I think I'm Shifting Wrong

MJB

DEpointfive, I think we all get that you don't like the manual tranny in our cars... since you kinda mention it in like every post... can you please explain this lifeless clutch feeling.. because I have no idea what you are talking about.

Have you ever owned a manual Z or is this just based off of a test drive?

Our Z's have a lot of pedal travel, high engagement point, I'll give it that. But in all the Z cars I've owned I've always had a nice, smooth shifting gearbox, and never any problems with the clutch. Not sure why so many people say its hard to drive???

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09 Nismo #0483 sold. Viper or C7 next time around.

DEpointfive0

I'm ok with long pedal travel, never owned a manual Z, Mini Cooper John S Works whateverthehell, that pedal travel was decently long too, and I have put a few thousand miles on a Scion xB MT

With the Scion the clutch engagement point is VERY obvious because the pedal feel isn't linear at all, it's very 2 stage.

The Mini has a stiff clutch pedal (compared to the xB and the Z) and the engagement point is also quite high, but you can feel when it's engaging, it pushes your foot off the clutch that last inch

The Z, the several time I drove it... Felt awkward, and I KNOW I'm not the only one, so I don't know why you're pointing me out specifically... But the travel feels so linear that it just has no real feel to me... (Hence the reason why so many people opt for the different clutch helper spring and whatnot)
I guess you could say the learning curve is high on it compared to any other car I have driven. At the same time I guess it's more raw, (unlike the Audi R8 M/T which feels unstallable)

forza370z

Hmmm... I do have the feeling my foot being pushed harder when it reaches the engagement point in my Z. Maybe my foot is extra sensitive then the rest of the world? I've drove VW GTI before, the pedal feels even softer and more linear. Anybody here with me?

DEpointfive0

Never driven one, so I don't know, although I think it'd be a fun car to drive

Haboob

I get more feedback from this clutch pedal than I did with my SRT (and it feels heavier), however, the SRT's clutch engaged almost at the very bottom, whilst this is at the very top - I still haven't gotten used to it 100% and feel a little jerky when shifting (not sure if it's always going to be like that. ), but it's usually 1-2, 2-3... I'm fairly smooth otherwise.

But for me, different shoes have different feels too and that affects me.

JARblue

This, too, can have a major impact. My work shoes are big ol' Redwing boots, but on the weekends I wear sandals at the most, so any driving is done barefoot. Polar opposites, but still very manageable

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scope22

Yea it does get jerky but it seems to depend on RPMS, if you're shifting at 3500+ then its preptty smooth, anything below its jerky. Also i bit of gas in between shifts makes it a big difference.

Haboob

Have you noticed a difference in up-shifting with SRM on and off, or is it just me? Seems SRM on will keep the RPMs up for just a second while shifting vs. SRM off.

That or I'm still just on the gas a little too late/early.

I'll test the +3500 theory. I like to short shift a bit and see if it helps me save fuel (it doesn't, because I'm not consistent with it when the freeway/roads open up... )

Mandingo

I've heard a lot of people mention the SRM theory, but it doesn't seem to change anything with upshifts in my car. The revs start to drop immediately. At least as far as I can tell.

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some mods

scope22

I used to drive TransAms with high tourque short shifting was not a problem, this car doesn't like it

scope22

YES it does keep the RPMs up for a bit, i verifyed that with dealer, its how it works again if you're shifting below 3500 it will give you a jerk forward SO what i do is wait an extra second after i push the clutch in then its smooth as butter. So to me it seems that there are 2 ways to drive this car, fast and slow. When driving fast and shifting above 3500rpms its goign to shift fine no jerking, if you're driving slow then you need to give i an extra second between shifts.