i usually shift at 3.5k on first gear, and the rest are at around 3k

 

tC Owner's Manual Cliff Notes (MUST READ)

 

1st to 2nd 2.5

2nd to 3rd 3

3rd to 4th 3.5

4th to 5th 3

 

whaaaat? so 4th gear is only good for a 5 mile an hour increase? from 40-45?

 

You think that list is "always shift here" standards? It's just numbers, if you don't like them, don't follow them. If you need to accelerate faster, stay in the gear longer. If you are going to coast, shift up. It's simple as that.

 

i'm getting frusturated... 1st to 2nd is always jerky for me. not sure what i'm doing it wrong. maybe i'm letting the clutch out too fast, or too low, or too high.

i saw that 4th gear only 5-10 miles also. i was like what the.

 

1st to 2nd jerk is because you let the clutch out too soon. let the RPMs drop 1K or so (from 3K to 2K)- maybe a little more. Very annoying thing if you ask me - having to wait before you shift... Hoping that lighter flywheel will help it.

 

Im a newbie shifter but I can get silky smooth shifts if I want, but im so slow right now that its still a little jerky but getting better as the days go on. Let the clutch out much slower and that will make the smooth shifts you want.

 

yeah, it's weird. i'm not too newb with a manual, but the tc makes me feel newb. some days i shift great and i'm doing great, but some other more frequently-occuring days... i'm inattentive and i'm jerking off the line.

 

is the tranny damage almost minute for a once in a while jerk off the line or going from 1st to second?

 

I shift all gears around 4k to 4.5k its way smoother shifting at higher rpms than lower, i am not a new b to shifting but found that w/ the ac on or low rpm shifts i was not very smooth,
of course i can if i focus but i prefer to drive fast anyhow
the tC gear ratios are pretty aggressive and feel much better at high rpms

if i speed shift or am going fast i dont shift until 6k, it will not hurt this motor these are excellent motors and can handle this
ive had 22R-E toyota motors with 250k miles on them and i beat the ____ out of them, i blew the head and i still drove it home! (almost all the way!)

 

You can let the clutch out quite fast and still get a very smooth shift; it's just something you have to work on. Seeing as it's better for both shift times and your clutch, I'd say it's a worthy investment.

As to the 1st to 2nd shift, it's like zolitz said. Just to clarify, not the speed at which you're dropping the clutch but rather the time you wait to actually do it after you've gotten the clutch in.

I too am waiting for a nice light flywheel

 

I shift as low in the RPM range as possible beacause all the tCs I drive belong, or will belong, to someone else. I don't beleive in beating on a brand new car just because it doesn't belong to me... I save the beatings for my own car :D

 

i usually shift at 3.5k in all gears until i get up to the speed i want to be at

 

1st gear don't get no power until i hit 4k...

 

If you dont wanna JERK you have to shift higher. Shifting too low floods your spark plugs. I shift well above 4500 and 5500 when I wanna go fast

 

Nah the main reason it's not smooth is because the RPM of the next gear when you begin letting off the clutch doesn't match the RPM of the engine when it is between gears. In another words, practice rev matching your gears. I had to learn that on my MR2 because the trannies are not the greatest and a novice can ruin them quickly. I rev match all gears up and down, blip the throttle and heal toe my shifts, it's just natural to me now. I have 0 problems with the shifting of my TC so far.

 

^ you shouldn't need to rev match in the sense of blipping your throttle shifting from 1st to 2nd.

unless you're trying to see how slowly you can move the shifter. it's more like:
1. clutch pedal depressed
2. shift
3. learn to play chess
4. drop the clutch.

 

For those who will say that ee here does not know what he is talking about and that "real 5-speed gooroos always blip the gas between shifts". Here's a little math-proven fact:

When you shift from 1st to 2nd at around 3000rpm (15mph) you need to wait till 1720rpm before letting out your clutch to make sure your engine, rotates at the same speed as your transmission (already locked in with your wheels, cause you are already in 2nd).

 

::taking notes:: :D