BRZ Ratios and Speeds

[amaciose]

Hi all,

About a week ago I just picked up my 2013 BRZ in MT, my first manual transmission car. In my limited practice time, I've gotten to taking the car on major roads now, but I noticed that the car seems to jerk a bit when shifting up and down. I've figured it's due to the revs not matching up with the speed I'm going in each selected gear, but it's somewhat nerve racking to just let off the clutch and see where the revs go.

Does anyone have any references or diagrams showing what speeds correlate to which RPM at each gear? I feel if I studied this I would be able to hit target RPMs much easier when shifting up and down.

Any general tips for driving MT would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

[dbrandt01]

I saw this on another thread and have had it saved on my laptop.




Edit: Though I agree with the others below me. You just feel it. Smoother clutch releases make all the difference. My smoothest shifts are when I'm not even thinking about shifting. You just hear it/feel it. I don't even look at my RPM gauge anymore. This is my first manual and after I realized this, it was a world of difference.

[Muskokan]

study all you want, but in the end youll never be the manual driver you want to be if you always have to think about it. the more you drive, the more natural it will come to you, until you shift without thinking or even looking at the speedo. may i suggest smoother clutch releases, this clutch doesnt have a small "spot" on the clutch like most my cars, this one is very drawn out and you have to smoothly go through the whole clutch. happy manual driving!

[bestwheelbase]

Hello and welcome! Check this post. The vehicle speed chart will be helpful.

[sklimo]

^^ This

[amaciose]

Thank you for all the quick replies so far! This is exactly what I was looking for!

Originally Posted by Muskokan

study all you want, but in the end youll never be the manual driver you want to be if you always have to think about it. the more you drive, the more natural it will come to you, until you shift without thinking or even looking at the speedo.

I'm hoping to get to this point soon. I've already stalled quite a few times and had a few unsuccessful downshifts (very jerky), so right now I'm just trying to minimize the damage to my car during my learning period Hopefully soon I'll be able to do all this by feel.

[InvalidJohnny5]

This is honestly the best first manual car you could buy. Shifting in this car is like a scalpel to butter, that simple. Give it a month or two and you should be able to downshift instantly without looking at your tachometer (what you should really be paying attention to not the speedo). Just give the accelerator a love tap exactly as you downshift and within a half second let off the clutch. I can't really explain upshifting to you except it's exactly like downshifting minus the lovetap.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by amaciose

Does anyone have any references or diagrams showing what speeds correlate to which RPM at each gear? I feel if I studied this I would be able to hit target RPMs much easier when shifting up and down.

Upshift and downshift rev-matching should be adjusted to match the car. No amount of memorization of vehicle speed/gear charts will help you on this, it's something that comes with practice and experience.

I can get into any new car, and learn how to upshift/downshift properly within the first two minutes of driving it. Even with cars without tachometers, I can do the same (case in point: base model EG Civic hatch)

Don't rely on charts and vehicle RPM/speeds to drive a manual properly. And don't be afraid to "damage" the car, all you're doing is wearing out the clutch faster.

-alex

[BrianJ]

Lol I'm also smoother when I'm not trying.. Then when I have passengers I screw up here and there, it's because I try to hard to be smooth with people in the car.. So annoying

[72widebody]

Disclaimer up front: I love my BRZ! I am not slamming BRZs! Keep your flamethrowers on safe...

In fairness to amaciose, at 3k miles into BRZ ownership, this car is one of the toughest manuals to drive smoothly that I've owned in 30 years of driving. And that includes a series of early 911s, including my current 72 with its 915-type trans, which is no picnic (have to double-clutch sometimes, rev-matching is crucial, etc). I learned to drive stick on a three-on-the-tree Ford pickup, and have owned a series of Porsches and Miatas over the years. So I am far from a novice.

The issue with the BRZ is a combo of a big 1st to 2nd gear ratio drop, a non-linear throttle response, to a lesser degree the torque dip, and what feels like a pretty light flywheel. It's all manageable, but it takes some attention to build the approach that then becomes natural.

The synchros are also quite balky. Next step is to try new fluid of course to reduce that issue.

My sense is that the smoothness and balkiness varies from car to car quite a bit, based on the threads here.

Regardless, I love the spirit of the car, the looks, handling and the overall concept. I drive it every day.

[amaciose]

Thanks again for all the responses and inputs.

A bit of an update now that I've had a month practice driving manual: I've gotten to the point when I can almost shift without thinking about it, and the timing of letting the revs drop for upshifts have almost become second nature.

The only shift that's really rough for me is the shift from 1st to 2nd, but it's good to see I'm not the only one with that problem. I almost have to feather the clutch into 2nd lighter than I do going into 1st. Hopefully this isn't putting too much wear on the clutch but I figure I'd rather wear the clutch than the transmission.

[BRZ-OwnzJo0]

Now that it's cold the shift from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd is horribly rough. I kind of want to drive my fucking car through the front of the dealership and ask them why my transmission shifts worse than my 20 year old civic hatch's did but I'll refrain.

I never rev match when I downshift. Never. Not even once since I bought the car.

[tobin]

I find that 3000 rpm is the "sweet spot" from shifting from 1-2 and 2-3, especially before everything is warmed up. Let the shifter hang between the gears for a half second before shifting it into the slot as well.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Re: smoothness

Been driving this car for a year, and I still manage jerkiness between shifts quite often. Definitely related to how fast the clutch pedal is released and how much gas you're giving it as the clutch re-engages. Had to DD a few weekends ago and drove a bud's Civic SI home; perfect shifts the entire time, no jerkiness between shifts. The BRZ is hard to drive *smoothly* but easy to drive in general.

As @72widebody pointed out, the issue does seem to be with 1-2. At least for me that's where it is most often, but on rare occasion I jerk 2-3 as well. Now, 4-5 is totally different story. Those two gears are so I close I jerk them almost every day on the upshift.

Originally Posted by BRZ-OwnzJo0

I never rev match when I downshift. Never. Not even once since I bought the car.

I would never want to be your passenger.