[LT4Greg]

Every car and a truck that I have owned with a manual trans in 44 years the clutch is different and takes time to get adjusted to when driving. My first car in high school was an automatic and since 1979 I have bought manuals mostly Camaros. Have patience and take your time getting adjusted to your Camaro and it will be second nature to you when driving and enjoying the SS.��

[JT6Speed]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

With rev match on I've found it necessary to drive a little differently that with rev match off to get smooth upshifts on the street while driving casually. With it off I do a little more blending with the clutch and throttle to make it smooth. With it on, I typically wait a touch longer to release the clutch and don't ramp in throttle until the clutch is mostly engaged. Reason behind that is rev match will hold the proper RPM automatically until the clutch is most of the way engaged, and any throttle added before that point tends to cause an over-rev that results in a harsher shift. There's a few other ways to achieve smooth shifts as well of course, this is just the approach that worked easiest for me.

As others have stated, the real key to getting smooth is drive time. That's the best way to really get the feel for it and smooth everything out.

Yes, this is true. With rev match off it helps to feather in throttle as you are letting off the clutch. You can get some buttery smooth shifts doing that.

Keep in mind though OP, driving a manual is inherently going to be different than an automatic. Not every shift is going to be perfect, and when you're really into the gas clutching in and out fast it's gonna throw you back and feel a lot different than an auto does under WOT. I always say that a stick can even make a slow car feel faster, just my opinion. Keep practicing and don't go nuts striving for expert level shifts, because eventually that will come without even knowing it.

[Hotwheeltat]

Practice,practice,practice. Don't worry about what other cars feel like. Learn how to use your car and figure out what it wants and how it operates.

[haggler]

I had an ND2 miata, the clutch is more off and on with the Camaro. ND2 had the dual mass flywheel. The clutch release speed is going to depend on how hard you are on the throttle, less throttle then slower and watch the revs. Also, I don't know what it was but I think the clutch needed to be broken in or bled through applying the clutch a certain number of times. After about 500 miles the clutch seemed to operate better. I honestly think there was air in the lines which had to come out. In any case, you should turn off rev match to learn the car - that is what I would suggest.

[Whitespeed]

I've owned nothing but manual transmission cars for over 30 years and the Camaro has the least intuitive clutch of any car I've ever driven. It has a very non-linear progression and the pick-up point is too high. It's made even worse by the very lazy throttle tip in. It was so bad when I first got the car that I could only drive with the radio off and the exhaust in sport mode, because I needed to hear the engine to have any sense of what was going on with the clutch. Making left turns from a stop through an intersection with oncoming traffic was especially nerve-wracking!

When I drive the car for a while, I do eventually get somewhat used to it. But I have two other manual transmission cars, and where they feel instantly familiar to me, every time I go back to the Camaro, I feel like a novice, starting from scratch.

I did install a Hayes Clutch Pedal Height Adjuster and that made a world of difference! Still not perfect, but much more natural to me. I had a chance to drive a stock Camaro a couple of years after I installed the height adjuster in mine and it was an immediate reminder of how much I hated the stock clutch. The only downside of the adjuster is it is a PITA to install without a hoist!

[retmil]

I have a 22SS that I bought new and it has the worst clutch I have ever had and I have had new Camaros since 2012. The engagement point is way too high. I have stalled this car more than all my manual trans cars since I was a kid, including Corvettes, Mopars, Mustangs, numerous German and Japanese
cars. BTW I am 78 years young.

[HyperBlue1SS]

Cars with a hydraulic clutch always seem to engage higher and it's harder to feel the actual engagement point. There is no real direct feedback.

My first experience with a hydraulic clutch was in my 2005 STi and I hated it. In that car (and for the most part in the Camaro) 1st gear is useless other than launching the car.

I tend to use 2nd gear (other than from a dead stop) in normal driving and then skip shift as traffic dictates.

The SS seems to have no real in between. It's either balls out acceleration or granny shifting. Like other's have said. Revmatch is your friend!

You can try physically adjusting the linkage from inside the car to give you a little more or less travel , but it has never really worked for me.

[Whitespeed]

Originally Posted by HyperBlue1SS

Cars with a hydraulic clutch always seem to engage higher and it's harder to feel the actual engagement point. There is no real direct feedback.

That's not been my experience at all. I've owned and driven lots of cars over the decades with hydraulic clutches that have really good feedback and the engagement point has little to do with it being hydraulic. The big detriment to the Camaro clutch feel seems to be the clutch bias valve (looks like a big black knob attached the the clutch hydraulic line near the clutch pedal). I've never been able to find a good explanation for what it's supposed to do or what's going on inside of it. But when I installed my Hayes clutch pedal height adjuster (see my previous post), the bias valve was removed, and that alone got rid of a lot of the non-linearity of the feel. I have my suspicions that the bias valve may be some kind of clutch protection device that forces you to treat the clutch more like an on/off switch rather than letting it slip. But it makes getting the engagement right a royal PITA!

