Got Mazda 5 2006 GT 5 spd and questions

[PolarBear]

I got a few days ago Platinum Silver Mazda 5 GT . We really like the new car.
There is a huge difference with our Mazda Protege. The car is very quiet and has enough power for our taste.

This is our first car with stick. So far I'm doing Ok. I stall very occasionally but considering I have only few days experience I can live with this for now :)
But I have a couple questions regarding downshifting.

Could you please give me some tips how to downshift 3->2 properly. Quite often I have a rough shifts during downshifting.

Also when you're approaching turn do you downshift 3->2 before the turn or during the turn?

When you're approaching red light do you downshift to 2 or you stay in 3?
Is it a bad thing to stop in 3 with cluch in and breaking? I just don't see an advantage to shift to 2 just for 1-2 seconds before the full stop.

Mazda manual has table with shift points for each gear.
What about downshifting points for each gear?


P.S. There are lot of resources on the net how to drive stick but it would be nice to hear from Mazda 5 owners.

[was98strat]

If your downshift is rough, you are letting the clutch out too abruptly.

When making a turn, you should never be changing gears.

You should already be in the gear you want to be. so downshift into second before you turn in.

The whole point of downshifting when approaching a light is to save your brakes. The clutch disk can take far more abuse than your brake pads. downshifting when coming to a stop will significantly extend the life of your brakes. There is no harm stopping with the tranny in 3rd and the clutch all the way in. all you are doing is putting more wear on your brakes that way.

downshifting takes a bit of feel to get right and as you get more experienced you'll know where they are. but basically they are similar to the upshift points.

downshifting from 3 to 2 is pretty easy, but as you are getting used to it, just back off the throttle a little and SLOWLY let out the clutch. The engine will begin to increase it's revs as this happens. this should take you around 5 seconds or so to accomplish. the car will slow down in response to these inputs. You can pretty much stop a car with an MTX without using the brakes.

I wouldn't be doing to much downshifting for the first 1000 km while the engine is breaking in (just easier on the engine)

[jandree22]

While it won't break anything, try to avoid doing stops at any good speed with the brakes and clutch pedal applied at the same time. While it's good to shift into a lower gear to get "engine braking", being in any gear will help hold you back. If you're holding the clutch in, the car is out of gear and is just rolling freely on the 4 wheels... thus the brakes will hold 100% of the task rather than splitting it with the engine/tranny.

Holding the clutch pedal in while braking on a MTX would be the same effect of shiting from D to N in an ATX. Like I said, won't damage anything, but it's pretty hard on your brakes if you apply them out of gear/clutch applied.

You'll perfect it and learn, don't worry. I learned the basics and drove a MTX on the road in 5 min. But then it took me another month to fine tune and perfect my techniques. You'll get the hang of it, everyone does. Enjoy :)

[Zoom5Zoom]

Polarbear

Hell man come down to Ottawa I will give ya a course....

Remember this easy thing with "any" mazda 5 speed manual...

1. if you are in neutral and throw it forward you are in 3rd

2. you have to work to put it in 1st gear (ahhh left side eh)

3. from 1st relax and pull back to 2nd....

4. from second don't even think just put it forward and your in 3rd....

5. while in 3rd you can drop it back with no effort into 4th....

6. here is the big one....work to get to 5th gear over to the right and up....


Now for down shifting... coast to a stop (using brakes) this is for rookies.

As for downshifting if you feel the downshift drives your RPM..revs into or near the redline (max RPM before boom) then you have downshifted toooooo early.

If you stall in 3rd then your not achieving enought RPM to keep the tranny happy and it burps.

Try this exercise when you get a chance in a parking lot.

Put car in 1st and start rolling, once you lift off the gas just let the car drive... yup drive on its own no stalling. The 5 has enough torque to keep the car running without stalling. You can even put the clutch in while rolling in 1st and not even touch the gas and drive in 2nd... yup it rocks.

In all with a stick just chill and listen to what your doing with the engine RPM (noise helps to understand). Once you get comportable everything will come naturally like making babies.

[MP5Alive]

nobody mentioned rev-matching?!? If you're downshifting from 3 to 2 and you're letting the engine raise the RPMs then that's not good and it won't be as smooth as it could be and you'll wear out your clutch disk prematurely that way.

You can try this when downshifting:
a) disengage the clutch (i.e. press clutch pedal)
b) blip the throttle to raise RPMs to where 2nd gear's engine speed would be (e.g. from 2000 - 2800 RPM)
c) re-engage the clutch at the proper RPM.

When you have the "blipping the throttle" mastered, you can move on to "heel-toe" downshifting which involves rev-matching while braking. You use the left side of your right foot to brake and the right side of your right foot to blip. Before long, you'll be taking corners like a pro.

[was98strat]

nobody mentioned rev-matching?!? If you're downshifting from 3 to 2 and you're letting the engine raise the RPMs then that's not good and it won't be as smooth as it could be and you'll wear out your clutch disk prematurely that way.

