Shifting in a 1LE - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

mbowen89 · 05-04-2015, 04:16 PM

So the 1LE is my first manual car, and I have over 500 miles now on it. I'm about 5000% better at shifting, hardly ever kill it taking off unless I'm really not paying attention to what I'm doing or get too excited. One of the big things I really had to learn, or just feel from experience, is down shifting while driving. I've just been having fun driving around the country roads learning how to down shift from 5th to 4th, 4th to 3rd, etc. This thing gets more fun to drive as I learn how to really control it, and do it smoothly.

My shifting is getting smoother and smoother, but the 1st to 2nd shift always (unless I randomly get lucky) seems to jerk the car more. I don't know if I'm staying in 1st gear too long, not long enough, it doesn't seem to matter too much. It does this when I'm trying to do easy driving or hard driving. 1st to 2nd is like night and day difference between 2nd and 3rd it seems.

Also, if you are coming up to a stop sign, when do you start to hold in the clutch? When you are just about to come to a stop? When you are at 10mph? Etc etc... I guess sometimes I think I prematurely push the clutch in and coast a bit out and start braking instead of braking and then putting clutch in at last minute. Is it bad to coast while holding clutch in for a period of time?

Also, I was on a turn at a country road near me and wasn't going too fast but I still managed to do 0.94G... is that quite a bit for non-track cornering? I'm not sure what the max G's you guys pull on a track is, or on the road either.

Punisher80 · 05-04-2015, 04:39 PM

I find that 1st to 2nd is not as smooth as shifting to other gears as well, I have just been making sure I am rev matching as best I can when shifting from 1st to 2nd. As for coming to a stop, I always shift to neutral before applying the brakes unless I am stopping unexpectedly. I also try to always let the clutch out when I am in neutral for any reason.

Trip · 05-04-2015, 04:57 PM

The 1st to 2nd shift always gives me trouble too, especially at the beginning of the drive. The only way it doesn't seem to be a problem is if I let the clutch out really slowly. Glad that it seems to be the way the car is and not an issue with my car in particular. I've been meaning to take a test drive in another manual just to compare clutches.

mbowen89 · 05-04-2015, 07:06 PM

Is it bad to put it in neutral without pushing in on the clutch? When you get slowed down enough, if I'm in fourth for example, I can pretty easily bump it into neutral without touching the clutch... How bad is it to do that?

PwrCrusr · 05-04-2015, 08:01 PM

The 1-2 shift is pretty smooth for me after 8k mile on the car. I take 1st up to 3k rpm and quickly push in the clutch, pull it into 2nd and release the clutch quickly but smoothly as the revs fall. Makes it butter smooth. I don't always hit it just right and the car might buck a little, but shifting at 3k and releasing as the revs fall seems to do the trick for me.

extraurban · 05-04-2015, 08:20 PM

don't be afraid to slip the clutch a little more on your upshifts, the drivetrain will jolt a lot if you drop the clutch, even at higher speeds. smooth is good and don't rush your shifts

mbowen89 · 05-04-2015, 08:29 PM

Maybe it's just me being too worried about riding the clutch too long? I have this stigma that it should be in the middle zone as little as possible. I'll try slipping the clutch a little more the next time I go for a drive and see how that works.

Punisher80 · 05-04-2015, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbowen89

Is it bad to put it in neutral without pushing in on the clutch? When you get slowed down enough, if I'm in fourth for example, I can pretty easily bump it into neutral without touching the clutch... How bad is it to do that?

I push in the clutch, I just do not downshift unless I need to, and I let the clutch out as soon as I am in neutral.

Bodywerks · 05-04-2015, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbowen89

Is it bad to put it in neutral without pushing in on the clutch? When you get slowed down enough, if I'm in fourth for example, I can pretty easily bump it into neutral without touching the clutch... How bad is it to do that?

I always do that, rolling up to a stop light. You have to have a feel for it, and it should come out effortlessly if you're doing it right. While braking, there is a load on the gears, so you have to 'blip' off the brakes to unload the tranny, or, as you are rolling to a stop and your rpms get close to idle the engine starts to unload the tranny, at which point it pops out of gear effortlessly.
I also upshift without the clutch from 2-3, 3-4 when I'm just cruising. You just have to be smooooth on how you work the throttle in combination with when and how much pressure you apply to the gear change. If you *****-foot it, it will bounce off the syncros.
I also downshift without the clutch sometimes, but that's a little tricky because you have to rev-match with the gas pedal. But same thing, don't *****-foot it or it'll bounce off the syncros...

