New stick driver
 

I've racked up about 1000 miles and I'm fairly good at driving but I have a few questions:
1. In first gear, is it normal for it to be a little jerky when you let off the gas?
2. I've noticed all my passengers jolt forward right when I let off the gas to shift gears, how do I prevent this?

1. Yes, that's called engine braking. It's more pronounced in lower gears. You can alleviate the issue by either (a) letting off the gas more slowly; or (b) just don't do that in first.

2. Just ease the transition a bit more. What's happening is you go from x% throttle to 0% instantly as soon as you press the clutch. So ease off the gas a bit first before you clutch in.

If you recall anything from a physics class, try to remember the topic of inertia.

When you're pressing the gas, the weight of the car & your passengers' bodies are all being moved forward constantly as you accelerate.

When you let off the throttle, the engine braking slows the car down and causes the weight & passenger bodies to continue to want to keep moving forward. This is what causes passengers to jolt forward.

The smoothest way to go about this is when you let off the throttle, don't just take your foot off. You want to ease it off so that the force of all the weight moving forward has time to slow down with the loss of speed.

With that said, it's all about legwork, and it's actually a very fine motor skill rather than a quick leg in, leg out motion--especially since you're not racing or power shifting. You're not going to get it right away, but each time you shift with a passenger, you'll be able to see in your peripheral if they jolted a bit forward. With them in sight, experiment your foot/legwork on the throttle release and you'll find the right way to take off the throttle.

A nice exercise to do is when you're in a parking lot, start in 1st gear and drive up to 3500-4000 and let off the throttle as slowly as you can. By doing this, you shouldn't feel the car jolt from the engine braking.

For the first one , you are letting go the clutch too fast.

For second, you are taking to long to shift. You need to shift fast and smooth to prevent jerkiness

mmm yeah, i don't think that's exactly what he meant. he's concerned with engine braking and loss of acceleration during shifting. you're describing the reverse.

you just need to be smooth, gas paddle isn't a on/off botton. Gradual In and Gradual Out.


Another thing is You are shifting slower/faster then the speed of rpm dropping. you should match them.
(Maybe pay attention to your speed in each gear in relation to your speed & memorize them? So you know what rpm you should be at when u shift @ different speed for different gear.)

1. It's not normal if you're shifting completely properly, but it's normal in the sense that yes, it does happen if you're a little bit too fast at releasing the clutch. If you mean when no gear shifting is involved and you just happen to release the gas, it's just engine breaking kicking in. In first I almost never have no pedals pressed. I either have the gas pedal pressed slightly, or the clutch + break pressed.

2. If it's an down-shift, learn to rev match which means blipping the throttle with the clutch petal depressed and then releasing the clutch. If it's on an up-shift, it's because you let go of the throttle too quickly. I don't mind it when I'm driving myself, but if you have passengers you may want to slowly ease up on the gas before depressing the clutch pedal to switch gears. If the issue is the first, I would get on that ASAP since it causes unnecessary wear, but if it's the second you can continue having it "jerky" if to your preference.

Welcome. You'll forgive me if I'm a little skeptical about your post. Assuming you're somewhere between 16 and 18 years old, at some point, you must have ridden along with an adult competently driving a manual.

Listen to your gut. I think we've established this to be a bit of a ridiculous question.

It's all about timing. If you push in the clutch pedal too soon, the engine will rev up.

If you push it in too late you give your passengers whiplash.

Get it right and everyone's happy. It's that simple.

Next step - rev matching at a creep.
 

This skill is critical for smoothly negotiating stop&go traffic. It also helps you get out of the rubber band herky-jerky dance once you're stuck in it.

Once you have the upshift mastered, drive along in first at between 5-7 mph.

Get a feel for how fast the engine is spinning.

Disengage the clutch

Let the engine idle.

Bring it back up to the same speed.

Ease out the clutch.


Pro Tip: I've found it's smoother to blip the throttle a bit above the target rpm and let it sink just as the clutch begins to grab.

Just a tiny bit. No F&F bullshit.

Ultramaroon is correct. Also adjust the clutch pedal so it engages earlier and change clutch spring to the mtec one. Those 2 will give you a lot more control.

The clutch in this car sucks for even experienced drivers. It takes too much throw to modulate it effectively. That's what fucks with so many people's rhythm. Adjustment is nice but never mind the assist spring. This mod directly addresses the issue.

ohemgee y'all are being way too complicated for this poor guy. questions were answered already. don't need to confuse him by talking about clutch adjustments and shifter springs and rev-matched downshifts

sheeeit.

OP, just practice. you'll get smoother in time.

I was confused by your first post. I found it too vague. Relax.