How to shift efficiently

[mild7]

Guys,
I am new to the sport car manual transmission...
I used to drive stick 4-5 years ago and I was not trying to push it to go fast.
Now I have the 1M and I thought I should drive it more aggressively.

So, what is the right way to do?
Some say, shift up while not releasing the gas, shift fast, lift the clutch fast.
Some say, build the Rev, gas up, clutch down, shift up, clutch up, gas down.

[speedM]

There is no right way. I would suggest taking your time to get to know the feel of the clutch and transmission, and how it responds to your inputs. The 1M rewards finesse, especially the 1-2 shift. It's easy to get that timing wrong and grind the tranny. Once you get your rhythm, it's one of the slickest shifting bmws out there.

[RimasRS]

Originally Posted by mild7

Guys,
I am new to the sport car manual transmission...
I used to drive stick 4-5 years ago and I was not trying to push it to go fast.
Now I have the 1M and I thought I should drive it more aggressively.

So, what is the right way to do?
Some say, shift up while not releasing the gas, shift fast, lift the clutch fast.
Some say, build the Rev, gas up, clutch down, shift up, clutch up, gas down.

I would suggest sell poor 1M to somebody who knows how to shift

[Ender_]

Originally Posted by RimasRS

I would suggest sell poor 1M to somebody who knows how to shift

what's with the noops on here with 1Ms that sound like they have never had a car before?? How to wash my car, how do I shift....

To OP take some lessons man, you can't be told how to drive a car from a forum.

[silvs]

Classy.

[robertm]

I've been on a lot of car forums over the years but this one is filled with more negativity and people quick to cut others down than almost any I can remember.

To the OP I suggest you ask an experienced friend or colleuge to go for a drive with you and give you some pointers. Real input while driving works best. What I can tell you is smooth is fast. Never muscle the transmission and don't worry about fractions of a second between shifts. Absolutely always lift off the throttle between shifts. Also learn to rev match as its extremely rewarding and helps with car control. Practice practice and be gentle on the equipment, you will get the hang of it!

[Ender_]

Sorry guys but the criticism is justified. The 1M just like any sports car should not be someone's first car or first 6spd(5spd) . You lack respect for the car then.
There is no excuse for not knowing the basics at this point.

[mild7]

Originally Posted by Ender_

Sorry guys but the criticism is justified. The 1M just like any sports car should not be someone's first car or first 6spd(5spd) . You lack respect for the car then.
There is no excuse for not knowing the basics at this point.

I do have respect for my car otherwise I would not bother to ask.
what is wrong with asking "simple" questions on the forum?
10 years ago, you would ask your "experienced" friend with this sort of questions but now I thought we have a more knowledgeable, more accessible thing called FORUM.
I wished for help and guidance to drive my car better 'cause I dont want to break/waste it.

Please dont answer if you are just trying to show you are better than others in one way 'cause you may not in other ways and you may also need help from someone.

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by robertm

I've been on a lot of car forums over the years but this one is filled with more negativity and people quick to cut others down than almost any I can remember.

To the OP I suggest you ask an experienced friend or colleuge to go for a drive with you and give you some pointers. Real input while driving works best. What I can tell you is smooth is fast. Never muscle the transmission and don't worry about fractions of a second between shifts. Absolutely always lift off the throttle between shifts. Also learn to rev match as its extremely rewarding and helps with car control. Practice practice and be gentle on the equipment, you will get the hang of it!

I guess the 1M makes one extra cocky.
I know my 135i already makes me cockier than when I was driving the e46.

BTW, you definitely shouldn't shift up without letting go of the gas pedal. Your revs would go up the minute you push the clutch down, and you want the revs to go down for the next gear.
To shift down you may want to give it a little gas to keep the revs up. Usually you shift down when you're reducing speed (applying brakes). That technique is called Toe and Heel (or is it Heel and Toe). Google it.

Whether shifting up or down, the perfect shift would match the engine revs to the revs that the target gear requires, given a particular speed. How to do that? Experience.

To OP: how much does a 1M cost in China?

[Simsims]

god some cocky bastards on this forum

what's wrong with someone learning stick on 1M?

