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5mt smoother shifting help?


Topshelfs30

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I recently bought a new 08 LGT and am fairly new at driving a manual. I have a little trouble matching my revs for the next gear when shifting. I get it 50% of the time, but the other times i either give it too much revs or too little. What is a good method to go by to help shift smoother so my passengers do not look like bobble heads?
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With the clutch in the LGT plus the peaky engine, it is def not easy to drive smoothly all the time. When driving with others if you want to keep it smooth, shift earlier (pre-boost) that way you wont get so much of the trq snapping heads back and forth while shifting.

 

Another trick is when driving at slower speeds to keep your foot very very lightly on the gas when you shift, it seems to rev match well and avoid the bucking you can get otherwise.

 

An 08 should have SI drive, maybe intelligent mode for smoothness?

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I bet you are dumping the clutch too fast between gears. When you are starting from stop you let off the clutch slowly to get the car going smoothly. You also need to let off the clutch smoothly between shifts. You don't need to let it off nearly as slow as when starting from stop but you can't dump it either. Give it a little gas as you release the clutch should help too. From my understanding and personal experience Subaru MT takes a bit of time to learn how to drive it smoothly.
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A different car would be a better platform to learn on. The Legacy's laggy e-throttle and dual mass flywheel make for very little feedback from what the driveline is actually doing. Yes, it can be done on the LGT, but my point is its often far easier to do on many many other manual trans cars... including the 79 corolla I learned on.:lol:
ignore him, he'll go away.
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From my experience, to shift smooth from first to second to have to let the clutch out about 1 second slower than it feels like you should have to.

:lol::lol:

Anyway, it works for me.

Also, you can heel/toe downshift, and do it pretty smoothly, once you get used to it. I usually have to "blip" the throttle twice on a heel/toe downshift to get the revs to come up...once doesn't seem to do anything :rolleyes:.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sheesh!!! even after driving the car for a month. I still cannot consistently shift smooth from 1 to 2.. I tried everyone's advice and i just cant seem to get it down. If there are any new readers in this thread please inform me of a way to train to shift smooth each time.

 

I even did a test while rolling, I would engage 2nd gear and see what rpm I had to be at. I came to the conclusion that if i was plus or minus 100 RPM it would buck. Does it really need to be spot on when you shift into 2nd?

 

Last query about this: Does it matter what RPM and speed you shift at? is it because i am shifting too soon in the power band? or too slow? or should i try i try to make the shift as quick as possible. I tried slowing my process, but even if i do that i still cant judge when to let out clutch and press in gas.

 

all my other gears are smooth most of the time. I am worried i will cause damage to the tranny because of 2nd gear and me not getting along.

 

thanks all!

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1-2 is a bit tough because the differences in gear ratio between the first and second is the greatest. The car shouldn't buck if the difference is around 100 rpm if you let out the clutch slower. Give it some gas and let out of clutch slower and see how it does. Don't look at the tach, do it by feel.
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I agree with others it takes some time to learn.. I had to learn in 1 hour.. I thought I did good.. only stalled it trying to get it in reverse in which I thought the shifter was in R and I never heard a Subaru with back up sensors so it was confusing the hell out of me.

 

And I stalled it when going up a slight incline only because I let the clutch out too fast and my rpms were only at 1500.

 

But yet I never stalled the car once in stop-in-go traffic... for the 30 min I was stuck in it :spin:

 

Anything you can do to get more feedback from the clutch?

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My 08' LGT was hard to get smooth compared to my older manual beater I had. Drive for a few weeks ONLY in sport mode. That should help you get the hang of the clutch. I usually shift at 3k rpms under normal driving, and barely give it throttle when upshifting, and let clutch out a bit slower than normal.

 

But driving in sport mode only for a while definatly help. 1st week I got my car I was playing with SI drive and bucking around or stalling in Intelligent mode. Intelligent mode really screwed me up when trying to learn how sensitive the throttle is and finding the sweet spot of the clutch. So my friend told me to just drive in 1 mode and get used to it before moving onto next.

 

Now with 2500mi on the LGT, i can go pretty smooth and dont stall in Intelligent mode anymore.

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Topshelfs30,

 

Don't get frustrated just practice.

 

If you don't mind, where are you located? If you are local I(within 100) I would meet up with you. 1st to 2nd is the hardest to do smoothly. Also, I am a perfectionist. If I have someone in my car I want them to be able to fall asleep while I am driving.

 

When shifting from 1st to 2nd there is a point just before you release the clutch (fully engaged) where you might have a hold ever so lightly (rev match). This is usually the difference between a smooth shift and having the car jerk. Also, 2nd to 3rd it is the same but not as difficult.

 

My STS help a lot in the 2nd to 3rd shift being smooth (it helps overall with smoother shifting). I was smooth before the STS but now I don't have to think about it as much.

I'm probably the only person that has Wu-Tang Clan and Paul McCartney on their mp3.:p
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Someone else said it, but it's totally true: Don't look at the tach or the speedometer. Practice shifting just using your feet and hands and with your eyes only on the road.

 

New clutches tend to be a little grabby and will become a little less so with time.

 

Don't be afraid of using your clutch. A clutch, by definition, is a mechanism which helps match the differences between two moving parts. It is made to make it a smooth transition. You should become an expert of allowing your clutch to slowly bring your rpms up...i.e. upshift from 4000rpms, let your rpms fall for a couple of seconds, and then slowly let your clutch out....slowly to the point where the rpms rise really slowly to the next gear. This will execute a smooth shift.

 

Just do it a few times and, as time progresses, do it faster. The less your foot is on the clutch, the less wear you put on it. But don't be afraid to use it for it's purpose either.

 

I'm a clutch freak and awhile back I realized: Which would I rather have, a clutch that lasts forever but gives me jerky shifts for 100,000 miles or a clutch that lasts 80,000 miles of smooth shifting.

 

Hope this helps. Be patient.

 

Joe

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also keep in mind the clutch on the lgt release high meaning you have to let it out almost all the way quickly then hold in the sweet spot for a sec or two and let it out. its a nice ballet going on there. if you just let it out quickly thinking it enguages low then enjoy the buckin bronco on the 1-2 shift :) this is really the only shift you have to get good at to drive smooth. 2 to 3 is easy 3-4 is a joke and 4-5 well anything seems to work smooth

MAYHEM

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