You can try physically adjusting the linkage from inside the car to give you a little more or less travel , but it has never really worked for me.

The only way to get any meaningful adjustment of the pick-up height is something like the height adjuster I mentioned previously


Nigel

[weekend_cruiser]

[QUOTE=Callaway SC630;11317508]

Originally Posted by weekend_cruiser

Will do. I did a little bit of this which helped. Probably will be a good idea to do more.


To clarify. Just the clutch pedal and no throttle.

Right on. That's usually what I do in the parking lot practice. No gas.

Originally Posted by ZPirate

I agree with you. Every clutch is slightly different. Finding the engagement point is critical to being able to really drive the car. As others have said practice is the key to success. After a while it becomes second nature. And rev match certainly makes downshifts smoother.

As someone else mentioned the clutch in the Camaro engages rather high compared to other manuals I've had. That took some getting used to on my part. But at the same time the clutch is very smooth and requires very little effort compared to other cars I've owned. Operating the aftermarket unsprung clutch in my Z takes considerable more effort.

I have rev match engaged. I just wish it stayed on between starts because I don't always remember to turn it on until my first abrupt down shift. Eventually I will learn how to manual rev match but I have other things to sort out first.

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

With rev match on I've found it necessary to drive a little differently that with rev match off to get smooth upshifts on the street while driving casually. With it off I do a little more blending with the clutch and throttle to make it smooth. With it on, I typically wait a touch longer to release the clutch and don't ramp in throttle until the clutch is mostly engaged. Reason behind that is rev match will hold the proper RPM automatically until the clutch is most of the way engaged, and any throttle added before that point tends to cause an over-rev that results in a harsher shift. There's a few other ways to achieve smooth shifts as well of course, this is just the approach that worked easiest for me.

As others have stated, the real key to getting smooth is drive time. That's the best way to really get the feel for it and smooth everything out.

I agree with the drive time. I have been driving more carefully and paying attention to the noises the car makes. I am a little better than last week so hoping the trend continues.

Originally Posted by LT1gen6

Avoid the 1-3 or 1-4 (2nd gear lockout) by staying in 1st gear at least until 20 mph. The subsequent shift to 2nd will be smooth. Take it easy in 1st gear in normal traffic and focus on being smooth. You'll quickly be rewarded.

I like to play a game whereby my shift points are imperceptible to a person in the passenger seat. Smooth driving is an art form in my experience and opinion, inspired by great F1 racer Jackie Stewart.

https://www.deseret.com/1988/6/26/18...smooth-drivers

Shift point being imperceptible to a passenger is the ultimate goal for me. I'm sure that's a long way out but will get there some day . I need to find sometime to install the skip shift eliminator.

[weekend_cruiser]

Originally Posted by mariojas

I drove manual for my first 10 years of driving experience. ZL1 (probably similar clutch experience) - it took me a year to learn it to the point that it is hard to showcase my struggle to others. But I still stall sometimes

Hahaha. I have read the ZL1 M6 is even more tricky but never tried it. The extra power of the ZL1 gives me pause sometimes. Like one wrong move and you end up nicely wrapped around a tree .

Originally Posted by db2022cs

Correct seat position is great and keep it there! Go to an empty parking lot and just find where the clutch starts to bite in. With a lot of seat time, your foot will pick up the muscle memory of where the grab point is so you don't really go by feel or sound as much but just remembering the distance you need to let out before catching. Just getting in the seat time is the biggest thing and make sure your movements with clutch and throttle are smooth. It's going to be super fun for you to slowly get better and actually notice your improvement. Then once you make it past break-in of 1500 miles you can start being a bit more aggressive with your movements and really use that 1LE what it's for.

This is also a great time to make sure you have good habits so you don't wear out your parts. Keep your foot off the clutch unless you are intending to make a gear change. Keep your hand off the stick unless you are going to make a gear change. If you occasionally do this it's fine but a habit of resting hand or foot on these parts could wear out parts faster.

Seating position is sorted now. My friend who first taught me how to drive a stick in his Miata did mention the bad habits. I don't touch the stick except when shifting. I also always put it in neutral when I'm at a light. If I am first at the light and not familiar with how long that light takes, I will sometimes leave it in first with clutch in. TX drivers can sometimes be impatient and won't even give you time to shift into first before the symphony of the horns begin .

Originally Posted by ctrlz

I'm going to guess that both the Miata and Corolla are single disc clutches. The Camaro is dual disc.
The dual disc setup is less "forgiving" around the bite point. Once they start to engage they tend to grab quickly. The dual disc gets you more surface area, so it's a stronger design which will last longer. but in some applications, particularly trucks hauling loads and doing a lot of maneuvering, people just hate them.

No question you will adapt to the feel of this in your new car, it's just not what you learned on. Nobody's perfect. I've driven manual for forty years and still stall once or twice per year if I get distracted at the wrong instant.

