knyght4

I've been driving manual cars since I was 17. I'm 24 now. I remember there being some rule of thumb saying that the passengers shouldn't able to feel the shift-shock, or it shouldn't be felt much at all.

In a car with low hp, this was quite easy. Driving an F350 SuperDuty is easy too. You can hardly feel the shift.

In the vette, it's different. The clutch grabs pretty hard and you can really feel the shift. If I try, I can ease off the clutch gradually, hold the accelerater some, and the shift-shock is minimal. Though I feel as though I'm riding the clutch through the gears.

I'm just wondering if others are shifting with minimal to no shock, or not caring at all about this practice.

Gideon's_Test

In the lower gears, it seems that it would be harder on the clutch to shift that smoothly, beacause you have to feather the clutch a bit...Before I got the vette, I prided myself on how smoothly I could shift...Now, I don't worry about it.

Turbopower87

Just let it go, no need to let it out super slowly. just enjoy the ride for yourself and worry less about your passenger. I'm sure they're impressed with the vette no matter what.

FLY LOW

With my right hand

DaZ06

lol true unless u are right harnd drive

printmanjackson

Option 1. Just drive the way you want to drive and if your passenger complains then just tell them to get out.

Option 2. Do not ever let anyone ride in your car.

Option 3. Sell the stick car and buy an automatic car.


I can't wait till someone starts a thread on how to open the door!

jedblanks

Option 4: Take off in 2nd, shift to 4th, shift to 6th. Car will drive like a civic. (or take off in 1st, skipshift to fourth, then 5th/6th)

printmanjackson

J S Machine

Don't worry about it. Usually I drive the hardest when I have somebody in the car in attempt to impress them anyway. Yeah, I said that. I wouldn't let off the gas or ease up on the clutch unless the passenger gets scared. It has happened..

Hammer99

Depends on my mood...I certainly don't think about it.
I do like to hear my GHLs sing to me!

80VetteStud

Depends on who is riding with me more than anything. Most women / girls tend to like smooth shifts... Now if I could just be a smooth guy...

Old Rotor Head

Helps to rev match the RPM's just takes time

srs244

drive it in a manner that feels natural to you and don't worry about anything else. it's your ride, enjoy it!

Quickshift_C5

Good god, are your passengers really that picky? I'd make them walk.

BobbyG

Be careful what you wish for!!

lespaulr0cker

Actually, I have seen cases on this site where engine damage has occurred due to improper shifting techniques. It almost happened to me on a down shift from 6th to 2nd (looking for 4th) at about 75mph. Serious over rev is what occurred, I was lucky that these engines are tough and my reflexes quick enough to get the clutch back in before serious damage occurred. Others on the site have not been so lucky.

As a result I tend to pay more attention to finding the right gear than worrying about how hard or soft the clutch engagement is. If a person can not deal with a little g-force, they are obviously riding in the the wrong vehicle.

With that said, I have learned that when shifting from the left or right side of the shift pattern to the center (usually 2nd to 3rd or 5th to 4th), using to your hand to push or pull the lever only, will allow the self centering mechanism to move into the proper gear.

Of course the same method of pulling or pushing only should be used when shifting between 3rd & 4th in the center position.

Applying any lateral (side) force in these cases runs the risk of moving into a gear that you may not want to get into. This could cause minor embarrassment from engine bog (2nd to 5th :bb) or engine damage from over rev (5th to 2nd, etc. ).

I apply deliberate lateral force when shifting between gears which are located on the same side of the shift pattern (1st & 2nd, 5th & 6th) to over ride the self centering mechanism.

Finally, there is an electronic solenoid which activates at speeds, I believe, above 2mph which disables the ability to move into reverse.

I hope this insight may help prevent someone from making the same mistake that has cost $$$ for many others (although for some, it was just a good reason to rebuild the engine and double the HP!)

CCA Corvette Parts

I just bang the crap out of mine.

Passenger or no

Peace
Chip

chevy406

Are we still talking about driving Corvettes?

Eric the Ricer

B&M shifter makes me enjoy ripping through gears, I go hard all the time, I can see my girl launching forwards and backwards haha

bstone1989

my car doesnt feel too smooth taking off in second and the tranny makes alot of noise