Please help! shifting for 2015 frs

[NickDC88]

I never down shift into first. Just use the brakes.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by dray551

Is this a safety feature or is theresomething wrong?

Something is wrong: your driving technique.

To drive a manual transmission is easy.

To drive a manual transmission well is hard, until you understand how a transmission changes engine speed (RPM/crankshaft rotation speed) into wheel speed (input shaft > gear > driveshaft > axle > wheel speed).

Let's say your RPM in first gear is 2500 when you are at 10MPH. You will need to make sure your engine RPM is at 2500 when you attempt to downshift into first gear at 10MPH, otherwise you will just grind gears and do stupid things.

In this case, find a competent manual driver or watch more YouTube videos to fix your problem. No amount of internet advice via text will help.

-alex

[ZionsWrath]

How I do it

If coming to a complete stop just leave it in whatever gear it's in. When I am close to complete stop clutch in and neutral.

If coming to slowed traffic brake and leave it in gear until I reach the slower speed. If I have to drop 1 gear I rev match. If 2 ormore gears I double clutch rev match.

Identifying every gear doesn't seem beneficial in my opinion.

[noodlebaka]

If you're trying to stop, throw it into neural. If the light turns green while you're braking/coasting, throw it into second.

[unlimited86]

Seems like you need to change your driving technique, if its not letting you shift into 1st while moving above 10mph..theres a reason to that. The fact that you still force it in..I feel bad for your synchros. Listen to others.

[swpbrz]

First is the trickiest to rev match for me. It depends alot on how warmed up the engine is. You probably don't need to for stopping at a light. My trick for learning was findin a street I could cruise slowly on. After the car is fully warmed up. Drive in first at 10mph and note what rpm you are at. then shift to neutral and coast a bit let the rpms go to idle. Then blip the throttle to just above the rpms you noted earlier and shift NORMALLY and smoothly into first. If its locking you out don't force it. Try another blip and shift. A proper rev match shift to first should feel buttery smooth when the engine is warm. Its the hardest gear by far to get the feel for.


I sort of had a cheat sheet at first 15 to 20 mph needs like 4.5k rpms and a warm engine to snick in smoothly.

[Braces]

This is habit of mine. I always shift into 2nd before going to 1st regardless of the situation. Try it. It shifts a lot smoother this way. If at a stop and in neutral. I shift to 2nd .... Then easily into 1st. If rolling to a stop .... I typically downshift and use engine breaking a little, or coast in neutral .... But when I come to a stop .... 2nd gear and then 1st.

[Stigmaru]

There aren't very many situations where you need to shift to 1st gear while rolling to near stop unless you for whatever reason need to go right away to beat some other car or something.

But if you must do it, you need to clutch in and blip the throttle or do a double clutch down shift into 1st.

[paulca]

I agree with others, the car is telling you something. It's saying "Don't put me into 1st yet!". I would listen to it.

You can stop in any gear, there is on need to rally shift down the box, it's not a sequential. Block shifts are fine. 6th can be a bit difficult to stop in as you would need to clutch down at 25mph to prevent under reving. So an intermediate downshift to 3rd or 4th is wise.

The term some instructors here us is, "Gears to go, brakes to slow".

Of course this changes if you are "hooning it". I selected first for a hairpin bend the other day at about 20mph while deep on the brakes. A little throttle blip and then 'listen' to the synchro and what it's telling you, ie. don't force it! Push it against the synchro lightly, it will resist a little until it's ready then it will pop in.

You have to consider the shafts in the gearbox, if you are making a big rev change. If you were in 4th at 20mph, then your engine and gearbox speed would be low, around 1k. You then clutch it disconnecting the engine from the transmission and pull it out of gear. Now a large portion of the gearbox is spinning idle, connected to nothing. It is still spinning for 1k rpm (and slowing). You try and select 1st. The synchro has to spin that idling shaft up to road speed for 1st which at 20mph is about 5k. The shafts are not that heavy, but the synchros are small, so you have to give it time. Forcing it will make it grind.

The same happens the other way around if you red line it in 2nd and then (as that brings you to the speed limit here) select 6th to cruise. Engine speed 7.4k, required RPM for 6th at 60mph, 2k. So you are asking the synchro to synchronize a shaft at an equivalent 7.4k rpm with a shaft at an equivalent 2k rpm. You need to be patient with it. Hold it lightly against the synchro, don't force it, it will select when ready.

[ZionsWrath]

If I redline second to merge I shift 3-4-5-6. I feel it helped me learn to be quick but smooth with the clutch.

[tennisfreak]

Holy shit.


"Why wont this square peg fit into this round hole?, I ram in in there but it just don't wanna go!".

[aznatama]

Learn to stick...

First, learn how the gears in a manual transmission work, and how synchros work.
Second, don't force anything, you'll break things.
Third, It's not going into first because the gear speeds don't match up, you'll need to revmatch, double-clutch, or sequentially downshift.

Alternative solution: just leave it in neutral. =P

[radroach]

The input shaft is still spinning.. Putting it immediately in 1st causes it to come to an abrupt stop. Don't go 4th to 1st like that so fast. Downshift to lower gears and clutch in at a low speed / low rpm about 10 - 5 feet before the stop sign. Wait 1/2 second and then go into 1st. You're not driving very efficiently by clutching in from 20 mph all the time. Try clutching in at 10 mph in 3rd gear instead.

Otherwise, if you need to throw it into 1st at 10-15 mph (like during autocross racing) then you'll need to double-clutch.

[paulca]

Originally Posted by aznatama

Third, It's not going into first because the gear speeds don't match up, you'll need to revmatch, double-clutch, or sequentially downshift.

That's what synchros are for. Rev matching with the engine does nothing as the clutch is down the engine is not even connected to the gearbox. You rev match simply to prevent a lurch on a down change that might destabilise the car. So only really necessary when at the very limit.

Double de-clutching is a technique associated with very, very old cars with no syncros, so you had to reconnect the engine to the gearbox while in neutral, spin the shafts up the new gear road speed and then re-clutch to select the gear. Completely unnecessary today as the syncro's will do a far better job. You just have to give them a little time and not get impatient and force them.

In the OPs scenario double declutching, ie. clutch in, neutral, clutch up, throttle blip to 5k RPM, clutch in, select 1st, *might* make it easier if done correctly, but it would take him a lot longer than just waiting on the syncro.

If you try driving along at 30mph, put the clutch down and hold the shifter lightly against 1st and listen, you will hear and asscending whine as the gearbox spins up to effectively 7k rpm. It's a pretty cool sound, but I wouldn't recommend doing it all that often. Though if your brakes ever fail on you, you can always use 1st gear and the clutch for brakes.