well, the fit is my first stick shift car, stalled at least 5 times on the day when I was picking up the car at the dealer lot...lol

now, i have the car for almost 3 months, managed to get the car going without any stalling, but i still can't shift as fast and as smooth from 1st to 2nd, everytime i try to shift fast from 1st to 2nd, either the shifter felt like it was forced to pop off or i could hear some mechanical noise(not sure where it came from). i wanted to get out of 1st gear as soon as possible while it keeps me in the power band of 2nd, because the car jerks very easily in 1st gear, but once the rpm past about 3k, the car pushes too hard for normal drive. any tips that can help me improve my shifting?

oh, and other thing is when the car is rolling at a speed that is too slow for 2nd yet a little too fast for shift in 1st, what should i do?

Thanks in advance

 

The fit was my first stick too. my dad taught me. anyways, that happens to me sometimes as well. it feels like it really wants out of first when i shift to second. about the 3k thing - that will smooth out as the engine gets broken in. and for your last question - put it in second. second is an incredibly versatile gear. (you shouldn't) but you can go from a dead stop in second and if you want pure acceleration you can take it to like 45 or 50 mph.

(your welcome in advance)

 

First, stop trying to rush your shifts -- you're trying to get out of first as soon as possible when there's no need to do so. Trying to get into 2nd before 3000 is not particularly necessary, and actually is probably what's making it harder for you to shift as the power band of the engine doesn't even really start to get peppy until about 3500 rpm at least. You really should be shifting more around 3500-4000 rpm in my opinion.

Second, stop trying to shift fast -- it's not an F1 race and there's no need to try and rip through the shift. If the shifter's balking and you're getting grinds, relax a bit and work on trying to do it smoothly, not quickly. MT cars have a certain rythym to them when shifting -- clutch in, gas off, shift, clutch letting out while rolling into the gas; all of this physically takes time and you can't rush it because it takes a moment for the revs to drop to the required speed, for the shifter/clutch etc. to be worked. It's more about timing and finesse and learning the car's rythym than it is about how fast you can whip the knob into the next gear.

Another thing, the reason the car jerks so much in 1st is that you're either not giving it enough gas at lower revs so it starts getting jumpy, or you're not being smooth with your throttle inputs, and maybe both even. You're not driving an auto where you just mash it on/off and everything stays smooth, instead you need to finesse it more; roll into the gas smoothly instead of jabbing at it, for example -- use more subtle inputs and things should mellow out. (this is also most likely why you're feeling there's a gap between 1st and 2nd where you don't know what to do -- smooth out your throttle control and you can run slower in 2nd than you probably are now, and also higher in 1st as well; there really isn't any situation I can think of where you should be too fast for 1st or too slow for 2nd, you should be in one or the other)

The beauty of an MT is that once you get the feel of it down to the point where you're not realy thinking about, then when you want to do things like have that instant 'snap' throttle response at higher revs, or just feather it around the parking lot in 1st at <1500 rpm, you'll be able to do it when before with an AT you couldn't. You'll also start to realize that your car's usually happier in the higher rev ranges and thus more fun to drive -- i.e. the Fit is way fun once you get above 60 in fourth gear and have lots of throttle response to play with and the acceleration gets pretty snappy and lively. All in all though, it just amounts to practice and time, and not being afraid of the car and engine quite so much.

 

I agree with that. I normally only use first gear when starting from a dead stop or when I want to sustain a really low speed, such as in a parking lot or something like that. The throttle response is pretty sharp though (this is a good thing IMHO), so it will take some time before you can keep it at 1,500 - 2,000 RPM in first without it being "jumpy".

At any other time, I find that 2nd is a pretty versatile gear. It doesn't tend to get bogged down at low RPM's and the engine has enough torque that you can easily leave it in 2nd unless you are getting near to those "almost stopping" speeds.

You'll get comfortable with it in time

 

thanks guys for the tips/advices, ill keep them in mind when im driving

 

I find 1st to 2nd a bit problematic at times.. first is so short.. nearly a month and I still sometimes jerk it going to 2nd. I find if I'm slow with the clutch going to 2nd and went to 3500-4000 rpm in 1st then it will jerk a bit.

So now I just shift to 2nd under 2500rpm normally since 2nd can go quite slow or if accelerating harder 3500+rpm in 1st I try to get it into 2nd quick.. basically just mash the clutch down and right back up so the engine doesn't have a chance to slow rpm down too much..

This is probably normal and I'm just not familiar with stick, quicker shifts 1-3 and more relaxed shift 3-5.

 

push your clutch in that usually helps, at times when shifting from 1st to 2nd some tend to not really apply any pressure on the clutch resulting in crappy shifting, or grinding, also let your car warm up as well as your transmisson, you will feel smoother shifts when you do this

 

Yeah, this is totally good advice as well. All cars are like this to some degree, but I think the Fit is particularly so more than others -- at least the ones I've driven.

 

Chikubi hit the big point... don't wory about shifting fast. Work on shifting smooth. Fast will come with time.
I can change gears faster than the syncronizers can handle, but I've got 17 years of practice...
Shift slow and smooth. When you can shift w/o the passengers even noticing (and you can do it w/o concentrating on it), then start working on speed.

