Well I got my evo about four days ago and I have a problem. I drove a GSX before, so I am not new to a stick, but I just cant seem to shift smooth in the evo. Taking off from first is fine, but shifting into second is quite jerky, same with third, and fourth and fifth are cake.. and its not the car because i just throw the keys to my dad (45 yrs of hard driving under his belt) and it shifts like butter. I just dont get it. every other car I have drivin I shift smooth after 5 mins of driving..


Anyone else have this problem when they got the car?

 

Jake i think it just has more to do with you taking the time off from driving stick. Im sure as you start feeling better the shifts will get alot smoother

 

I think it's just man. Just slowly get used to the car. I say get into gear and slowly let off the clutch just to get that feeling of where the catch point is.

 

you defintely need to hold the clutch at the friction point more literally then in other stick cars... The clutch and tranny on my IX is not the best, but you can be smooth if your cruising around slowly and concentrating on the (very high) friction point. Oh and i switched to mt-90 fluid and it made things a bit smoother but 2nd and 3rd are still quite notchy...

 

A trick I use in a car I'm not use to to shift smoothly is right before I put the clutch in to shift is to let up a bit on the gas so the car is not pulling forward and not engine braking either, then shift. Remember it's not a race watch your pops drive again I'll bet that's what he's doing.

 

I had driven stick for years and when i started driving the evo i had the same problem. It took about a week of driving to get consistently smooth. It is sensitive to the right speed you let the clutch out and amount of throttle at the same time. Too little throttle or to much to fast clutch release the car bucks a little (at least in my experience). I still do it sometimes but not much. I picked up my dad at the airport and i bucked the car a few times and he asked where i learned to drive a stick and laughed at me........ how embarrassing.... thanks dad can always count on him for support

 

I started out rough for the first few days, but then I got used to it. Once you figure out shifting your evo smooth you can drive just about anything manual.

 

Actually, remember that it is a race is more appropriate, assuming we're talking about track racing and not drag racing. The smoother the better, I bet I'm more smooth on track than around town, unsettling the car is no fun. Anyway, it is like everyone else has said, it's just a matter of being smooth for the RPMs you're in. Basically it's an issue of gas, clutch, and the actual shifter. Hitting those (Or letting off them) at the right moments and doing it like you were handling some fragile piece of glass will help.

 

UT_Evo

You have idea what I'm talking about do you?

 

Yep, and I knew what you meant, you don't wanna be rippin through the gears like it's fast and furious. I was just saying that when you're on a road course that you aren't/don't want to rip through the gears. You wanna be smooth as possible for two reasons: To keep the car settled and to avoid missing a gear (nothing blows motors faster than going from 4th to 1st).

Practicing engine braking/heel-toeing can help you be more smooth too, since the whole point of heel-toeing is being slow when downshifting (which is much harder than when upshifting).

Even with the 6 years of track racing and all the events/autocross/canyon runs etc I still have to concentrate a little bit when driving around town and trying to be perfectly smooth (i.e. on a date ) even with the Porsche being a whole lot easier than the Evo (mostly, I feel, because it is NA). And with every car I've driven it takes a few tries to get smooth (especially when the gears are placed fairly different as far as spacing etc goes, i.e. driving the Evo, then driving a Wrangler). It's really funny, the cars that take me longest to get used to are low hp weak clutch smooth transmission cars (TSX comes to mind mainly)

 

After installing my aftermarket clutch I have felt your pain, the car was very different and the car kept jerking very hard, but eventually I got used to the spot to move it, so try to get used to it, I had a really bad feeling about driving the car after installing it

 

get a blox front engine mount (~$75). Should help with the shifting feel.

 

Reving the car a bit higher than normal daily driving helps make it a little smoother. The turbo wanting to kick in right at the shift point doesnt help much either.

Cheers!

 

yep... i still find myself just cruising and trying to shift around 3k out of habit from driving other cars. i'll shift around 4k instead and it's fine.

 

try to go thru the powerband before you shift.. you dont have to do it at wot.. i found out that shifting at a higher rpm will result in smoother shifting..