shifting strategies? (lol)

[89accordboi]

lol i've only been driving a manual for about a month and im kinda slow, like today i raced my brother at this light we were side by side goin straight, i had him in 1st gear but when we hit second he pulled away so hard, and if i had shifted faster he wouldn't have pulled away AS hard lol, do u guys have any tips or... cuz i occasionally grind when i try and go fast but i guess i need more practice i dunno.

[Rich87HB]

hey man practice makes perfect u know. To learn to shift quick, its almost as if you have to devlop a relationship with your car. And we all know relationships take time, usually alot of it. So the best advice i could give is just keep trying to get faster and faster and concentrate on smooth shifts,,, but i guess "if you cant find it, Grind it!"

[Mike's89AccordLX]

Turn your radio off and listen to your car, that's how the relationship starts. If you hear her purr and know when she wants to be shifted it will go a lot better. I don't even need my tach anymore (even with the stereo on I know when to shift) after awhile you can just feel when you need to shift. It take's a lot of time with her to get good. I just put my weber on and it's like starting over (redlines so fast I might need a shift light or something)

[Jareds 89 LX-i]

Originally posted by Rich87HB
hey man practice makes perfect u know. To learn to shift quick, its almost as if you have to devlop a relationship with your car. And we all know relationships take time, usually alot of it. So the best advice i could give is just keep trying to get faster and faster and concentrate on smooth shifts,,, but i guess "if you cant find it, Grind it!"

Yep, that's the key. Practice, practice, practice! Eventually it will just come naturally and you won't even think about shifting, it'll just kinda happen by itself. I made plenty of mistakes when I was learning to drive manual, but with practice I kept getting better and better, and now several years later, I can drive a manual perfectly, and can even knock off shifts as smoothly as a good auto can. Just takes practice and patients.

Definitely turn off the radio though and just listen to the engine. Trust me, it helps alot. Sometimes I like to do that just because the engine is so smooth and quiet it almost sounds like a large electric motor winding up and sounds cool, haha :lol

[ACCORD EX]

what is your brother's car ! ?

anyway shifting into to second gear suck in my car !


MIKE

[dXsquared]

i just keep the foot down all the way threw 1.2.3... just wait untill no more power, then push the clutch, slam the gear, pop the clutch... i am real good with it now... i know exactly what the car will do if i do this certain action and if i dont what will happen... it is definetly a relationship and i have a good bond...


Travis

[87Hybrid]

My advice Don't race on the street! Especially in Portland If you get caught or turned in No More 3G.