Manual Transmission troubles (tips are welcomed)

[subx]

Originally Posted by mike the snake

I experience the same issue. It is very hard to drive the BRZ smoothly while short shifting (shifting at lower rpm). After a while I have somewhat figured out how to smoothly shift, but it's hit or miss, not consistent.

To get seamless, butter smooth shifts, I have found that shifting at 4K rpms works great. The higher rpms apparently cause better rev-matching when shifting normally, and it is MUCH easier to shift smoothly at or around 3750-4000 rpm.

You should be able to do a smooth shift around 3000-3500 rpms with experience. 4K isn't bad though, it's a pretty high strung engine with small ratios, so that's fine too if you prefer it.

Try shifting a bit slower - don't worry about giving it a bit of gas while shifting and giving it a half-second or so to get that perfectly matched rev count for the gear. It's what clutches exists for, you aren't going to hurt it.

Of course if you are smelling some clutch, you are not doing it correctly, but aside from that you are fine.