 

Isn't this opposite? If I start in 1st and take it to 4000rpm, to shift smooth I have to let the needle drop to about 2500rpm to be in the right speed/rpm for 2nd gear. So I have to wait for the needle to drop 1500rpm, whereas in the higher gears I'm only letting it drop 500-800rpm. This is related to what others have said about the 1st gear being short on the Fit, so there's a big differential between 1st and 2nd.

Watch your tach, whenever you have a jerky upshift one of two things happen:

1. If when you engage the gear and the needle gets yanked down, you engaged too early. Give the proper amount of time for the needle to fall to the right RPM.

2. If it gets yanked up, you engaged too late. When you push in the clutch, the needle will slowly drop at first, then it'll drop right down < 1000rpm like you're in neutral. You need to "catch" the needle at the right time. Roughly if you shift at 3000rpm, you should let the needle drop about 600rpm. However since 1st and 2nd have a greater differential, you need to let it drop more than that.

I'll also add the lower gear shifts are more sensitive as their differential is greater, so be more smooth on the clutch. Shifting from 4th->5th is much easier and your foot can come off the clutch pretty quick, you have to be slower in the lower gears.

I learnt stick on the Fit as well, and its been a good learning experience. As you learn the car you'll know: "When shifting to X gear going YYkmph I must be going ZZZZrpm" then you can shift smooth no matter if upshifting, skipping gears, downshifting, or engaging from neutral.

 

This is very good advice, and well stated.

 

It's good advice and true, but I caution you to not get caught up in worrying/trying to learn what rpm you need to be in in order to make your shifts. It's useful knowledge, but you really need to learn when to shift by feel as opposed to 'going by the numbers'. Not only that, but you don't want to start developing the bad habit of watching the tach all the time. In normal street driving it may not seem like a big deal, but if you ever decide to try some kind of motorsport like autox, track days, etc., it'll really slow you down if you're looking at the tach every time you want to shift. When I autox, I don't even pay attention to the tach, it's all feel and sound, and that is ultimately where you want to be at.

 

By this, I understand that your engine is bogging (struggling) in 2nd but if you were to put into 1st you'll lunge forward because the REVs aren't high enough to meet the speed the car is going at in that particular gear? If i'm not misunderstanding what your saying then just disregard my next paragraph.

In this situation, you should down shift PROPERLY. By this I mean you'll have to take your foot off the gas, push in the clutch, blip your gas quickly, kick your clutch back in and finally put it into gear, one lower then you were previously in. Follow these steps and it will result will be a smooth down shift.
(I hope that wasn't too hard to understand.)

This may take some time to master, but you'll see it come in very handy when slowing down for lights that are red, but will turn green before you come to a complete.

 

Ah yes good point Chikubi, haha I'm secretly hoping to start to wean myself off the tach and aim more at feel. I started learning last December and am trying to work on my smoothness with clutch and throttle.

But yeah this is the stuff I love about learning stick, there's so much to learn about how your car drives. I consistently find when I'm driving myself I'll turn off the music and just enjoy the driving and shifting.

 

___But yeah this is the stuff I love about learning stick, there's so much to learn about how your car drives. I consistently find when I'm driving myself I'll turn off the music and just enjoy the driving and shifting.___


I do the same thing... with the Fujitsubo exhaust, it even better

I started learning stick last year on the Fit and I can now blip the gaz
for smouth downshift... (you can eard it but not feel it) It's always about
1000 RPM more for the next smaller gear, except from the 3 to the 2, it need a bit more gaz... For smouth upshift, watch for the tac needle: when
it begin to drop, it's time to let the cluth go... And like others have said,
don't try to shift fast, let the syncro do their job...

I hope that you can understand my english,
maybe someone can translate

Philippe

 

I guess I'm probably reiterating one everyone else (especially Chikubi, listen to what he says ) has been saying, when you learn stick, you'll need lots of time behind the wheel to perfect your shifts. Starting out, you should definitely take your time and practice smooth shifts, not so much quick shifts. That will come with time and shifting will become second nature. I agree, the best time to shift from 1st to 2nd is around 3500 to 4000 range, unless you want maximum comfort, you can do a slow acceleration in 1st and shift around 2500 to 3000 and slowly let out the clutch. Smooth shifting is really dependent on your timing. Downshifting is a good skill to learn, but when you are just starting out, I suggest you don't try it until you are comfortable with your regular upshifts. Looking at the tach is an option, but that type of calculation is not necessary when you get used to your car. You'll start to get the feel of the car and you'll know how much throttle you will need to blip in order to provide you with a smooth downshift. I do it more by listening to my engine and exhaust rather than looking down. It's a comfort thing, so with more time and practice, the smoother and quicker your shifts will be!

 

And one other thing too, now that you have all this info -- don't try to think TOO much about your shifts, just let them happen. Even now after driving stick for years and years, I find myself sometimes thinking too much about my shifting and then it starts getting all wonky and out of whack, like I've never driven stick before. Like people have bad hair days, I get a bad shifting day every now and then.