Little help handling manual trans on 2003 2.5 RS

[Rodriguez]

Yo. I recently purchased a 2003 2.5 RS. I was used to driving my shitty
saturn L-series twin cam and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the 2.5's
transmission. My gear shifts are more often than not a little rough (I'm not
just shoving the clutch out or anything). Usually from 2-4th gear I feel and
hear a little jerk as I let the clutch out. If I let the clutch out really
slowly (about 1 or 2 seconds total) and give it some gas, the power is
transfered very smoothly. My concern about doing this is ruining the clutch
/ flywheel / general transmission. Just wondering if I was shifting properly
(gradual let out of the clutch) or what.
-michael rodriguez

 

[powertrain]

Yo. I recently purchased a 2003 2.5 RS. I was used to driving my
shitty saturn L-series twin cam and I'm having a hard time adjusting
to the 2.5's transmission. My gear shifts are more often than not a
little rough (I'm not just shoving the clutch out or anything).
Usually from 2-4th gear I feel and hear a little jerk as I let the
clutch out. If I let the clutch out really slowly (about 1 or 2
seconds total) and give it some gas, the power is transfered very
smoothly. My concern about doing this is ruining the clutch /
flywheel / general transmission. Just wondering if I was shifting
properly (gradual let out of the clutch) or what. -michael rodriguez

Yes, they can be tricky to shift smoothly. With a bit of practice I came
up with two tricks that do the job for me. First trick, if in no hurry:
short shift it, just go 1-2-3 quicker than you normally would, not
accelerating too hard between the shifts and not letting the engine revs
go up higher than 2000 and just being... smooth with it. This, of
course, is for 'normal' driving. If you want to get going faster than
your neighbor's Honda, then do the exact opposite, shift it at higher
than 3500, or even 4000, especially between 2nd and 3rd. Have fun...
;-)

 

[Bayard Webb]

: Yo. I recently purchased a 2003 2.5 RS. I was used to driving my shitty
: saturn L-series twin cam and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the
2.5's
: transmission. My gear shifts are more often than not a little rough (I'm
not
: just shoving the clutch out or anything). Usually from 2-4th gear I feel
and
: hear a little jerk as I let the clutch out. If I let the clutch out
really
: slowly (about 1 or 2 seconds total) and give it some gas, the power is
: transfered very smoothly. My concern about doing this is ruining the
clutch
: / flywheel / general transmission. Just wondering if I was shifting
properly
: (gradual let out of the clutch) or what.
: -michael rodriguez
:

You shouldn't need, or want, to slip the clutch. When you press in the
clutch pedal and lift off the throttle, the revs start to drop. When going
to a higher gear at the same speed, the motor will want to be turning
slower anyway, so the trick is learn to shift in the amount of time it
takes the revs to drop to correct rpm's for the next gear. Every car is
different and it takes some time to adapt, but the bottom line is that if
you match the speed of both sides of the clutch it won't jerk when you
engage it.