Changing down a gear, maunal car.

Question

ive only passed my tests a few weeks ago, i have a corsa as my first little run around. im having one of those issues where ive thought about something too much and now confused myself rotten!

on a few occasions when changing down gears the car seems to jump... why is this! Am i travelling to fast for the lower gear or am i doing something wrong with my feet, i never had this problem once during my lessons or test and i cant understand where im going wrong!

im sure when you give me the answer i'll be like ''duh, obviously''

Answer 1

id does sound like your trying to change to a lower gear whilst the engine is running to fast for the gear intended you will soon settle into a routine where you no longer do it anymore

Answer 2

It's because you haven't slowed down enough and your engine is still revving too much for the lower gear. Having started to slow down, you can touch the accelerator a little as you raise your clutch foot to momentarily raise the revs a bit to ensure a smooth transition to the lower gear. Hope that makes sense.  

Answer 3

Just slow down a little more when gearing down.  When you gear up make a mental note of the RPM for each gear, just bring that number down a bit when changing back into it.

Answer 4

It does sound that you are going too fast for the gears, as selecting a lower gear will make the car slow down, which is the lurch you are getting.  It could also be that you've stalled the car, but the momentum of the car started up the engine again, through the gears.

I do use as a guide when changing down a gear, which might be helpful

40mph - down from 5th to 4th

30mph down from 4th to 3rd

20mph down from 3rd to 2nd

and only use 1st if the car has come to a stop, like at traffic lights etc, or the car is really struggling in 2nd gear in traffic

hope that will help you

Answer 5

When changing down make sure your foot is off the accelerator or the revving engine will cause the car to leap forward as you let the clutch out.

Answer 6

I think you have received good answers here - we use the brakes to slow down the car, not the gearbox!  Although it is worth learning how to, so that you can do so in an emergency situation - like I had years ago with a major brake-failure!   I just used engine braking and the hand-brake to slow the car down under control.  I believe you may find yourself using engine-braking a little if you were on a track-day, when you are leaving your braking to the very last inch that you dare - I do, it seems worth it.  Though for daily driving, treat your car with 'mechanical sympathy'.

Answer 7

Sounds like you are changing down it soon.

Ja.

Answer 8

slow down before you change down  

Answer 9

if you bring your foot up too fast the car will give a small jump, if you bring it up rather slowly if should be smoother. its probably changed because you maybe driving an older car than the one in your test

Answer 10

Yes you're probably going too fast for the lower gear or raising the clutch really fast or a combination of both.   I'm sure you already know if you're going to fast for the lower gear the engine will be trying to slow the car down which can feel jumpy.  Don't worry you'll get better with practice, it takes a while to get used to a new car :)