Perfecting the Art - Manual Gear Change

A

Atom1

Member
 Leeds
As an addition to perfecting the art of getting out of the Z4. (Sorry for hijacking the title) ;)

Im struggling to get a smooth gear change through 1st 2nd to 3rd, its fine tootling round town at steady speeds and smooth starts but when I want to push it!

I rev hard through first straight in to second and there's a massive lurch almost kangaroo like, I have to be very gentle and smooth when releasing the clutch, this slows the shift down and I end up loosing the power. Not good and not fun :( it's making it quite hard to drive the car well.

Anyone feel the same or have any tips to overcome this?
 
Or do I have to be smooth and steady rather than being aggressive? And just come to terms with it!
 
If you're new to Z4's you may be struggling with the clutch delay valve. It basically stops the clutch being released as fast as you might want it to. It's designed by BMW to stop too much drive train shock from bad driving. I find it certainly gets in the way of spirited driving until you're used to it. Give it some time for yourself to adapt and see how it is then :)
 
I would say try backing off the throttle a little just before pressing the clutch. You still accelerate as much but it makes the change smoother in my opinion. Also don't come right off the throttle when you are pressing the clutch and changing gear or the revs will drop too much. Just come off enough for the revs to drop to the right level for the next gear. And as with anything practice makes perfect! :driving:
 
I had this with my e85. 1st to 2nd was a cow and half the time I revved up 1st and dropped straight into third instead to avoid headbutting the steering wheel in 2nd. I didn't keep it long enough to try removing the CDV. I've driven the e89 in a manual though (20i) and didn't have anything like the issues I did with the e85. Try getting someone else to drive it, like the dealer, and ask them. It may be a fault, you never know. My feeling though is like others above, practise. The more you do it, the more you'll understand. Typically, with turbo engines, you need to get higher in the rev range so that on the next gear, when the revs drop, you're still on power with the turbos.
 
Double de clutch, dont forget to blip the gas in between and slow everything down at first until it feels natural. Then you can speed up the changes as you get used to it. Adjust your seat so at full reach with your leg extended your just beyond the bite point. A pedal on the floor takes longer to come back up and bite allowing the revs to drop. You may want to try adjusting your seat height too as this can make a difference...
 
It's a fair cop... said:
Double de clutch, dont forget to blip the gas in between and slow everything down at first until it feels natural. Then you can speed up the changes as you get used to it. Adjust your seat so at full reach with your leg extended your just beyond the bite point. A pedal on the floor takes longer to come back up and bite allowing the revs to drop. You may want to try adjusting your seat height too as this can make a difference...
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Thats an interesting point about the pedal reach as I do find the cluch has quite a long travel and with that comes a drop in revs, I suppose.

Im used to heel toe on down change but will deffinetly have a go at the blip on up change ( minus the break ofcourse ).

Still, i imagine the valve on the clutch is designed to stop such harsh up shifts.
 
It's a fair cop... said:
Double de clutch, dont forget to blip the gas in between and slow everything down at first until it feels natural. Then you can speed up the changes as you get used to it. Adjust your seat so at full reach with your leg extended your just beyond the bite point. A pedal on the floor takes longer to come back up and bite allowing the revs to drop. You may want to try adjusting your seat height too as this can make a difference...
Click to expand...
You must have some short arse legs:) I would actually recommend sitting close to the pedal box as you will have more control than holding a leg out straight.
 
Take your time and learn how fast the gear box will let you change gear. Double de clutching is slow but it certainly smooth’s an upshift
Personally I never floor it in first gear, in any car, unless to deliberately break traction for a bit of fun, which puts far less strain on the drive train. :)

Not sure I understand blipping the throttle on up shifts. Something I used to do in old bangers when trying to get a knackered gearbox, in to first or reverse, but not between gears.
 
lol, I actualy do have short legs !

I sit, so when I have the clutch depressed there is a slight kink in my knee so not fully extended.

Buzyg - steady 1st into second may be the way, its something I have tried and works well.

I have to admit iv come from a TT and had no such problems changing gear. Iv also had 5 other BMs and never experienced such a tricky gear box. Im blaming the car lol ;)
 
Atom1 said:
Do you think a trip to the dealers, perhaps compare with another car?
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Me personally? No. It's still very early days after all. I remember when I got my current Z4, I thought the gear change from 1st to 2nd was slow but I did get used to it and it got quicker. It's a case of doing it so the clutch is coming back up at the right time to match the wheel speed with the engine speed, it takes practice and you'll find a sweet spot eventually. Maybe not running it right out in 1st would help?
 
Just had a drive to work and only depressing the clutch half way seemed to speed and smooth things up.
 
Miles said:
Atom1 said:
Do you think a trip to the dealers, perhaps compare with another car?
Click to expand...

Me personally? No. It's still very early days after all. I remember when I got my current Z4, I thought the gear change from 1st to 2nd was slow but I did get used to it and it got quicker. It's a case of doing it so the clutch is coming back up at the right time to match the wheel speed with the engine speed, it takes practice and you'll find a sweet spot eventually. Maybe not running it right out in 1st would help?
Click to expand...

I take it to about 3 - 3.5 then change, so im not going silly.
 
Are you driving in normal mode or sport? Sport makes the throttle more sentitive so you may have an extra few revs when changing gear - give it a try - i drive in sport all the time.
 
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