You can try this when downshifting:
a) disengage the clutch (i.e. press clutch pedal)
b) blip the throttle to raise RPMs to where 2nd gear's engine speed would be (e.g. from 2000 - 2800 RPM)
c) re-engage the clutch at the proper RPM.

When you have the "blipping the throttle" mastered, you can move on to "heel-toe" downshifting which involves rev-matching while braking. You use the left side of your right foot to brake and the right side of your right foot to blip. Before long, you'll be taking corners like a pro.


MP5ALIVE,

You are correct, But blipping the throttle isn't needed when engine braking, but when downshifting for acceleration!

That's the next lesson!

[PolarBear]

Thanks guys for the comments.

Do you want to say when you're approaching red light you don't apply brake at all but just use engine only to brake??? Under what speed you shift to 2 from 3?

[jandree22]

Rev-Matching and Heel-Toe shifting are good, but advanced techniques... especially the Heel-Toe. I and probably 90% of other normal MTX drivers don't use it. It is a good practice if you want to learn and teach yourself further, but by no means should you worry about that at this point... learn the basics first then if you wanna shift like Andretti, that comes later. IMO it might overwhelm you if you try to learn that right off the bat.

Here's a video of Heel-Toe shifting (pedaling) explained... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3737059549592285574&q=heel+toe&hl=en

Here's an article explaining it... http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/howto/articles/45792/article.html

[doctorz]

Could you please give me some tips how to downshift 3->2 properly. Quite often I have a rough shifts during downshifting.

Also when you're approaching turn do you downshift 3->2 before the turn or during the turn?

When you're approaching red light do you downshift to 2 or you stay in 3?
Is it a bad thing to stop in 3 with cluch in and breaking? I just don't see an advantage to shift to 2 just for 1-2 seconds before the full stop.

Mazda manual has table with shift points for each gear.
What about downshifting points for each gear?.

Multiple ways to do this. If I'm in third or fourth gear, I have a long way to coast until the traffic light, and I know the light will take a long time to change, I'll coast in gear until the engine is close to lugging--maybe 15 mph for third gear, 20 mph for fourth, then shift into neutral and stop without downshifting. The thought here is that brake pads are cheaper to replace than a clutch.

If I know that I have to accelerate out of a turn, I'll downshift to second before turning--say, around 15 mph--but keep the clutch pedal in, then let the clutch out while starting to accelerate.

Occasionally if I have to slow down--but not stop--for, say, an exit ramp, I will downshift at whatever speed. If it's 5 to 4 at 60 mph, blip the throttle a little to rev match so you don't wear out your clutch. Downshifting smoothly means you either let the clutch out slower, which will wear out your clutch sooner, or blip the throttle a little when you downshift so you "rev-match". This takes some practice.

The only bottom line is not to get caught out of gear when you have to accelerate. If you're not sure what you should do, but you feel the engine about to lug, downshift and keep the clutch in until you're ready to move.

[PolarBear]

Thanks. I think I got it. Just came back from another ride.
It seems I was doing couple mistakes. I was trying to shift into second when speed was high enough for it and I was dropping clutch too fast. Now most of the time it's fine. Though honestly shifting to 2 just for a few seconds before the complete stop doesn't give much. May be in winter time I'll see more benefits from doing this.

[cruzdreamer]

I just want to say you Mazda 5 owners are very cool and very nice....I was waiting to see a reply from someone who bashes the person for asking for help shifting the vehicle! But, nope all of you gave nice, informative answers....way cool gang! If you have not noticed me on the forum I go between the 5 and CX 7 forums and own a RX 8....trying to sell it and not sure if I will get the 5 or CX 7! Just had to shout out to you all!!

[Zoom5Zoom]

Cruz

I bet u jump in a CX7 from your RX8 rocket.... JMO. Thanks for comments. BTW if you do jump into a 5 hell hang out with us

Chow for now

[Zoom5Zoom]

POLARBEAR

(first) Keep it up friend you will enjoy the benifits of 5MT before you know it......

[dommo_g]

Nobody needs to heel-toe driving a street car on the street. Especially a guy who can't even drive a stick. That's just stupid and unnecessary. Why even bring that up? He's not racing.

Using the engine/tranny to stop the car is stupid. That's what brakes are made for. I know most people probably do it, but why put unnecessary wear on the drivetrain to do a job that is intended to be done by the breaks? Brake pads are $50 at the most for a quality set. Use them, that's what they're there for.

[jlk_250]

This thread seems too confusing and not what I would call 100% correct. The original question was how to downshift more smoothly. There are two answers. Either slip the clutch by engaging it more slowly or blip the throttle to match RPM before engaging the clutch. Either one is better than being rough with it by just dumping the clutch but I would recommend blipping the throttle. It's quicker and prevents unnecessary wear on the clutch.

Heel and toe is just a way of blipping the throttle while braking. It's not necessary for what the person asked for advice on.

Downshifting to slow the car down is a personal choice with no right or wrong answer. I recommend using the brakes to slow the car, especially if the downshifts are being made smooth by slipping the clutch instead of matching RPM. The brakes are cheap and easy to replace while clutches and transmissions are not. If I use engine braking to slow the car, I just leave it in whatever gear I'm in and take over with the brakes once the engine RPM is low enough that it isn't doing the job quickly enough.

