Tips and tricks on driving the car
 

Hey guys,

I just got my new Asphalt FR-S last friday and I'm really happy with the purchase. It's an amazing car and it's already turning a lot of heads.

Now, here's my problem: This is my first manual car. I know some of you would say that learning on a brand new car is not ideal, but this is the situation I am in. I took a few classes before, but never had a full-time manual car. Please bear with me and refrain from hitting me on the head for that.

I'm already getting the hang of it, but there's a problem I can't seem to figure out.

When shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, I can't seem to make it smooth. It's constantly jerking forward. I tried multiple ways to release the clutch and it seems like I can't get it smooth. 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th are all fine. Any tips on the way to shift properly so it doesn't do that? :thanks:

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!:thanks:

For normal driving I would say use first gear just to get moving and then shift into second. Don't accelerate quickly until you're in second gear. That might make it easier for you and as you gain more practice/experience you can deviate more to your liking.

are you letting off the gas completely when going 1-2? or are you trying to rev match?

Try taking it slow getting into second, this happened to me too until I found the right method. Try clutching all the way thenn shift into second and release the clutch a little slower as you would with gears 3 to 6. As you get used to it you'll be able to do it faster. It takes some time

no real magical explanation, better/smoother will come with experience as you learn and feel the car.

I'm usually letting go of the gas completely, pressing the clutch pedal fully while switching to second and then I depress the clutch fully at what I think is a steady rate, then slowly get back on the gas.

I will try that later today and keep practicing.

I also read on this forum about a 2nd gear synchro problem with the factory oil. Some people mention switching to Redline oil for the transmission helped their problem. Could that be something to consider in my case or is it only a problem with my inexperience?

Thanks :thanks:

Though I don't consider it a problem, the only time I might have a little glitch between first and second is when I first start up the first time after backing out of the garage. The first time I take off forward I notice a little resistance as I shift into second. There after for the rest of the drive things are normal. I don't consider that little hiccup worth doing any thing about it.

If you have any relatives that are experienced in manuals that could drive your car and give you some tips it would help. Be sure they're of a mature nature. You don't need some hot dog trying to show off giving you tips at this stage of your learning. You would benefit from someone who could just gently go thru the mechanics and perhaps give you a few tips. Time and practice will pay off for you. Don't be in a hurry.

Driving smooth through town, is a lot harder than changing gears fast in a race. Just keep practicing, and you'll pick things up.

Thanks Whaap, I'll go for a bit of practice with someone I know who's been driving manual transmissions for 20+ years, we'll see how that goes.

Thanks for the answers everyone, I'll report back on the progress :thanks:

Let the rpms drop a bit more from 1-2, like wait a sec or half second longer b4 you slowly let the clutch out, and buy some proper driving shoes. Shoes that have next to no padding in the soles so you have better feel. Those $100 puma's work good.

With normal city driving, let the clutch out slowly going in to 2nd. I've been driving mt for 11 years and I'm still not perfectly smooth (like auto smooth) going 1-2 at low revs in this car yet.

It only happen s to my car when cold... I flushed the fluid and use motul.. its better but still does it when cold and its always 1st and second . I think its a defect

I think its how short the ratios are which is why if you dont redline 1st and are driving normal you gotta wait a bit longer for the revs to drop more.

Best advice that I can give is to learn what is actually happening mechanically when your using a manual transmission. Once you understand the actual physical movements of the mechanical peaces, you can use general competency to make adjustments and build a knowledge base that utilizes both factual information as well as dexterity.

This ^^^ and the car gets smoother with miles..

practice feathering the throttle between lower gear shifts, when you get to the point where the rev's do not drop during shifts you'll be on the right track. try this at different rpm's and different gears for different speeds. get to know the car and the way the gearbox, tranny, and engine react. once you get the hang of it and have the rev's somewhat memorized try to start rev matching for downshifts and keeping the revs high between upshifts or again, feathering the throttle or shifting quicker.

honestly it's an easy car to learn on (i would think). clutch feel has a lot of "room" and it's a forgiving car from what i can tell. just don't ride the clutch or you'll be replacing it soon.

good luck man, and grats on the car ;)

Oh ya adjust your clutch if you didnt yet, most ppl like the grab point closer to the floor then the way it is from factory, that helps a lot

oh yeah... this too :) :thumbup:

I tried letting out the clutch a bit slower and it seems to help a lot. Also, I was reving a bit high before shifting gears. I tried doing it around 3k and it's a lot better along with the slower clutch release. Now to get my brain to do this instinctively and I'll be golden for the basics :)

The rest will be practice and getting used to the car itself :D

Gotta say the dynamics on this car are spot on! Everything is sharp and responsive. I must say I come from a 1999 Volvo that had 300k miles on it, so the bar was not too high. But it beat my every expectations.

i really dont know how to drive a stick either, im practing in my dads ford explorer(exploder)but im pretty sure its going to be different once i get inside a frs. im not even going to test drive at the dealership so i dont look like a idiot in front of the salesman lol.

