronizers out of the equation.

You actually save gas when you are in gear rather than coasting in neutral. The ECU cuts fuel to the injectors when you are in gear. When you shift to neutral the injectors are spraying enough fuel to let the engine idle. It really is a minuscule difference, but you actually burn less gas by staying in gear.

DouglaS2000

I didn't mean to coast in neutral, I meant to slow the car down, I don't like to down/skipshift a couple gears and get the engine rpms high up as that is when it burns the gas. When I'm cruising along, I keep it in gear. But to slow the car down quickly, I just leave it in gear and then hit the clutch and brakes (which I consider being in neutral since the clutch is disengaged). Unless it's an extended grade and I don't want to burn up my brakes, that is the time I use engine braking.

As for double clutching, that is what I meant when I told him to put the shifter into neutral before skipping a gear.

TheDonEffect

this is new to me, I didn't know thatt... so what's causing the sound that sounds like the there's combustion?

Iceman1

WTF... show me some technical proof or writing somewhere that states the injectors spray less fuel when your in gear than at idle...

to the original poster... dont sweat it man... just do everything slowly, and youll get the rhythm... practice is the only way to get smoother... in 1 week, you'll be driving smooth...

on an upshift, you should give gas at the same time as you release the clutch... only practice can let you know exactly when its smoothest... no one is smooth everytime

on a downshift, of course its gonna make a noise... your increasing rpms, remember... going down in order (sequentially) is the ideal way to do it... if you watch pro driver's dropping gears, they go 1 gear at a time... but this takes practice to do smoothly... on normal driving, you can drop all the gears at a time... just make sure you after you push in the clutch to shift, you give it a little more gas to increase rpm's... on an S2000 on average, gears 3-6, you need to add ~1000 rpms for each gear you drop... so add the revs while you shift, stay on the gas at that rev point, then smoothly release the clutch... all the jerking is from releasing the clutch too quickly or having too much rpm's...

remember, the clutch's only job is to physically dis-engage the engine from the transmission and the rest of the drivetrain... so think about it... everything is rotating... when the clutch is out (pedal pushed in), you can only add speed to the engine side, cause thats the only thing you can control with the gas pedal... but when the clutch is in (pedal released), everything is coupled together, and which ever side is spinning slower at the time, whether the engine side of the drivetrain side, will have to catch up to the other side... thats where all the jerking happens... when one side tries to catch up to the other...

overst33r

Just to make sure you are understanding my statement: I said that the car uses LESS/NO fuel coasting to a stop IN GEAR compared to coasting to a stop IN NEUTRAL.

This is because the computer on modern cars decreases/turns off the amount of fuel the injectors spray, usually none is sprayed when you are completely off the gas, in gear, and coasting (read: engine braking.)

Your question might be: How is that possible that the car is using no/minuscule amount of gas and the engine is on? The answer is: The wheels turning keep the engine running through connection via the transmission.

Here are some sites that agree with me...


Read under "Cutting Your Motoring Costs"

http://bagnall.co.uk/taxigas/

Here is a thread generally explaining my point above.

uk.rec.cars.misc

I also read somewhere that in Automatic tranmissions, in some cars, the torque converter disconnects at a certain speed or any time you are coasting (foot not on gas pedal) to conserve fuel.

For those that regularly coast in neutral, this might or might not be legal depending on your state.

"I'd bet it is probably illegal in most if not all states. It's considered not being in control of your car, because if the need comes for sudden acceleration, you cannot accelerate until the car is put into gear. You may not be pulled over for it, but if they find out you were doing that if you get in an accident"

Mindcore

Not to fuel the debate, but I happen to know one of the best tranny guys in damn near Canada. I asked him once if skipping gears was bad thing. He said flat out, doesn't make one little bit of differance.

As for shifting smoothly, my advice..stop thinking about it. I've driven stick for 18 years and if I conciously think about shifting, clutch, etc I drive like a newb.

S2000spoon

You could read all want about how to drive the car right. It would
not help much. You'll need to see it in person and feel how the car
reacts.

cbehney

I agree 100%. And two other things:

1. Relax. Serously.
2. Listen to your ears. After a bit, your ears will tell you what to do.

DouglaS2000

Last bit of advice, go out with someone who does shift smoothly and watch how he/she does it and follow. Just like anything else, it's more difficult to read and then try to apply what is advised v. just watching a seasoned driver. Then again, I'm more the visual person.