[mild7]

Originally Posted by MPBK

I guess the 1M makes one extra cocky.
I know my 135i already makes me cockier than when I was driving the e46.

BTW, you definitely shouldn't shift up without letting go of the gas pedal. Your revs would go up the minute you push the clutch down, and you want the revs to go down for the next gear.
To shift down you may want to give it a little gas to keep the revs up. Usually you shift down when you're reducing speed (applying brakes). That technique is called Toe and Heel (or is it Heel and Toe). Google it.

Whether shifting up or down, the perfect shift would match the engine revs to the revs that the target gear requires, given a particular speed. How to do that? Experience.

To OP: how much does a 1M cost in China?

Thanks, I just want to confirm this "no gas when shift up".
although I felt it is more smooth to maitain a bit gas especially from 3-4

USD 94663 in southen China, but Beijing dealer had a mock up for 10000...

[b33g33]

Originally Posted by mild7

Guys,
I am new to the sport car manual transmission...
I used to drive stick 4-5 years ago and I was not trying to push it to go fast.
Now I have the 1M and I thought I should drive it more aggressively.

So, what is the right way to do?
Some say, shift up while not releasing the gas, shift fast, lift the clutch fast.
Some say, build the Rev, gas up, clutch down, shift up, clutch up, gas down.

Like some have suggested, take it slow and smooth to start and once you have the hang of it, pick up the shifting speed.

It's a very smooth shifter when treated right.

Also, ignore the trolls. Some people think being able to drive a stick shift makes them "driving gods".

Ironically, outside of the US, almost everyone knows how to drive stick, so if you try to act high and mighty because of it, you get laughed at.

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by mild7

Thanks, I just want to confirm this "no gas when shift up".
although I felt it is more smooth to maitain a bit gas especially from 3-4

USD 94663 in southen China, but Beijing dealer had a mock up for 10000...

Holy $hit.
USD$100K for a 1M? Are you one of the "new money" in China?

In general, when shifting up, you want the revs to drop a bit. If you shift fast enough, the revs will drop just right for the next gear. That's by design. If you find that you need to give gas to maintain the revs, you're shifting too slow.
You do need to give gas when shifting down.

[Die ///M Rakete]

Originally Posted by RimasRS

I would suggest sell poor 1M to somebody who knows how to shift

So, so wrong......funny, but wrong...

[Slats]

Originally Posted by Ender_

Sorry guys but the criticism is justified. The 1M just like any sports car should not be someone's first car or first 6spd(5spd) . You lack respect for the car then.
There is no excuse for not knowing the basics at this point.

Holy cow! Lighten up, out there dudes and dudettes. It is just a car - one that happens to be a lot of fun to drive - but just a car, nonetheless. What the heck does anyone care whether this guy completely trashes the clutch learning how to drive? Clutches can be replaced. The only dumb questions are the ones that aren't asked.

[OAM]

Originally Posted by Simsims

god some cocky bastards on this forum

what's wrong with someone learning stick on 1M?

+1

[RimasRS]

Nothing wrong learning. It is just a stupid question how to shift.... oggh

[b33g33]

Originally Posted by MPBK

Holy $hit.
USD$100K for a 1M? Are you one of the "new money" in China?

There's no "old money" in China as far as I know. Chairman Mao made sure of that.

[Ender_]

Do I really need to answer some of these, common sense not so common?

You should not learn to drive stick on a 1M:

-The car, while well built, will not take the same abuse as a lower power output car. The transmission is not made to take that kind of abuse (not pushing it hard but shifting wrong abuse)

-You can make a much bigger mess of things in a higher performing car then you can in a small little Honda or something of the like.

-I have serious concerns that this guy has any understanding of how an engine or transmission works. Anyone I've taught to drive a manual gets a lesson on how it works so they understand why it reacts the way it does when you do something wrong.

-Its also a stupid question because you can just go out and try it, mild7 let us know how it goes when you shift without taking your foot off the gas
Or just watch this...

As I said before go take some lessons - that's the best advice anyone here can give - and what I said in my first post.

[Redadair]

I say use this method for everyday driving:

Some say, build the Rev, gas up, clutch down, shift up, clutch up, gas down.

