Tips and tricks on driving the car

[Mikem53]

Originally Posted by encity5

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

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

[d4wt]

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

[5th 86]

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

[d4wt]

Originally Posted by 5th 86

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

[Mad1723]

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

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.

[noobcake]

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.

[whaap]

Originally Posted by Mad1723

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.

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.

[Mad1723]

Originally Posted by whaap

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.

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

[d4wt]

Originally Posted by whaap

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.

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

[Clembo]

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!

[immortal_suby]

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.

[pmdc]

Originally Posted by immortal_suby

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.

[Mad1723]

Originally Posted by Clembo

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!

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.

[Symmetrical]

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!