I have been in a slum driving my car. here is how I drive. off gas all the way or mostly, clutch in, shift, clutch out to where it grabs then ease in the gas off the clutch. I try to be smooth and not rush. I feel like im riding the clutch to get it smooth. my clutch grabs almost all the way at the top, is this normal? my problem is shifting is so inconsistent. it can be perfect then completly botched and I feel I do almost the exact same thing. sometimes it just doesnt grab till all the way at the top then hooks all at once and is jerky. Ive switched shoes and it feels better but I just cant get it to hook fast. im used to driving my gst with act2600 and that thing grabs! Im looking for some advice.

 

well, put an ACT2600 in...the hell do you have done to that GST to need that strong of a clutch. Anyway, it sounds to me like your clutch is starting to slip. Have you been launching it hard at all? The grabing at the top makes me even more sure of a slipping clutch. If you plan to mod it hard core I would go ahead and get an ACT clutch in there, might as well. ALL stock clutches are not going to be nearly as nice as the ACT.

 

Once rolling don't be so slow lifting the clutch pedal - you'll get the timing feel sooner or later. It sounds like you may have the clutch worn at the beginning so it doesn't really hook up until you're most of the way through the engagement. Be slow and smooth with the clutch when you start from a stop but not too damned slow - get OFF of that clutch material or it all wears away too soon. You may have to be giving it some gas when it engages when rolling. The engine drops 1500+ rpms from one gear to the next so if you're doing 5000 rpm and you're moving to the next gear it's going to be spinning at about 3500 rpms so, in order for it to feel smooth, you should already have the engine at about those rpms when the clutch engages.

Get someone you trust who knows manual transmissions go out with you. They can help, even from the passenger's seat.

Good luck!

 

I went out and drove around for hours today. I feel more comfortable with it and more consistent but it does kinda feel like its going... how can I tell otherwise?

 

well first off.. remember the key is to release the clutch as quickly as possible without being rough...

like when you start off in first gear, once you have moved 5 feet you should haev the clutch all the way out, or in even shorter distance

as for shifting, just shift as soon as you push the clutch in, and then let it out somewhat quickly while giving it a tiny bit of gas..

it really depends on how quickly you shift, if you shift fast enough to keep the rpms in the right range for the next gear it will eb smooth without giving any gas but if you shift slow you have to give it a little gas to bring the rpms back up because they will drop far below what they should be at