As you get used to the car you will find what method works best for you

[Vrumpkin]

Im not on either side of this argument, its a free market anyone can buy any car they desire regardless of experience. If a billionaire 12 year old wants to buy a Pagani more power to him.

To the OP for what its worth the 1M happens to be a very nice setup for easy shifting both the gearbox and clutch are smooth, so much so if someone was sitting in your passenger seat for along drive they shouldn't be able to easily tell your manually shifting. Some cars have finicky clutches or very notchy gearboxes which makes consistent smooth shifts much harder.

I cant tell you how to shift because everyone has different driving styles but a quick tip just take the 1st into 2nd a little slower than the 3,4,5 etc. Most horrible stick drivers I know rush 1st into 2nd and never get a smooth shift. If your accelerating slowly from a stop theres no need to bang gears.

[///BYU]

robertm had a good post on this topic here:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...5#post11186965

Originally Posted by robertm

Here's a halfway decent article on the proper way to shift. Those of you that are pulling the shift lever off are using poor technique. Practice shifting this way for a while and it will become second nature. It will also make the equipment last longer. There is no need to ever 'shift hard'.

Shifting
You may think shifting is a no-brainer function, but in a sport where the difference of winning may be 1/100th of a second, every detail counts. In this discussion we point out how to acheive smooth, quick shifts that are easy on the hardware. We're assuming the use of a typical H-box shifter in a street car for this.

Many people fall into two bad habits on the street when shifting. First, Hollywood has taught everyone that it looks cool to always leave your right hand on the shift knob. Wrong! You may as well tie your hand behind your back as leave it on the shift knob. Your hand belongs on the steering wheel--always. When you need to shift--shift, and get your hand back on the wheel. Don't even rest it on the shifter for a few seconds a head of time to "get ready." Every time your hand leaves the steering wheel you've given up 50% of the tactile feedback you have from your hands, and 50% of your capability to control the car. If you're racing with other cars around you, you never know when you may get tapped. Even when racing alone, mechanical failure may cause handling trouble. You'll want both hands on the wheel when that happens.

The second bad habit some people have is shifting with excessive force. Too tight a grip, and slamming from one gear to another will actually slow your shifting down, and cause excessive mechanical wear. Proper shifting uses an open palm grip on the top of the shift knob, and a gentle but fast guide from one gear to another. We repeat---all shifting is properly done with the hand open and cupped over the top of the knob, not wrapped around it like a fighter plane control stick.

To shift from the top of the H to the bottom, start by forming a cup with your palm and fingers. Place the palm of the hand over the top of the shift knob. Using the underside of your fingers and your palm against the knob, use a smooth straight-line motion to guide the lever to the next gear. Assuming the shift lever has a fairly short travel, the action involves your wrist for the majority of the movement. Do not attempt to slam it or force it faster than it wants to go. If you are locking your wrist and moving your whole arm at the shoulder, you are using too much force.

To shift from the bottom of the H to the top, again start by forming a cup with your palm and fingers. This time when you place the hand over the shift knob, the emphasis of contact is on the heel of the palm. Start with the wrist slightly bent up. Push the lever using the palm heel in a straight line using your wrist to extend the position of the palm heel while following through with a gentle push of the arm. This shift is more arm motion than wrist.

When shifting across the H such as between 2nd and 3rd gears, do not try to make a conscious jog in your hand movements. The linkage needs very little input to make the diagonal path across neutral. Your shift should almost look like a straight diagonal line. Making a distinctive zig zag through neutral is strong-arming the shifter and will slow the shift down.

Using smooth, soft control of the lever does not imply doing it slowly. A gentle force of the lever will allow the shift linkage to move freely through its natural motions. If you strong-arm the motion you will end up forcing the linkage through lines that have more resistance. This will slow the shifting down. Use as much wrist movement as possible in place of moving the whole arm.

Some of you may be tempted to learn the techniques of "speed shifting"--shifting without using the clutch--in the interest of saving time. Many schools and professional racers have shown over and over that there is no speed or lap time advantage to this, and it carries a much higher risk of gear box damage.

I thought it was very helpful advice. (Thanks robertm!). I think this might have been the original source for the article:

http://www.turnfast.com/tech_driving/driving_shifting

Enjoy your 1M!