Jon

[cruzdreamer]

Cruz

I bet u jump in a CX7 from your RX8 rocket.... JMO. Thanks for comments. BTW if you do jump into a 5 hell hang out with us

Chow for now

Zoom5Zoom....Yea, most likely the CX 7 since it is more like my car in speed and handling but the 5 I was very impressed with and my son likes van type cars.....though he loves the CX 7 too......it's really whether my hubby wants to spend more $$ and get less gas mileage or spend less, get the utility and better mpg and not worry about the turbo engine. He's the money man though he likes to make me happy so we shall see...I think he's worried about the turbo engine and the CX 7 not being out even a year yet....we had issues with the rotary so he's a bit nervous. 5's are great vehicles!! Enjoy!

[Zoom5Zoom]

Zoom5Zoom....Yea, most likely the CX 7 since it is more like my car in speed and handling but the 5 I was very impressed with and my son likes van type cars.....though he loves the CX 7 too......it's really whether my hubby wants to spend more $$ and get less gas mileage or spend less, get the utility and better mpg and not worry about the turbo engine. He's the money man though he likes to make me happy so we shall see...I think he's worried about the turbo engine and the CX 7 not being out even a year yet....we had issues with the rotary so he's a bit nervous. 5's are great vehicles!! Enjoy!
CX7 engine is now on second year production as it was used in Mazda Speed 6 in 2006. I understand the issues with the RX8 as it is a rotory and FYI more to follow.

They calculated 60 cents per day extra premium fuel costs here in canada based on 20000 km per year.

Bang for your buc is the Mazda 5 and now with the leather interior it brings it up a notch in class.

Let us know what you do please and good luck....

[Mikey444]

Meh, just coast to a stop with your brakes. Changing brake pads are cheaper then changing clutches. Under everyday driving conditiond I never downshift to second gear to stop the car unless I need the umphh. It's too much wear on the clutch.

[ladygrey]

Put car in 1st and start rolling, once you lift off the gas just let the car drive... yup drive on its own no stalling. The 5 has enough torque to keep the car running without stalling. You can even put the clutch in while rolling in 1st and not even touch the gas and drive in 2nd... yup it rocks.

I tried this today - OMG, So cool! I've never had a car that would do this before is this common in newer MTX - the last one I've had before this is a 2000 Accord.

[irloyal]

Go to a mall on Sunday night and spend an hour running through the gears and pretending you are Mario Andretti. You'll get it sorted out pretty quick and have lot's of fun!!!!!!!

[dommo_g]

When I drive the 5, it's also easy to start out in 2nd. Some cars can do it easier than others, and it's helpful when driving in the snow.

[JimboNC]

What I see happening here for PolarBear is he is waiting too long before downshifting as he approaches a red light. He should start downshifting at 1000 metres, or 1500 metres, from the red light, from 4th to 3rd gear. This would give him more time to think about the shift.

Push the clutch all the way in and shift to 3rd, let off the clutch and check your speed before pressing the throttle again. You are slowing early so it won't need much more fuel, maybe none.

As you get closer to the red light, do the same thing again going from 3rd to 2nd gear. OR HOLD 3rd gear and slow down to 27KM, then just before the red light press the brakes to stop while holding the clutch in. After the full stop, still holding the clutch in, shift to 1st gear and you are ready to go as the light changes.

On starting out from the light let it rev up to 1800 to 2000rpm, push the clutch in and shift to 2nd, let the clutch out slowly for a smooth shift. Then as the MZ5 accelerates shift to 3rd. If you feel your speed is fast enough and it won't stall, you CAN shift from 1st gear to 3rd gear by-passing 2nd.

There is NO RULE that says you HAVE TO always shift in sequence. You shift gears UP and DOWN according to the vehicle's speed, i.g. enough RPMs to NOT stall.

Down shift BEFORE entering a turn or curve. Up shift coming out of the turn.
With front-wheel-drive, entering a curve on a country motorway, hold the speed you have, down-shift if necessary, at the apex of the curve give it more gas to pull the vehicle through and out of the curve. Up shift leaving the curve.

Never SLIP the clutch!! Always put the clutch all the way IN or let it all the way OUT. And do not "ride" the clutch pedal like it's a footrest. Slipping the clutch generates a lot of heat which can set the clutch pad on fire.

[JimboNC]

TIP: To prolong the life of the clutch, shift to N (Neutral) and let OFF the clutch at red lights. Then shift to 1st or 2nd gear to move off when the light changes.

[JimboNC]

PolarBear:Look in the owner's manual for the RPMs for UP-shifting each gear, memorize those RPMs and that will help you a lot. As you become more use to shifting you can vary it.

[Mikey444]

What I see happening here for PolarBear is he is waiting too long before downshifting as he approaches a red light. He should start downshifting at 1000 metres, or 1500 metres, from the red light, from 4th to 3rd gear. This would give him more time to think about the shift.

1000 meters away, wow dood, thats 1 kilometer away from the light, a lil far no? lol. I think you meant 100 to 150 metres?