You've obviously read/heard about rev matching. Do not rev match when going up the gears. You want to rev match when going down the gears. The whole idea of rev matching is to get the rpm's of the engine 'where it will want to be' when you release the clutch. Going up the gears your revs will actually want to be lower, not higher.

That I was aware of. I was basically saying that I was reving high before engaging the clutch and shifting. I was basically waiting too much and let the engine rev a bit high before thinking about shifting. Doing it earlier actually helps a lot with gear change smoothness.

I will need to practice rev matching when downshifting a bit more in the next few weeks to avoid unsettling the car when slowing down. :D

Noobcake: I know the feeling. I test drove the automatic to give me a chance to experience the car without the hassle of the manual without enough practice. Now that I have the car, I will learn a lot in the coming weeks for sure! Good luck switching from the truck to the FR-S, it ought to be quite different :lol:

depends on how quickly the revs fall between shifts (or how fast/slow the shifts are). but yes, correct listen to this guy as well :happy0180:

granted saving wear on synchros should be a concern his first concern will hopefully be developing a 2nd nature to manual trans

Listen to Whaap, like me he has many years of experience with manuals. And at this point I wouldn't even worry about rev-matching on downshifts. As long as your revs are in the approximate overlap range of the next gear down, you'll be fine. If the car suddenly slows (lurching you forward) on downshift, your revs were too high (out of that overlap range) when you downshifted. You can also let the clutch out a little slower on downshifts to ease more gradually into the lower gear.

You'll have plenty of time to worry about the finer points (like rev-matching) as you gain more experience. And despite what many seem to think, the synchros in today's transmissions are pretty robust. It's doubtful you'll ever have a problem with them unless they are defective in the first place. I've beaten the crap out of all my manuals and they take the licking and keep on ticking.

And as was stated earlier, the entire system will smooth out as you add miles to the car. Mine was a little 'jerky' at first but is very smooth now that everything is broken in. Look at it this way, both you and your car are 'learning' together and that's a great way to bond with your new ride!

Enjoy!

Best advice I can give is to let go of your grip on the shift knob.

Try to use as little of your hand as possible on it. Don't put it in gear, guide it into gear with your fingertips. It wants to go there and if you try to force it in you're doing it wrong. Just a little push or pull in the right direction and the tranny takes the next gear.

1st to 2nd seems smoothest at around 3k rpm. Matter of my experience, almost every gear is smoother at around 3k. It might not be as fun, but it isn't as jerky there.

Most manuals I've driven are smooth at 3k and anywhere within 1500 of the redline.

It's fun to know this car is mine, no previous owner, which makes it even better to drive as every mile will be done by me :) The car is already getting a bit smoother, I can't wait to reach the break-in point and go for an oil change to get rid of all those metal flakes that probably are still in the oil pan after the assembly of the car.


@immortal_suby : I already do this. It's one of the first things I learned that if you're pushing the gears in with force, you're doing something wrong :) And I agree that around 3K seems to be the sweet spot for shifting smoothly. :thanks:

Just remember, when an orange supra rolls up to you at a stop light, tell him "More than you could afford pal, FRS" and you'll be fine!

I need that custom license plate that I saw one of the members had :D

Theres almost nothing in the oil after my 1st change at 6000km it was dark but silky

I am glad I read this thread. This FRS is also my first manual car. I only tried driving stick couple times in a parking lot before. I totally agree that from 1-2 gear is difficult to get a grip on. I found that if I shift earlier (2500 rmp than 3K) it seems more smoother. I only have this car for 3 days, but I notice myself is getting better each day. From stalling a lot to no stall at all. Practice makes perfect!

Not to worry ...... ;)

I've been driving stick shift vehicles for ny on 65 years now .... and after 2 months of FR-S ownership ..... I'm still working on smoothing out the 1 > 2 shift ..... http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...images/yes.gif

humfrz - OK, so I'm a slow learner .... :bonk: