Looking for general advice and tip/tricks for a new owner.

[DamoKTC]

Hi All, I received my new 2022 BRZ about 3 or 4 months ago (5000kms) and I am loving it however I just have some general questions. I have come from using an automatic Holden SV6 Commodore (used for 7 years) to this so the transition back to Manual has been challenging and I constantly worry that poor shifting or trying to learn will damage the car long term.

I still struggle with up shifts sometimes as I think I hold the clutch in for too long rather a smooth transition. This results in the car dropping rev and kind of jerking forward. Am I correct in the assessment and what can I do to improve?

I have been trying to learn how to Rev Match and I am struggling but getting better and I assume it will come with time. However, I am struggling to learn how to Heel Toe so has anyone got any tips to learn. I find that during normal driving I cannot get the brake low enough to comfortably blip the throttle and when I do the response isn't immediate.

Any tips and tricks and just general advice for car ownership or recommendations of changes are massively appreciated as I am very new to learning cars but want to be deeply involved with understanding and developing the car and my skills over time.

[racingfool]

Originally Posted by DamoKTC

I still struggle with up shifts sometimes as I think
I hold the clutch in for too long rather a smooth transition.
This results in the car dropping rev and kind of jerking forward.

Forget about rev matching and heel toeing until you can go through the gears smoothly.

After upshifting you have to give it some throttle as you let out the clutch.

[EndlessAzure]

Originally Posted by DamoKTC

Hi All, I received my new 2022 BRZ about 3 or 4 months ago (5000kms) and I am loving it however I just have some general questions. I have come from using an automatic Holden SV6 Commodore (used for 7 years) to this so the transition back to Manual has been challenging and I constantly worry that poor shifting or trying to learn will damage the car long term.



I still struggle with up shifts sometimes as I think I hold the clutch in for too long rather a smooth transition. This results in the car dropping rev and kind of jerking forward. Am I correct in the assessment and what can I do to improve?



I have been trying to learn how to Rev Match and I am struggling but getting better and I assume it will come with time. However, I am struggling to learn how to Heel Toe so has anyone got any tips to learn. I find that during normal driving I cannot get the brake low enough to comfortably blip the throttle and when I do the response isn't immediate.



Any tips and tricks and just general advice for car ownership or recommendations of changes are massively appreciated as I am very new to learning cars but want to be deeply involved with understanding and developing the car and my skills over time.

Heel toe takes a lot of practice.

My two tips:
1. Make sure your seating position is proper and your feet are the right distance from the pedals. Your seat should be holding you, and you should be sitting in it. If you find that you're holding yourself up or bracing with your right foot, you're not sitting properly

2. Focus on precise and smooth brake pedal control. Squeeze the brakes and hold them steady at the level you need, don't stomp on them. Once you get that down, the accelerator blip will come more smoothly. Heel toe also works better at higher revs (usually 3k or higher). Just practice how deep you need to push the accelerator

[OkieSnuffBox]

Practice on getting smooth, it will come to you.

Other than that, don't constantly beat the crap out of it and expect it to be reliable.

Maintain it well, keep it clean (tar, sap, bird shit, etc) will wreck the clear coat, buy quality parts if you decide to mod it, don't drive like an asshat and think you're a dorifto king on the street.

[soundman98]

a good driver can make a poor car good. a great car will never do the same for a poor driver.

work on yourself, and the car will start to seem smoother.

don't worry about the technique, worry first about getting to know the car. you've picked up a number of habits, good and bad, intentionally or unintentionally, from your previous car. this car is simply 'different' from those habits.

i daily drove my car for the first 3 years. never even tried rev-matching or downshifting while braking for at least the first 6 months. but once i started trying, it was almost immediate because i had a better idea of where each gear started and ended at what speed. i didn't need to think so hard about it.

i also don't heel/toe. i roll my foot side to side for the same effect.. heel/toe don't work for me... just an example of understanding that 'commonly accepted' technique doesn't always mean that it's the only way to the same result!

[mycrors7]

heel toe generally is easier to master on track where you are hard on the brakes and the pedal is near in-line with the gas pedal.

no real reason to be heel-toe downshifting while driving regularly on the streets.

rev-matching is something you will get used to.

dont worry about either until you feel well enough rowing through the gears.

rev-match downshifting will come naturally once you learn the throttle response of the car and figure out roughly what rpm the car is at in each gear at a specific speed.. again it all comes with paying attention to basic up shift and down shift and learning that first

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by soundman98

i also don't heel/toe. i roll my foot side to side for the same effect.. heel/toe don't work for me... just an example of understanding that 'commonly accepted' technique doesn't always mean that it's the only way to the same result!

Same here. Ball of my foot on the brake, outside to blip the throttle.

It was really fun tracking sportbikes and rev matching on downshifts. Using your index and middle finger to brake while rolling the throttle with the outside of your hand. This was before slipper clutches became ubiquitous and made it much easier.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by DamoKTC

Hi All, I received my new 2022 BRZ about 3 or 4 months ago (5000kms) and I am loving it however I just have some general questions. I have come from using an automatic Holden SV6 Commodore (used for 7 years) to this so the transition back to Manual has been challenging and I constantly worry that poor shifting or trying to learn will damage the car long term.

I still struggle with up shifts sometimes as I think I hold the clutch in for too long rather a smooth transition. This results in the car dropping rev and kind of jerking forward. Am I correct in the assessment and what can I do to improve?

I have been trying to learn how to Rev Match and I am struggling but getting better and I assume it will come with time. However, I am struggling to learn how to Heel Toe so has anyone got any tips to learn. I find that during normal driving I cannot get the brake low enough to comfortably blip the throttle and when I do the response isn't immediate.

Any tips and tricks and just general advice for car ownership or recommendations of changes are massively appreciated as I am very new to learning cars but want to be deeply involved with understanding and developing the car and my skills over time.

Welcome, DamoKTC -

Maybe, just maybe, you are overthinking this shifting gears thing -

For normal street driving you don't need to be heel-and-toeing nor rev matching nor double clutching nor blipping the throttle.

Just push in the clutch, put it into gear, let the clutch out as you give it some gas, go aways, push in the clutch as you let off the gas, move the shift lever to the next higher gear, let off the clutch and give it some gas at the same time. Rince and repeat.

It's all in the timing.

[OkieSnuffBox]

^Yup. That's why modern gearboxes have synchros.

[Stonehorsw]

Gen2 have q big rev hang. If you want to be smooth, need to release the accel pedal before pressing the clutch, this will reduce any jerkiness.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by mycrors7

no real reason to be heel-toe downshifting while driving regularly on the streets.

speak for yourself!

i do for most stop lights.

if i wanted simple, i'd get an automatic!

[mycrors7]

Originally Posted by soundman98

speak for yourself!

i do for most stop lights.

if i wanted simple, i'd get an automatic!

to be fair my daily is automatic LOL

[VoltsFRS2013]

Been driving stick for just under 2 years now, learned in my 2018 86 and transitioned that to my 2022 GR86.

Few key things I want to mention,

If you're afraid of damaging the car downshifting when I first started I would pretty much only ever downshift if the car was super low RPM. Im talking under 2k, let the clutch out shift from lets say 4th to 3rd and slowly let the clutch go back to the bite point, hold momentarily then keep going. This in combination with your car slowing down on deceleration is fine. Again, im expressing doing this when you're already traveling pretty slow or slowing down. not at speed.

You don't need to revmatch EVERY downshift. If you're going a good speed and not on deceleration however I would heavily recommend doing so and practicing. It's something that comes with time. I don't EVER heel toe downshift. I just clutch in, put it to the next gear and blip the gas then release the clutch. Even when im driving spirited, I'll brake first, then downshift as explained. It's just how I taught myself. I'm not on a racetrack or looking to beat anyone and just doing it this way feels way more fluid to me. And trust me, the mountain driving here in Virginia is no joke. Plenty of good twisties to blast around.

As far as shifting up, in this car I like to upshift between 3,500 and 4,000 2nd gear and up. I shift pretty early out of 1st because it's such a wonky gear. Same principle. 3rd to 4th I let the clutch out, shift up, clutch back in to the bite point, hold momentarily, let it out fully. I don't apply any gas until the clutch is completely let off and my foot is back on the dead pedal.

You're not damaging the car doing this. This is slipping the clutch. Excessive clutch slip and burning the clutch by adding gas while doing so can prematurely wear, but the clutch in nature is designed to slip so the engine and clutch can match speed without causing jerky shift after jerky shift.

This is at least how i taught myself and my driving is extremely smooth. Never had any clutch issues with either of my cars. Don't overthink it. The clutches in these cars are extremely extremely strong and I've known countless people who have learned or abused these cars and the clutch was the last of their worry. (myself included because i was a SHIT Manual driver when I first started)

Have fun with your new machine!

[Mcgiiver]

After upshifting you have to give it some throttle as you let out the clutch.[/QUOTE]
Adding throttle during upshifts is a sure way to signal everyone that a novice is driving. No throttle is needed during upshifts if the clutch timing is correct. The idea is let the rpms drop during an upshift so the tach does not jump when the clutch is completely released. The idea is to allow the rev hang to drop so that the engine speed exactly matches the speed of the transmission input shaft, hence no clutch wear. The only time you would add throttle during an upshift is you held the clutch in way too long and the engine has returned to idle.