Bodywerks · 05-04-2015, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbowen89

Maybe it's just me being too worried about riding the clutch too long? I have this stigma that it should be in the middle zone as little as possible. I'll try slipping the clutch a little more the next time I go for a drive and see how that works.

A little extra slippage between shifts won't hurt the clutch.
The clutch will likely outlast your throwout bearing. keeping the clutch pressed in for extended periods, imo, is the worst thing for a clutch assembly.

Bizaro · 05-04-2015, 10:59 PM

Let the clutch out slowly while shifting or else its going to jerk like crazy, these cars are temperamental like that .

cajun1le · 05-04-2015, 11:00 PM

The manual transmission on these cars is quite possibly one of the smoothest and easiest I've ever driven. Its a blast going trough the gears while listening to the exhaust (speaking of which, my radio is either barely a whisper or muted while driving).

Anyways, I see a few of you have questions in regards to manual transmissions and being a life long driver of them. I hope this helps in filling in some of those gaps.

Try to avoid coasting in neutral. Its best to coast down while in gear right before the drivetrain lugs/jerks at low RPM. This is speed and gear dependent but once you get a feel for it will become almost instinctual.

Avoid forcing the transmission in or out of gear without using the clutch. If this transmission didn't have syncros, then I would say have at it. Doing so will cause the brass cones will wear out over time and will make the dog tooth grind between gears (this happens when the dog tooth is no longer syncing in speed before making contact with the gear).

Do not lug the engine in a too tall of a gear at low RPMs. It doesn't really harm the transmission but does harm the thrust bearings on the crankshaft (ie. cruising at 20MPH in 4th or 5th at 1000-1400 RPMs or in 6th gear while doing 40-50MPH).

When depressing the clutch, try doing so with your heel touching the floor to act as a pivot point in pressing or releasing the clutch petal. It will result in a more controlled release than the "Cow Pie Shifting" method where the left foot never touches the floor when using the clutch petal.

Use your throwout bearing when at the light. It will increase your reaction time if you have to move in an emergency.

Bizaro · 05-04-2015, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cajun1le

Do not lug the engine in a too tall of a gear at low RPMs. It doesn't really harm the transmission but does harm the thrust bearings on the crankshaft (ie. cruising at 20MPH in 4th or 5th at 1000-1400 RPMs or in 6th gear while doing 40-50MPH).

Well thats sort of difficult when the car locks you out of anything but 1->4 with this stupid skip shift shit.

Bizaro · 05-04-2015, 11:12 PM

Also why is it bad to coast in neutral I pressume clutch out and not in gearr doesn't seem to harm the car in any way?

05-04-2015, 04:16 PM	#1
mbowen89 Drives: 2015 CRT 2SS/RS 1LE Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: IN Posts: 638	Shifting in a 1LE So the 1LE is my first manual car, and I have over 500 miles now on it. I'm about 5000% better at shifting, hardly ever kill it taking off unless I'm really not paying attention to what I'm doing or get too excited. One of the big things I really had to learn, or just feel from experience, is down shifting while driving. I've just been having fun driving around the country roads learning how to down shift from 5th to 4th, 4th to 3rd, etc. This thing gets more fun to drive as I learn how to really control it, and do it smoothly. My shifting is getting smoother and smoother, but the 1st to 2nd shift always (unless I randomly get lucky) seems to jerk the car more. I don't know if I'm staying in 1st gear too long, not long enough, it doesn't seem to matter too much. It does this when I'm trying to do easy driving or hard driving. 1st to 2nd is like night and day difference between 2nd and 3rd it seems. Also, if you are coming up to a stop sign, when do you start to hold in the clutch? When you are just about to come to a stop? When you are at 10mph? Etc etc... I guess sometimes I think I prematurely push the clutch in and coast a bit out and start braking instead of braking and then putting clutch in at last minute. Is it bad to coast while holding clutch in for a period of time? Also, I was on a turn at a country road near me and wasn't going too fast but I still managed to do 0.94G... is that quite a bit for non-track cornering? I'm not sure what the max G's you guys pull on a track is, or on the road either.

