1) Firstly I'm wondering what ways of shifting will damage the car. After two months of driving with the g coupe, I've learned to drive manual confidently but not quite fast enough. When I watch *** race videos where they show the footwork of racers, I saw that they can complete a shift in less than half a second. I tried doing this and it's not possible to do it smoothly. Basically I'm not quite understanding how they can avoid letting the rpm drop before releasing the clutch. (I'm very eagerly trying to get rid of this window of time during my shifts)

2) Another thing I would like to know is how do you guys clean your cars during the winter (snow or not). Doesnt it get really cold outside and hand washing the car becomes very diffcult? Also, here where I live, the outside taps will not work in winter so I'm force to clean it with a bucket of water, will this damage the paint? (When I clean the surface with a wet towel instead of sprinkling the car)

Thanks

 

first question, umm... practice alot. my shifts aren't smooth cause revs don't drop fast enough. i have to wait for the revs to drop the extra few hundred before I let the clutch out if i am shifting quickly.

also you can adjust the clutch if you want this will reduce the clutch travel

winter washing? I use my garage and my hotwater tap from my washing machine to make warm water. IN arizona the water will evaporate from my garage in a couple hours even when it is 10 degrees outside and there is snow on the ground. So far this year the coldest it has been while washing the car was 35 degrees at around 10 pm

Better Life thru Chemistry
Black on Black 03.5 Sedan 6MT - Custom Catback, Custom Intake Tube, HyperGround Kit

 

The answer to winter washing is, leave the car in the garage on shi##y days and take the ol' pickup truck.

JD
2003.5 Coupe, Blk/Blk

 

Regarding shifting, try this:
When shifting, let go of the clutch about 1-2 inches. Then just at the point where you feel it grabs, apply some gas. ONLY after you feel the clutch has grabbed. It made my shifting much smoother.
regarding sport shifting, just practice, the way I do it more or less, is depressing the clutch as fast as I can (almost slamming on it), this way, if you do it fast enough, you can almost shift at the same time as you start depressing the clutch. Again, if you depress the clutch fast enough, the shifting will seem to take place almost at the same time. Regarding those videos you see, two things: 1) don't forget these are pros that have been doing this daily for years. 2) the fact that you don't see the car "jitter" in the video, doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't. When shifting at high RPMs along with a fast release of the clutch, there will always be some jitter, even with the most professional drivers.

 

Speedoholic thanks for the info, but allow me to ask in more detail. Even if I can master the clutch pressing, shifting in near 0 time (which isnt hard I think), I would still need to wait for the rpm to drop, a good second or two. If I havent explained this quite good enough, what I meant is that say, if you're shifting at 4000rpm with gear 1 into gear 2. You will want it to drop to say 2500 right? So the time needed is unavoidable?

I wish I had the luxary of owning a winter beater/truck, let alone a garage. But anyway, what I wanted to know is if cleaning the car with a towel before the car is completely rinced will damage the car.

Thanks

 

galay,
check out my post over at freshalloy.com in response to your post...
If you are doing it correctly, the jerk should be minimal. The jerk occurs when the clutch grabs/reconnects the engine with the wheels through the synchros in the gear box. As a result of RPM-to-speed mismatch (between two different gears), if you do not apply enough gas, or apply too much gas, what you get is a jerk. Knowing how much gas to apply at each gear, and its corresponding speed and RPM range, as well as mastering the clutch release are the key factors to a smooth as possible shift. It all takes practice.
If all of this doesn't make sense, let me know, and I will try to put it in a more elaborated way.

2004 G35C 6MT DG/Gr/Prem/NAV/A.Pedals/C.Corners/C.Bra [img]/w3timages/icons/cool.gif[/img]

 

if you shift and let off the clutch fast enough, you can do it and be several hundred rpm to 1000 rpm higher than "matched" for the next higher gear. This results in the car "leaping" forward some and is very good for times, however it is very bad for the clutch to do it at more than 1000 rpm above the match. If you blip the throttle during the shift you can release the clutch when the engine is near redline and make it "jump" forward. Very bad for clutch/drivetrain but good for faster 0-60 times.

For the lower gears (1-3 and sometimes 4) if you do it too fast you lose time cause your wheels will spin. A little chirp is good, spinning and wheel hop is bad.

Better Life thru Chemistry
Black on Black 03.5 Sedan 6MT - Custom Catback, Custom Intake Tube, HyperGround Kit