I'm a relative newb when it comes to driving a stick. This is my first manual car that I have ever owned; before this I only drove friend's manuals. So, I need some tips to get from first to second cleanly and fast. If I shift too fast the engine is too hot and shifts funny. If I shift too slowly the engine has to catch back up. Either causes a lot of bouncing. What is the best way to make it work well? I've resorted to letting the clutch out slower to help compensate for my poor shifting, but I don't like this as a long term solution. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

BTW, I have an MY02 Silverstone/Black.

Cheers

 

Looks liek you have an MY00... Hmmm, nonetheless try pulling it back while guiding alon the outer gate to the left- not too much pressure just guiding... Also it helps to cup the shiftknob with your hand over it (like a punch) rather than holding it like a gun (picture sawing).

Good luck and be easy on your syncros!

 

wow, if u think s2k is tough to shift smooth, u should try driving a bmw M3, M5 or 540 6 sp!!

 

Try changing your tranny fluid to something like Redline MTL or GM Synchromesh. If you have the OEM Honda MTF (Manual Transmission Fluid), you may find the synthetics offer a smoother shift.

Word to the wise though........this car is notorious for notchy 2nd gears, so don't be too hard on yourself.

-Hockey

 

I think there is nothing wrong with the car. this guy just doesn't know how to shift properly. What it sounds like is you are not matching revs for the next (2nd) gear. What you should do for a while is to always shift from 1st -> 2nd at the same RPM....say in 1st gear you always shift at 4K for example. Then figure out at what RPM it is in 2nd gear at this same speed......say 2500 RPM for example. Then always shift when you're at 4000 RPM and let the clutch out when you are at 2500 RPM (actually slightly above this RPM because you need some time while you're letting out the clutch for the revs to drop). Then do this for every gear until you get more familiar with the car and know at what RPM you need to be in each gear for a given speed.....

 

Don't try to slam through gears. You have to finesse it.

 

This is 2004. A good tranny with decent syncros should not require any "finesse". Sounds like he just needs to keep practicing to me.

ron

 

you should still rev match! it sounds to me like amazinglysmooth is letting his foot completely off the gas (which is good) but letting the rpms fall ALL THE WAY down while moving the shifter down into second and then he is dumping the clutch without applying the gas pedal. this works at low speeds due to the synchros compensating the revolutions but the car will jerk forward or backward more if you are not throttling your engine enough or if you are giving it too much gas. also if you don't let off the gas when the clutch is grabbing it will grind your clutch until it catches properly. driving stick isn't all that easy to get the hang of if you don't know exactly how it all works. you need to practice blipping the throttle to get it above the targeted rpm for second gear and then let off while you slide out the clutch pedal. our cars are great at letting us feel the friction so you will know when you are making smooth shifts. also the faster you are accelerating the faster the shifter will move into gear so if you are going relatively slow don't get upset that you can't slam the thing down into second very fast.. just apply appropriate pressure and let the components do most of the work by themselves. if you can get your s2k rolling in first without stalling or jumping forward then you are perfectly capable of rev matching effectively while shifting through the rest of the gears. practice makes perfect people. god knows i've improved since i bought my s2k.

 

I'm sure that practice will help because there are times when I get it just right. Unfortunately since this is my play car, I don't drive it as often as I would like. I notice that I'm just not very good at matching the revs. Maybe I should just slow down and drive it easy until I'm better at it. It is easy to shift at very low RPM's, but it is progressively more difficult as I rev up the engine in a particular gear. I've only put 1k miles on it in 5 months so I don't get into it that often. Thanks for the tips.

Cheers

 

yep it'll come with practice.....but OTH 5 months and 1000 mi is pretty long time to get the hang of it....perhaps you can have someone show you in person?