The Addams Family......

[bj21]

I am Lurch...

i have been driving my 2008.5 Speed 3 for almost a month now and i still am having trouble launching and shifting from 1st to 2nd...

i gave it some time and figured that i would master it within a week or two....and i am a little better than i was a few weeks ago but i still have trouble in low gears - especially when i am driving around slowly in tight spaces like the underground parking garage...i look like such a tool

i have read up on this and i am wondering if replacing the rear motor mount is going to help me...

what do you think?? i have been driving manual for almost 20 years so its not like i dont know what i am doing...

is the SU motor mount going to help me??

thanks in advance...

bj21

[WeatherB]

What kind of problem are you having when shifting from 1st to 2nd?

As for tight spaces, you need to engage the clutch slower.

[Fobio]

yes...the SU mount will help for sure...

I wish I knew a good Addams Family analogy for explaining it...but let me try:

with the SU or CP-E engine mount, you should go from Lurch to being as smooth as Uncle Fester is with the ladies...effortless...

btw...I also know how to explain this exactly mechanically...but I'll let others chime in...

[Unoriginalusername]

i can't really give you any advice on launching the car since i've only tried once and it was a waste of tires, gas and clutch lol so i usually just roll into it but i have noticed less hop happening after my cobb springs and SU mount.

[silvermist99]

this car's throttle is quite senstive and makes it diffcult to launch smoothly and slowly at low rpm.

I tend to roll the clutch at little at idle, when it start catching i give it a little tiny bit of gas & go from there. Its tough to get this car going below 1000rpm with the senstive throttle.. im used to launching at 700rpm its hard on this car and after half a year i still can't do it unless I have 5 seconds to take off. At parking lot I can usually find the engagement point pretty quick now and roll it off idle.

Same with shifting 1-2. In most car when you shift 1-2, by the time you let the clutch out you'll give it a bit of gas to keep revs up... in this car you have to be REAL gentle with the gas when you release clutch or it will jerk. The timing will also take some getting used to.

I suggest trying a few things,
1. try adjusting your shift speed, see if faster or slower shift helps the jerkness.
2. slip clutch a little more 1-2. Bring the clutch back up slower when upshifting.
3. Try and adjust how much gas you give it when shifting (After you release the clutch).
4. a Combination of the three things above.


A fifth way of doing it is just to totally ride the clutch with lots of throttle.. this car revs to 2000rpm+ with a little tiny bit of throttle.. just rev it & ride the clutch when you launch.. it'll be smooth but I don't recommend it unless you want an aftermarket clutch

edit... also play around with a/c on and off. It drives different.

[alhope34]

This car is pretty easy to drive, just takes a little more practise. After the first month I could launch fine every time around 1000rpm, downshift while rev-matching properly, shift smoothly. Now after 10 months I can keep it at 7-800rpm when I take off, 1st to 2nd just let out the clutch a touch slower, not hard at all to get used to. I personally find this car really easy to drive pretty smooth. I drive the MS3 smoother than my dad's automatic 2002 Saturn used to shift and autos are MEANT to be smooth.

[Fobio]

this car's throttle is quite senstive and makes it diffcult to launch smoothly and slowly at low rpm.

I tend to roll the clutch at little at idle, when it start catching i give it a little tiny bit of gas & go from there. Its tough to get this car going below 1000rpm with the senstive throttle.. im used to launching at 700rpm its hard on this car and after half a year i still can't do it unless I have 5 seconds to take off. At parking lot I can usually find the engagement point pretty quick now and roll it off idle.

Same with shifting 1-2. In most car when you shift 1-2, by the time you let the clutch out you'll give it a bit of gas to keep revs up... in this car you have to be REAL gentle with the gas when you release clutch or it will jerk. The timing will also take some getting used to.

I suggest trying a few things,
1. try adjusting your shift speed, see if faster or slower shift helps the jerkness.
2. slip clutch a little more 1-2. Bring the clutch back up slower when upshifting.
3. Try and adjust how much gas you give it when shifting (After you release the clutch).
4. a Combination of the three things above.


A fifth way of doing it is just to totally ride the clutch with lots of throttle.. this car revs to 2000rpm+ with a little tiny bit of throttle.. just rev it & ride the clutch when you launch.. it'll be smooth but I don't recommend it unless you want an aftermarket clutch

edit... also play around with a/c on and off. It drives different.

I've tried all of the above...

ok...when I first got the car...I'm like, ok, I'm older now, so I must be driving more sloppy...NATCH...ok, I still drive sloppy on the streets, but after changing JUST THE SHIFTER BUSHINGS, I was able to eliminate what I thought were innate bad habits...then after changing the engine mount, 60% of the tranny's woes are eliminated...

it's not about modding the car...it's if there's a simple sol'n to your problem, why not buy it...and it was fun installing $30 bushings and getting like $250 of results, if you need to quantify it...

and yeah...some MS3's dropped their engines due to poor OEM mounts, which allows your engine to twist in relations to your tranny (hope I'm explaining it right) and causing poor engagements...bolster your car where it needs it...

here's a thread I started where I reviewed how the shifter bushings' helped:
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...hifter+bushing

and a long standing review of the SU engine mount:
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...u+engine+mount

[silvermist99]

fobio: It sounds like we all need a ride with alhope! My dad can drive my car SMOOTH. He is more of a clutchrider then me, always launches at higher rev and rides the clutch more on shifts but its always smooth whenever he drives my car (which is not that often). I think he learned from the olden days where clutches are harsh harsh, tranny without syncros etc and was taught to ride the clutch out to smooth things out. Nowadays we are told to don't touch the clutch unless you really need to which is a different technique and requires far more percision especially in this car which has a very on/off clutch.

I let my old boss who grew up in the UK driving stick move my car in the parking lot too( he hasn't driven manual in years), he said my car is a piece of cake to drive smoothly and he did drive it smooth... Maybe its just us.

You need to show me how you drive slowly lol, never seen you shift slow or smooth before haha.

I drove a turboed optra with 4 or 6 phuck aftermarket clutch before, the clutch was as stiff as a unassisted brake pedal (VERY stiff)... suprisingly I can drive that car quite smoothly... then i go back to my car and jerk it more then the optra.

[Fobio]

it depends...and you're right, it's different...and I think it's a whole host of factors from habits, personal preference, seating position, driving mood, road condition, shoes I wear...

I think that yeah, when I'm really paying attn, and rev it a little higher, it does smooth things out...just different from what I learned at rolling out around 750 - 800 rpm...I can still do it...just slowly and gently...

[06Touring3]

autos are MEANT to be smooth.

unless of course you're driving a 10+ year old Honda....then it's sailing on choppy waters lol

[craigrodrigues88]

oh man sometime I dread the shift from 1st to 2nd! I find the gear sticks or pops out sometimes...and this past weekend I was going to buffalo and as soon as I got to the border I couldn't put the car in 1st or 2nd. I was scared shit-less! Everything is cool now though