teekaywhy

First, at the risk of sounding like a complete tool, I'm putting this post up to protect my investment and a burned out clutch. I know I will get blasted for this post but honest to goodness, I need some advice. Read on.

I'm not a 16 year old kid who learned to drive yesterday. I've been driving for the last 16 years and taught myself how to drive a manual tranny on a beat up 90 Hyundai. Needless to say, the clutch wasn't exactly new and I could get away with sloppy driving. That was 3 years ago.

Fast forward to today. I'm the proud owner of an '08 G37 6MT. This is my fourth car but first since the Sonata with the stick.

My problem is this. When I shift from 1-2 and sometimes from 2-3 around 2500 RPMs, the car jerks slightly like I made a bad shift. I can't figure it out and it's driving me nuts.
Do I need to apply a little gas when coming off the clutch or do I need to get the RPMs up a little higher before shifting?

In fact, if anyone is so inclined, I would love to read a brief description on how to properly shift!!! HELP! PM or Email is fine too!

T

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

The tranny on our cars is just like that, you're not necessarily driving it badly. If you ease out of the clutch pedal a bit more slowly and smoothly (ride it a little) it helps with this. One of the best things you can do it so adjust the clutch pedal to make it a little more forgiving and help you avoid the lurch when starting off in 1st and between gears.

There is a thread here on how to adjust the clutch pedal engagement point.

Welcome.

pfizzle

iTrader: (2)

Best thing to do is take a friend out with you that knows how to drive a MT. BTW welcome.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

Link to thread discussing clutch pedal adjustment

Heat

iTrader: (1)

LMAO...I was laughing when I read the title of this thread. But now that I read your story, I can understand. Not every stick is the same. It just takes some getting used to driving a much different tranny.

kame_sanjo

iTrader: (1)

yea you'll get used to it and it will get smoother. this is my first manual car and 2nd time driving a manual and after about a year of driving i got the motions down hehe. really nerve wracking when it jerked and such.

anh3

it's just like having a new gf isn't it, not every girl will appreciate you getting down on her and vice versa?! j/k... Just take time to find out the feel of it. you can only do one of four things to shift: don't push your clutch pedal (not recommended), take your toes of the pedal and let the spring bounce back on its own (also not recommended), ease it out and find the throttle point (preferable), or let it out and engage the throttle at the right time (most preferable). like most people said above, its the part of getting use to and find out how much throttle you need; too much or too little will result in jerking. clutch control and timing works for me beside from throttle timing, its when you let your clutch go also.

teekaywhy

I've been a member of a lot of different forums and it's not common to see more people willing to help rather than be snarky (troll).
Thank Black Betty for the link and thanks to the rest for the bits of advice.
Wheels down. Drive on!

ucla bruin

iTrader: (7)

Slower, smoother engagement from 1-2 like BB said. Not much else to it. Practice and you'll get the feel for it. I had to do the same
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hispeed-lowdrag

iTrader: (7)

^+1 to all posters...from year to year, brand to brand, every car and clutch shift slightly differently. The G's are completely different than any MT that I've EVER driven, other than the fact they all had a stick. Just keep driving, every day you'll improve on something and every time you drive you'll get more and more smooth shifts. GL and welcome to the forum

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

To be completely honest, I'm shocked that you didn't get that response here. We have our fair share of dickheads who post constantly yet seldom have anything useful to contribute. I guess you got lucky.

teekaywhy

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good!
After looking around the forum I found a pretty extensive write up on driving MTs and it turns out I wasn't all that bad a driver after all. High clutch take up on the G's explains a lot. I'm going to adjust the clutch pedal this weekend.

kRAM

iTrader: (1)

Update us on it because it becomes so much more fun after adjusting the clutch to your liking.

madmax2k1

Practice practice practice; the G37 clutch is not very forgiving, but once you master it you can drive any MT car with relative ease.

IMO, the most forgiving clutches are in Honda/BMW cars.

hispeed-lowdrag

iTrader: (7)

^+1000000 to BB as usual. I am so used to the clutch position now that if I changed it I'd be all messed up but for new G owners, that info is priceless!