A newbie's doubt about driving

Hello fellow carwale members . i am an ardent fan of your forum and artilces . i own a ritz vxi which is about 3 months old . since i am a newbie driver i keep revvs below 2k rpm . so my query is when i shift gears like 1st to 2nd , i feel a jerk while releasing accelrator for changing gears . what might be the reason ??

Well, the reason is that you're new to driving. As you drive you will get smoother at changing gears. Don't worry, just keep on driving. One thing to keep in mind while changing gears:

Try to follow the gear selection speeds given in the user manual. Another way to go about it is to look at the tachometer (RPM indicator) - upshift as it reaches the redline marker.

While slowing down again downshift at the speeds where you upshifted.

Hello Anurag, welcome to carwale family. While changing gear from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd, press the clutch fully and then release it gradually, not instantly. The jerk should be gone. Try it and let us know.

EDIT: I did not notice Rohit's post. My advise is in addition to what Rohit has mentioned

In addition to what Anshu has said, make sure you are not pressing the accelerator while changing the gear. I know it sounds a dumb advice, but in the beginning I used to do it. 

Thanks for the replies guys . sir i am very much acquainted with releasing clutch , clutch control etc .. but my primary doubt is when i try to release gas paedal whilist  upshifting  from 1st to 2nd , the car sorts of jerks

Rohit b.d suggest that one should upshift at redline on the tacho pod  i.e at ( 6000 rpm )are we into drag race or something ?? Max torque of a vehicle kicks in before 4500 rpm .so no need of shifting gears at 6000rpm unless you want tremendous speed and ruin your fuel mileage .

Mod comment: Posts merged into one.

Well, although counter-intuitive, if you accelerate really fast and reach top gear at the earliest AND THEN maintain minimum RPM for that speed, you will get better mileage - the reason is that you spend less time in lower gears (and consequently relatively higher RPM). It is not the gear or vehicle speed that wastes fuel - it is the RPM at a given vehicle velocity: Lowest RPM for highest speed = best mileage, and this is something only the highest gear(s) can give - viz., 4th and above. So get to highest gear as soon as possible and try to keep vehicle in highest gear with minimal accelerator push - then see the mileage you get.

Anyways, I suggested looking at the tacho simply because I thought you might not know the shift-point speeds. If you know at what speed to change gears then that is the better way of doing it, otherwise use the tacho.

One more suggestion. from 2nd gear onwards, after u shift the gear, release the clutch gradually and fully and then apply the accelerator very slowly. sudden throttle too sometimes gives a jerk. i experienced it many times. (not applicable for fast driving) . Only if u want to drive very smoothly and want a very comfortable ride.

What? That means upshift at 6400 RPM! Think its a typo. Redline indicates the end of the safe zone for engine operation, that is 6-7K RPM for petrols and 3.5-5k RPM for diesels depending upon the engine and manufacturer. Gradually releasing the clutch helps a lot IMO. It will help the engine to adapt to the speed at a slow rate and hence avoids jerking, which happens when we release clutch suddenly.

what is IMO and IMHO ??  anyone.

Shifting gears at the red mark in rpm meter u can tune ur vehicle to race well. forget FE and go for performance.

IMO is in my opinion and IMHO is in my humble opinion.

Driving between 2000 - 2500 RPM ( within 5000kms ) in all gears, is it advisable ?  ( as i read somewhere to keep the rpm below 2500 before the car completes 5000kms

I normally use the 1st gear from stop and after a 30 secs, change to IInd gear when it is in or near 20 and then shift it to 3rd when it is between 30 - 40 and then 4th if it is above 40.

Sometimes in stop and go slow traffic i move the vehicle from a standstill in IInd gear too.