[cat94]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

I regularly cruise at 2k rpms, the engine is fine there but won't enjoy accelerating. Hence the downshift.

How many miles are on the car OP? imo the transmission takes awhile to break in, you've got a brand new car, it'll get easier and you'll figure out how to get a smooth shift out of it. Transmission also works better when it's up to temp, that may play a part in it, for a Californian there's no reason to wait for the car to warm up.

Edit: I did a trans fluid change at 30k miles, no appreciable difference going to Motul 300.

And the answer to the OP's question which nobody answered yet is "synchros"

Just under 2k miles.

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

1. It's brand new. I've said it many times that the synchros in mine didn't start grabbing effectively until about 8K miles and kept improving over the next several thousand.

2. Unless you're very comfortable double clutching, don't skip gates downshifting. Spread the work of spinning up the input shaft across all the gears evenly.

3. At 60 mph, fourth gear puts you in the flat spot of the hp curve. Don't be afraid of dropping into third. Wring that bitch out.

4. When at highway speed, practice downshifting into 4th and 3rd. Note the engine RPM. Then, if you choose to double clutch, get your input shaft spun up above that speed. That way, the input side will sink into the target gear.

I'll stick to the simple things for now, but for an effective double clutch, do I have blip the throttle with the clutch completely released?