1st gear

[thatboyjer]

okay well anyways, whenever i drive my car sometimes (like maybe about 30% of the time) when i'm trying to shift back into first (coming from nuetral or 2nd or w/e) its really hard to get back into first, like theres something blocking the way. does anyone else have this problem as well? i eventually get past it by just pushing a lil harder so i didn't pay any attention to it but one day when i was driving with the windows down and the music off i noticed it made a very faint whirring sound whenever it got stuck like that and i tried to push it a lil harder.

i have no idea, it doesn't sound bad or anything, it doesn't sound like a gear getting grinded but the thing about this problem is other times shifting back into 1st is like butter, its so smooth. so i have no idea whats going on, i'm just worried if it might become a problem later on

any input?

[Black Yaris]

you must be a noob to driving stick shifts, because most manual trannys are like that to prevent you from shifting into 1st at too high of a speed and over reving your motor

[petesimac]

Yeah, typically I never downshift into 1st gear; sometimes I'll come to a near stop and then put it into 1st, but never to help me stop. At first I did have a problem downshifting into 2nd because you have to push it back over; my Subaru doesn't require this, so I kept downshifting from 3rd into 4th instead of 3rd into 2nd. Good luck.

[d2dailly]

release the clutch and then press the clutch the syncros arent ligned up... first isnt syncronized so its what black yaris said about over-revving

[drecian]

It's probably something designed into the sycro's on 1st. You'll find you have no problems/resistance when it it stopped or at walking pace. It's so you don't get 1st instead of 3rd liek others have mentioned. I had the same on my '68 VW. It'll go in, you just have to use a little more force (like on a dog-box) ;)

[Doc Zaius]

If I'm doing a fast rolling stop and I want to drop it back into 1st, when I take my foot off the brake I'll blip the gas pedal -- give it a quick stab to bring the revs up -- and it helps shift into 1st eaiser. A bit of rev-matching never hurts!

[thatboyjer]

ahhh gotcha, yea this is my first manual car so i didn't know bout that ;] i guess i see it now, cause when i brake while holding in the clutch i put it in first (thinking ahead i guess when i know i'll be coming to a stop then having to go) but now that you come to mention it, the times it does give me no trouble at all are when i'm either stopped or slow.

lol now i know, and knowing is half the battle

[forpinks]

Just put it on neutral, your not Auto-X'ing..

[seanele]

Originally Posted by petesimac

Yeah, typically I never downshift into 1st gear; sometimes I'll come to a near stop and then put it into 1st, but never to help me stop.

Trying to slow down by downshifting to lower gear..i think that is bad for the clutch.
to me,
i let the brake do all the job and a quick shift to neutral before the brake.

[Doc Zaius]

Originally Posted by seanele

Trying to slow down by downshifting to lower gear..i think that is bad for the clutch.

Nope... that's engine braking. Totally fine, and helps your brakes out too. What *is* better to do when downshifting is to rev-match to help out your synchros... by popping the gas with your heel while braking just before you let out the clutch in the lower gear. This heel-toe stuff has been discussed lots before in other threads.

But ya, typically you don't engine brake into 1st gear since you're pretty much stopped at that point.

[uncleyaris]

in 20 yrs driving stick, never geared down into first!!!!

[Edd]

Originally Posted by d2dailly

release the clutch and then press the clutch the syncros arent ligned up... first isnt syncronized so its what black yaris said about over-revving

Careful about what you say. 1st IS syncronised in the Yaris, and has been in most cars for at least a decade. That's why he felt resistance, because the syncronisers were doing their job. If there weren't any (ie, straight cut gears), they would grind and make a horrible sound.
By releasing the clutch in neutral first, you get the layshaft to a similar speed to the output shaft, meaning the syncro's job is easier. Do completely rev match, you must blip the throttle when you are in neutral, then clutch in and go back to first. This shouldn't be necessary though. Just make sure you are SLOW to go into first, be gentle and you won't wear your syncro.

[ChinoCharles]

Sometimes instead of stopping dead and wasting momentum coming into a red light, I'll slow to 5 MPH or so and shift into first and apply enough gas to get into gear, then apply no gas. Try it and the car just crawls forward at idle. Light turns green and you just skipped a dead start in first. Yes, I'm this lazy.

[Edd]

Originally Posted by seanele

#1 Trying to slow down by downshifting to lower gear..i think that is bad for the clutch.
to me,
#2: i let the brake do all the job and a quick shift to neutral before the brake.

#1: No, it isn't. But you will notice that 3000RPM in 2nd gives you about the same speed as 2000RPM in 3rd. And no, you don't need a tach to notice this. Lower gear = slower wheel speed for given RPM but more torque. So if you downshift from 3rd-2nd, the clutch has to make up this 1000RPM difference. To avoid damage, you can release the clutch slower, but this will wear it more because it has to slip to syncronise the speeds. The best way is to clutch in, shift to second, blip throttle, release clutch. That way your clutch and flywheel only have to sync ± 200RPM, not 1000 = less wear and much faster clutch release.
#2: This is perfectly fine, just stay in gear until your revs drop really low (idle range), then clutch in and brake.

[DollaZo]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

Sometimes instead of stopping dead and wasting momentum coming into a red light, I'll slow to 5 MPH or so and shift into first and apply enough gas to get into gear, then apply no gas. Try it and the car just crawls forward at idle. Light turns green and you just skipped a dead start in first. Yes, I'm this lazy.

I got to try this one...

[AlphaFox]

Originally Posted by thatboyjer

lol now i know, and knowing is half the battle

lol, GI Joe!!

[thatboyjer]

well i'm never downshifting into first while braking, i'm talking about how i shift it back into neutral, apply the brake and try to switch it to first while i'm slowing down (clutch still pressed) cause i know i'm going to need to stop and go (ie: stop signs)

[YarisTom73]

It just seems that it costs a lot less to replace the brake pads than it does to replace a clutch..so why not just use the brakes, as they were designed, and leave it in neutral until you stop? Not seeing the advantage to the extra wear n tear...