05-04-2015, 08:01 PM	#5
PwrCrusr Drives: 2014 1LE Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Upstate SC Posts: 110	The 1-2 shift is pretty smooth for me after 8k mile on the car. I take 1st up to 3k rpm and quickly push in the clutch, pull it into 2nd and release the clutch quickly but smoothly as the revs fall. Makes it butter smooth. I don't always hit it just right and the car might buck a little, but shifting at 3k and releasing as the revs fall seems to do the trick for me. __________________ 2014 1SS 1LE SIM RS NPP

05-04-2015, 11:00 PM	#12
cajun1le The Mechanic Drives: a sports car Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Louisiana Posts: 316	The manual transmission on these cars is quite possibly one of the smoothest and easiest I've ever driven. Its a blast going trough the gears while listening to the exhaust (speaking of which, my radio is either barely a whisper or muted while driving). Anyways, I see a few of you have questions in regards to manual transmissions and being a life long driver of them. I hope this helps in filling in some of those gaps. Try to avoid coasting in neutral. Its best to coast down while in gear right before the drivetrain lugs/jerks at low RPM. This is speed and gear dependent but once you get a feel for it will become almost instinctual. Avoid forcing the transmission in or out of gear without using the clutch. If this transmission didn't have syncros, then I would say have at it. Doing so will cause the brass cones will wear out over time and will make the dog tooth grind between gears (this happens when the dog tooth is no longer syncing in speed before making contact with the gear). Do not lug the engine in a too tall of a gear at low RPMs. It doesn't really harm the transmission but does harm the thrust bearings on the crankshaft (ie. cruising at 20MPH in 4th or 5th at 1000-1400 RPMs or in 6th gear while doing 40-50MPH). When depressing the clutch, try doing so with your heel touching the floor to act as a pivot point in pressing or releasing the clutch petal. It will result in a more controlled release than the "Cow Pie Shifting" method where the left foot never touches the floor when using the clutch petal. Use your throwout bearing when at the light. It will increase your reaction time if you have to move in an emergency. Last edited by cajun1le; 05-04-2015 at 11:18 PM.

05-04-2015, 04:39 PM	#2
Punisher80 Drives: 2015 Camaro 2SS 1LE Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: CA Posts: 113	I find that 1st to 2nd is not as smooth as shifting to other gears as well, I have just been making sure I am rev matching as best I can when shifting from 1st to 2nd. As for coming to a stop, I always shift to neutral before applying the brakes unless I am stopping unexpectedly. I also try to always let the clutch out when I am in neutral for any reason.

05-04-2015, 04:57 PM	#3
Trip Drives: 2015 White RS 2SS 1LE Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Littleton, CO Posts: 254 View My Garage	The 1st to 2nd shift always gives me trouble too, especially at the beginning of the drive. The only way it doesn't seem to be a problem is if I let the clutch out really slowly. Glad that it seems to be the way the car is and not an issue with my car in particular. I've been meaning to take a test drive in another manual just to compare clutches.

05-04-2015, 07:06 PM	#4
mbowen89 Drives: 2015 CRT 2SS/RS 1LE Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: IN Posts: 638	Is it bad to put it in neutral without pushing in on the clutch? When you get slowed down enough, if I'm in fourth for example, I can pretty easily bump it into neutral without touching the clutch... How bad is it to do that?

05-04-2015, 08:20 PM	#6
extraurban Drives: Junker Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: north, eh Posts: 52	don't be afraid to slip the clutch a little more on your upshifts, the drivetrain will jolt a lot if you drop the clutch, even at higher speeds. smooth is good and don't rush your shifts

05-04-2015, 08:29 PM	#7
mbowen89 Drives: 2015 CRT 2SS/RS 1LE Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: IN Posts: 638	Maybe it's just me being too worried about riding the clutch too long? I have this stigma that it should be in the middle zone as little as possible. I'll try slipping the clutch a little more the next time I go for a drive and see how that works.

05-04-2015, 10:59 PM	#11
Bizaro Account Suspended Drives: 2015 Redhot 1LE Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Westchester NY Posts: 1,409	Let the clutch out slowly while shifting or else its going to jerk like crazy, these cars are temperamental like that .

05-04-2015, 11:12 PM	#14
Bizaro Account Suspended Drives: 2015 Redhot 1LE Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Westchester NY Posts: 1,409	Also why is it bad to coast in neutral I pressume clutch out and not in gearr doesn't seem to harm the car in any way?