so wats giving the clutch pedal that strong pushback/feedback? cus most cars dont have that. i always thought it was the spring that did that. so the strong pushback of the pedal is still there after the spring is removed?

 

the actual clutch is pushing the clutch pedal back. it's harder to push down after the mod. but only slightly.

 

Good info. I ride with a lot of people who drive MT, and it's insane how some people treat their gearbox's.

 

is there a correlation between the rough 1-2 gear crunch that occurs often on these cars with a greased up pedal? cus i sprayed wd40 on the nuts and the "pin" so now my pedal is smoother and not squeaking but my shifter is smoother from 1-2 gear.

 

Assuming the gearbox is up to temperature, the only reason for the "crunch that occurs often" is if the clutch is not *FULLY* disengaged when you change gear.

Perhaps your application of wd40 has helped with that, or perhaps you've moved the seat a fraction closer to the pedals after grubbing about in the footwell.

imo some of you guys who are struggling with the gear change might want to start playing around with the ergonomics before you start spinnin' wrenches ...

Or to put it another way, it might not look so "cool" to have the seat back slightly more upright, or to have the seat slightly closer to the steering wheel, but it does make fully depressing the clutch pedal much easier ...

 

One thing I learned about shifting in the G35 from driving is that the point to release the clutch after shifting is just right over 2k RPMs.. Just so you guys know.. If i release the clutch right over 2k rpms i never get any kick back at all

 

It's all relative to how you are driving. If you are grandpa driving that will work. But if you are trying to run thru the gears, it wont. Also if you get to 2 k and stay there for 2 seconds your speed will be different than if you went for the shift immediately. Because it's not only RPMs that affect a smooth shift.

 

I've been driving MT's for years now and I just learned that I have been down shift wrong all this time. Good to know!

 

Okay. So I just got my G. I have never driven stick before. I had 2 very reliable friends teach me how to drive. Unfortunately, I had to learn on my car.. Obviously i have stalled.. Probably 7-10 times total since I got the car :/ but thats it. And my shifts aren't perfect yet. Do you think that the life of my clutch has significantly decreased? Or should i have nothing to worry about. I don't stall anymore. I find that my launches are near perfect now but my biggest problem is 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. I don't understand why but I almost always lurch and jerk when I shift into these gears. From 3rd to 4th and up my shifts, are almost perfect.... Sort of.... But I just can't seem to get a good shift from 1st to 2nd and it is really discouraging me. Can someone help me out.. Thanks

 

You're putting less wear and tear on the clutch by stalling the motor than slipping.

Don't get discouraged or do some ***** *** mod. You will get better. It's a lot like flying, you will always learn something everytime you go up.

 

when you go from 1st to 2nd dont let go of the cluch right away, let the rpms drop a little bit, not all the way but just enough, try practicing that.

 

^Very true about the stall/vs/slip and clutch wear.

jdubin94, the reason your 1st/2nd shift is the most rough is because the RPM range and torque difference between 1st and 2nd make small differences in engine rpms vs. drive shaft rpms much more pronounced. 2nd-3rd is less so, and once you're past that, the ratios are such that it's much easier to get a smooth shift.
That's really typical of any manual transmission (though certain car's combination of weight/compression/gearing/clutch/etc... can make this more or less noticeable)

 

jdubin94, I don't know what your mates have told you, but go on from what the others have already said, to start with you don't need to let the revs go above 1500 rpm before changing into second (also known as short shifting). These motors have got bucket loads of torque low down, so you really don't need more than that.

If you let the revs go higher you are just making life more difficult for yourself, so save that until you've had more practice.

Start slow and gentle and work from there, and don't worry, I've been driving MT for 30 years and I still muck it up occasionally ...

 

get a new clutch pedal bracket from RJM Performance. You'll never go back to the whack *** contraption that is the OEM pedal. super adjustable. easy install. WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.

the assist spring on the OEM gives you such a disconnect on what is REALLY happening vs what you feel in the pedal.

 

I think you mean to say large differences.

That means, the gear ratios between 1st/2nd are quite large. For example (and these are just for illustration purposes), lets say 15 mph in 1st is 2300 rpm, while 15 mph in 2nd is 1400 rpm, a 900 rpm difference. When upshifting, you need to let 2 things happen:

1) Rpms drop to the correct rpm for the next gear - you do this easing pressure on the throttle
2) shift and re-engage the clutch before the rpms drop too much

If you re-engage the clutch when the rpms are still high, you'll put extra wear on the clutch and the shift will be notchy. If you let the rpms drop too much, then the wheels are spinning the engine back up and again, more wear on the clutch is occurring.

I'm sure it has been mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but having the seat adjusted so you have good control and feel of the clutch/throttle is very important. Eventually your left foot will develop a muscle memory. How high you lift your foot will become automatic. Note, for downshifting, the reverse is true. You need to increase rpms when going to a lower gear (by blipping the throttle).

As for the vague clutch, that is indeed an issue. I've been driving manuals for 15+ years, and this one is really quite crappy in regards to pedal feel. Some have remove the assist spring altogether. I prefer to have some sort of spring in there in case I need to take my car for service (2012 g37), so I got a lighter one. If yours is a 2nd gen g35, the same spring should work. See group buy here http://goo.gl/YzIN4 .