I honestly expected the SS clutch to be much heavier than it is considering all that power so I can definitely appreciate the dual disc. Every day I don't stall is a day I celebrate

[weekend_cruiser]

Originally Posted by LT4Greg

Every car and a truck that I have owned with a manual trans in 44 years the clutch is different and takes time to get adjusted to when driving. My first car in high school was an automatic and since 1979 I have bought manuals mostly Camaros. Have patience and take your time getting adjusted to your Camaro and it will be second nature to you when driving and enjoying the SS.��

Right on.

Originally Posted by JT6Speed

Yes, this is true. With rev match off it helps to feather in throttle as you are letting off the clutch. You can get some buttery smooth shifts doing that.

Keep in mind though OP, driving a manual is inherently going to be different than an automatic. Not every shift is going to be perfect, and when you're really into the gas clutching in and out fast it's gonna throw you back and feel a lot different than an auto does under WOT. I always say that a stick can even make a slow car feel faster, just my opinion. Keep practicing and don't go nuts striving for expert level shifts, because eventually that will come without even knowing it.

Do experienced drivers also use Rev Match?

Originally Posted by Hotwheeltat

Practice,practice,practice. Don't worry about what other cars feel like. Learn how to use your car and figure out what it wants and how it operates.

Right on.

[weekend_cruiser]

Originally Posted by Whitespeed

I've owned nothing but manual transmission cars for over 30 years and the Camaro has the least intuitive clutch of any car I've ever driven. It has a very non-linear progression and the pick-up point is too high. It's made even worse by the very lazy throttle tip in. It was so bad when I first got the car that I could only drive with the radio off and the exhaust in sport mode, because I needed to hear the engine to have any sense of what was going on with the clutch. Making left turns from a stop through an intersection with oncoming traffic was especially nerve-wracking!

When I drive the car for a while, I do eventually get somewhat used to it. But I have two other manual transmission cars, and where they feel instantly familiar to me, every time I go back to the Camaro, I feel like a novice, starting from scratch.

I did install a Hayes Clutch Pedal Height Adjuster and that made a world of difference! Still not perfect, but much more natural to me. I had a chance to drive a stock Camaro a couple of years after I installed the height adjuster in mine and it was an immediate reminder of how much I hated the stock clutch. The only downside of the adjuster is it is a PITA to install without a hoist!

Interesting to hear this from an experienced stick driver. Guess I have a long way to go.

[JT6Speed]

Originally Posted by Whitespeed

I've owned nothing but manual transmission cars for over 30 years and the Camaro has the least intuitive clutch of any car I've ever driven. It has a very non-linear progression and the pick-up point is too high. It's made even worse by the very lazy throttle tip in. It was so bad when I first got the car that I could only drive with the radio off and the exhaust in sport mode, because I needed to hear the engine to have any sense of what was going on with the clutch. Making left turns from a stop through an intersection with oncoming traffic was especially nerve-wracking!

When I drive the car for a while, I do eventually get somewhat used to it. But I have two other manual transmission cars, and where they feel instantly familiar to me, every time I go back to the Camaro, I feel like a novice, starting from scratch.

I did install a Hayes Clutch Pedal Height Adjuster and that made a world of difference! Still not perfect, but much more natural to me. I had a chance to drive a stock Camaro a couple of years after I installed the height adjuster in mine and it was an immediate reminder of how much I hated the stock clutch. The only downside of the adjuster is it is a PITA to install without a hoist!

This post sums it up well. I totally agree on the part about getting used to it after driving, but when you come back to it you feel like you regressed lol. Thought it was just me. Especially when I first start driving after awhile I find myself not letting up enough and then the rpm's start shooting up. I was trying to convince myself that the engagement point in these cars is "variable" lmao.

Originally Posted by weekend_cruiser

Right on.


Do experienced drivers also use Rev Match?


Right on.

I think the rev match is great, I use it when downshifting a lot like on backroads and such, because it works well. I just seem to be able to get smooth upshifts without it on, so it's a give and take I guess. Some people prefer the more raw aspect of not having the computer get involved, which I totally get.

[nprario]

Originally Posted by Whitespeed

I've owned nothing but manual transmission cars for over 30 years and the Camaro has the least intuitive clutch of any car I've ever driven. It has a very non-linear progression and the pick-up point is too high. It's made even worse by the very lazy throttle tip in. It was so bad when I first got the car that I could only drive with the radio off and the exhaust in sport mode, because I needed to hear the engine to have any sense of what was going on with the clutch. Making left turns from a stop through an intersection with oncoming traffic was especially nerve-wracking!

When I drive the car for a while, I do eventually get somewhat used to it. But I have two other manual transmission cars, and where they feel instantly familiar to me, every time I go back to the Camaro, I feel like a novice, starting from scratch.

I did install a Hayes Clutch Pedal Height Adjuster and that made a world of difference! Still not perfect, but much more natural to me. I had a chance to drive a stock Camaro a couple of years after I installed the height adjuster in mine and it was an immediate reminder of how much I hated the stock clutch. The only downside of the adjuster is it is a PITA to install without a hoist!

Could not agree with you more on this. Worst clutch feel I have ever driven. On the track it's great but starting out it just sucks.