Smooth driving..

[Techn0]

I'm driving a corolla t sport(2zzge) at the moment and have noticed it can be quite jerky at times.

The clutch and throttle is very much a on/off affair.

What tips are there to give me a smoother drive?

I don't want to ride the clutch excessively and/or over rev the engine just to drive in town.

Many thanks.

[Classic Grad 98]

I take it you haven't been driving it long?
You'll get used to it.

[0a]

Find a quiet piece of road and practice changing up and down the gearbox, smoothness comes with time.

[Dr Jekyll]

Try pausing in neutral briefly to smooth out the changes. Sometimes you can feel a reduction in resistance after a moment, complete the gearchange then and you can almost jump off the clutch and still be smooth.

[Nigel_O]

Have the car re-mapped.

Assuming you get it done professionally (rather than buying a generic chip off Ebay), you'll get better mpg, nicer throttle response and maybe even a little more power.

You'll need to tell the insurance company though.

[james_gt3rs]

Time. Takes me at least a month to get used to a car properly.

[Distant]

Try counting to 3 as you bring the clutch up after a gear change and experiment with bringing the gas in at 1, 1.5, 2 etc to see which gives the smoothest results.

[Techn0]

Thanks guys.

It's mainly 1st and 2nd gear in traffic that can be jerky.

Its probably down to my poor driving tbh, I sometimes forget the nature of the gearbox and engine.

I just hate over-revving and poor clutch control.

I also find heal and towing difficult as the brake and throttle are quite far apart.

[MC Bodge]

My current car has overly sharp brakes, I'm used to them (although I still think they are too sharp), but it has taken practice to become as smooth as I was in my previous car.

I have found that the distance between most brake and throttle pedals are okay for heel-toe, but if there is a difference in heights then that can be awkward. You can always fit a pedal extension to the throttle, but take care not to then make the pedals too close together.

[Bacon Is Proof]

The correct footwear can help.

[anonymous-user]

james_gt3rs said:

Time. Takes me at least a month to get used to a car properly.

A MONTH?! Try about 4 gear changes.

[GTiFrank]

bulldong said:

james_gt3rs said:

Time. Takes me at least a month to get used to a car properly.

A MONTH?! Try about 4 gear changes.

Depends on experience of driver and the car.

Try bliping the throttle on downshifts to match revs, as above good thin-soled footwear helps.

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

bulldong said:

james_gt3rs said:

Time. Takes me at least a month to get used to a car properly.

A MONTH?! Try about 4 gear changes.

I suspect you both mean different things by 'getting used to the car'.

If you can perfectly rev-match any gear at any speed in an unfamiliar car after just four changes, then I'm impressed.

[anonymous-user]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

bulldong said:

james_gt3rs said:

Time. Takes me at least a month to get used to a car properly.

A MONTH?! Try about 4 gear changes.

I suspect you both mean different things by 'getting used to the car'.

If you can perfectly rev-match any gear at any speed in an unfamiliar car after just four changes, then I'm impressed.

a) I am naturally quite intuitive when it comes to this kind of thing
b) Due to travelling lots with work, I drive 10's of cars a year, and sometimes 10 in a month so that helps, but I have always picked up a cars habits within the first few minutes.

[Dalto123]

I have a similiar situation in my Nissan Micra, throttle and braking is again an on or off affair. What I found helpful is revving a little (probably rev matching) on downshifts, as for up shifts i paused a little in neutral.

[davepoth]

Dalto123 said:

I have a similiar situation in my Nissan Micra, throttle and braking is again an on or off affair. What I found helpful is revving a little (probably rev matching) on downshifts, as for up shifts i paused a little in neutral.

Which one? I've not tried the new one, but I've driven the last two and I thought they were actually quite good in that respect.

[Dalto123]

davepoth said:

Which one? I've not tried the new one, but I've driven the last two and I thought they were actually quite good in that respect.

I probably wasn't being clear enough. On upshifts I pause a little, in neutral between shifts. On down shifts if I use the throttle a bit (when braking) the car seems to brake, and change down smoother.

[Somewhatfoolish]

try setting off in sixth using only the clutch (i.e. no accelerator)

then try setting off in first using only clutch, then shifting all the way up to sixth through each gear, again using only the clutch.

at this point you should be an expert on your dodgy clutch

[Leroy7908]

The same to you,thanks

[chongwong]

bulldong said:

a) I am naturally quite intuitive when it comes to this kind of thing
b) Due to travelling lots with work, I drive 10's of cars a year, and sometimes 10 in a month so that helps, but I have always picked up a cars habits within the first few minutes.

If I could pipe up and be a bit of a ct I work in a car-park and can move up to a hundred cars daily, I can virtually get into any car first time and be perfectly fine with the gears instantaneously... however I will say I have occasional problems with vehicles that seem to have been thrashed, such as I suspect the OP's Celica if it is relatively new to him. I'd suggest checking to see if the clutch is in good enough condition to allow a smooth change without faultless rev matching. Try changing down to first from second with some throttle applied from maybe 10mph and coming off the clutch very very slowly, if you still feel a jercking or lurching as the gear engages your clutch may be in need of some work.
just my little input