The RPMs depend on what speed you're at though, right? Is there a chart or table somewhere that lists these? The Fit's manual only lists shift points in terms of recommended speed.

Took 'er out for another drive today, and hitting 24 km/h before shifting into 2nd as they recommend means RPMs are around 3500 rpm, right around the VTEC threshold IIRC.

The amount of "hiccuping" going into 2nd is less, but still room for improvement.

I also notice passengers shifting forward and then getting pushed back when I shift. Not so bad today, but when driving passengers I now try letting off the gas more gradually before clutching and shifting. Seems to work...

 

well i'm happy you're getting better at it
soon you'll have it perfected i'm sure

 

One other thing to try is to go to a dealer and "test drive" another Fit. If it shifts the same from 1-2, then it's you. If not, there may be something wrong with your Fit, and you should take it in for service.

It's always cheaper when repairs are done under warranty.

--Barry

 

So, I went driving around with my wife yesterday and I really paid attention to how I was shifting and how much her head moved around.

(I'm sure someone out there can explain the physics of it all, but I'm not that guy, so I'll do the best I can.)

First of all, I noticed the amount of 'head banging' done by my passenger really depends on how fast I accelerate because the forward momentum decreases more between shifts. Also because your passengers don't know when exactly the forward momentum is going to decrease (when you're going to push in the clutch), their heads move forward a bit.

The longer it takes you to get into 2nd gear the more their head will move forward. Obviously, your passenger will adjust their head back, and if they do this at the same time you begin accelerating again, they'll over compensate and hit the headrest.

I've been able to minimize this by accelerating more gradually. If you floor it, let off at 3500rpm, shift, floor it again, your passenger's head will be all over the place.

Finally, (I think this will help the most) let's say you're in 1st gear, you should only put enough pressure on the gas pedal to accelerate up to 3500rpm and stay there. Meaning you won't go to 4000rpm if you stay in 1st gear. This helps because when you shift to 2nd, your forward momentum has slowed gradually and won't be a huge shock to your passenger's equilibrium.

 

Ive had my car for almost 2 years now. Sometimes I ride into 2nd and 3rd gear. It sounds like I cant drive 5speed. It just happens to me?

I know I do it most when the A/C is on. When the A/C is off I drive perfect.
Its the combo of a soft clutch and DBW.

 

yah, once you're in gear and apply throttle dont modulate the pedal. just keep it
constant (flat) and wait for the rpm to build up. at some point the torque will begin
to plateau. that's when you gently roll off the gas, shift, apply slight
throttle and gently engage the next gear. your passengers will not
lunge forward if you do this.

the way you roll off the gas will greatly affect when you engage the
clutch for your next gear too. because it's all about the flywheel
spindown and how you apply slight throttle to keep momentum.

there's no fixed data for which gear to go how many rpms and engage
at wat rpm. you have to learn it by feel. keep driving wearing the same
shoes too until you get the hang of it.

 

Thanks everyone; I'm now shifting from 1 to 2 much more smoothly. I've noticed the following:

• as noted, there's often a half-second or more after clutching down, before the RPMs start dropping; longer if your acceleration is just peaking, less if you've held that RPM for a bit
• 2000 RPM seems to be the best point for me to let off the clutch into 2nd gear and throttle back up, i.e. very few "hiccups" around this RPM and the pickup is quite smooth

So, I'm now going up to about about 3000 rpm, let off the gas, clutch in... and wait for the RPM to drop to around 2000 before de-clutching and gassing up again. Works about 4 times out of 5 now, compared to maybe half-and-half.

What I have to remember is *not* to accelerate that quickly, since it seems the RPMs "float" longer before dropping. One eager minivan nearly rear-ended me because I'd rocketed off the green light, went too far (almost 3500 rpm), then waited far too long than was wise for the RPM to drop back to 2000 before going into 2nd... the guy behind me, driving an auto of course, didn't expect my acceleration to drop off like that.

 

Maybe your just accelerating too hard at the point the clutch is pushed in? I try and make it so that at the point i push the clutch in, i have stopped accelerating briefly and am just maintaining speed, slip into second and continue accelerating. Should get rid of the forward movement.

 

Glad things are working out. Just one thing I'd add - as you mentioned, it's not the rpms per se, its the combination of speed/rpms/gears. On the fit, the rpm gap between gears seems to be about 500-600 rpms between any 2 gears, except the 1-2 gap, which seems to be about 1k.
(No data to back this up, this just feeling and noting where rpms are after shifting)

So if you shift at 3500, I'd let the clutch bak in at about 2500 rpms instead of 2000 (since you're going faster in 1st @3500 vs 3000). It's always tricky between 1-2, and you have to be pretty close to nail it, but it sounds like you're well on your way.

 

Worked for me; I was watching my passengers out the corner of my eye last night during my shift-ups, and gradually (over a second or so) letting off the gas before clutching out drastically reduced upper-body bobbing

It's almost the reverse of braking to a stop--if you keep the brake at a constant position, everyone's going to jerk forward when the car finally stops. Letting up on the brake in the last second or two (when safe to do so of course!) eliminates this.

 

Thanks; this is what I was looking for, not the ideal RPM for shifting, per se, but what the drop should be when going at any given speed. I will try this next time I take her out.

 

for reference, my normal shift up rpm for 1st and 2nd is around
3500-4000rpm.

only when im driving like a grandma, do i shift at 3k or less.

 

Are those RPMs when you push the clutch in while in 1st, or when you clutch out into 2nd?

 

clutch-in at 1st

 

haha happens to me with the ac on too...i almost never drive with the ac on unless im on the highway and staying in gear or stopped at a red light on a hot day.

it can take some time to get down the fit shifting...i learned to drive stick on the fit and it took me a few months before i could get 1-2nd down i can drive around now just fine, even with a bad clutch(takin it to the shop weds finally!!!!), not watching the speed or rpm and just shifting, even for 1-2nd. just takes time. i found once i just STOPPED paying attention to how i was shifting and just learned to feel the car...it got waaaay easier to shift. when i put too much thought into it, it can get jerky. the only time i watch my rpms now is when im full throttle through every gear.