I bought my 02 z06 a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't driven stick in 10 years before buying and was only learning then.

I'm doing really well driving it. Got stop to go down, reverse and all of that. Iv'e been driving it to work for the last 3 days and haven't had any problems. Except one.

I'm having a really hard time keeping my shifts smooth. 1 to 2 I usually get a big jerk or clank after the shift. Occasionally after changing other gears too. 4 to 5, 2 to 3. What am I doing wrong? When I'm going hard on it I shift and it's smooth as butter. But at normal neighborhood and in town speeds, I just can't figure it out.

I'm worried I'll hurt the car while trying to get it right..

Any advice?

 

You're not "hurting" the car unless you're really trying to make an effort to make those upshifts awkward, probably isn't great for tranny synchros, but nothing to be concerned w/

This feeling you describe is similar in many other vehicles w/ a lot of power (particularly TQ) & a manual transmission. I am not versed technically in the details, but when you're driving a manual car w/ this much power, especially down low, & you're upshifting anywhere above the middle of the power curve the HP drops as you grab the next highest gear but there's still good TQ being made & that is noticeable as the clutch engages the next gear. I think power to weight ratio also makes it more noticeable.

What you describe is EXTREMELY noticeable in a powerful street bike, & can make for very jerky shifting & ruin smooth riding on the track.

Therefore what you need to practice is "blipping" the throttle as you shift, essentially make sure you're giving just a little bit of gas BEFORE the next gear is engaged (works on smoothing downshifts also) & you will find the shifting is much smoother as you describe when getting on it. The reason you don't get that jerky feeling when you're really raggin on it is b/c you're shifting much quicker & mashing the gas right after the next shift.

Try just lightly resting your foot on the gas as you short shift through the gears & w/ a week's practice or less you'll find the "sweet spot" of how much gas you need to give during shifts to smooth 'em out. Same kinda idea as getting the right amount of gas to start smoothly from a dead stop (which you should be able to do in 2nd btw even on an incline).

The relationship between clutch/crank/gas is not black & white, you CAN give gas while also having the clutch fully or partially engaged w/o damaging anything, & it is the proper way to drive a manual, but each car is different & you need to feel it out.

Learn that & you can work your way up to power/clutchless shifting

 

When you go 1-2 does a light show up on the dash? That rough shift might be the car choosing 4th gear if under certain conditions (low throttle, low RPM).
Get some skip shift eliminator...
Otherwise just keep practicing, it'll improve soon. Enjoy!

 

No light, I've seen it once before and shifted as it told me too.

 

I did a lot better this morning. I'm looking for that sweet spot. Just frustrating and nerve wracking.

Thanks for the insight!

 

May sound silly but experiment with where the clutch grabs. I find that sometimes out of habit I depress the clutch all the way the floor and just the length of the operation (to the floor and back) creates the feel you describe. Don't depress it more than required and your problem may go away.

 

Thanks for the advice! I'm getting better. Iv'e found that after a gear change I should apply throttle, then let off the clutch in a smooth controlled manner. Not too slow, not too fast. I'm getting smooth, no jerk no clunk transitions.

 

It's a dance that's natural to some, but easily learned if the student is motivated. Sounds like you are, and congrats on the progress.