manual question.

k.alexander

^Let me tell you, I've been driving manual transmissions, exclusively, mostly on sports/sporty cars for close to 15 years, and the 1st to 2nd shift is still never ultra "smooth". A lot of it has to do with what epod86 explained, and to some degree, you'll get better with time.

As epod86 said, it has to do with momentum and inertia of the gears, and how quickly the engine will spin-down when you move out of 1st, on your way to 2nd. I bet you, the shift from 1st to 2nd is a lot smoother, if you rev first higher and higher before shifting (now I'm not saying to do that on a daily basis) it's just that in that case, you've rev'ed the engine higher, and there's more momentum going and as such it's slower to spin down.

Final words of advice, either make the shift from 1st to 2nd very quick. Or, make it slow and smooth, but let the clutch out a little slower as/and after you've shifted into 2nd, and make sure you're (not so much blipping) but at least "massaging" the gas pedal as you're letting out the clutch (again, right as/after you've shifted into 2nd).
This will make things smoother.

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