Help a guy with his manual A4

[Yuren]

Hello everyone, Im fairly new to Audizine and the stick shift world. Ive been driving a 1999 A4 1.8t quattro manual. So far I feel pretty comfortable with stick shift except for one thing, how should I be driving it over Speed bumps? My neighborhood has streets with plenty of speed bumps, Ive tried two methods but not sure which is best. First method which I think is best is as I approach the speed bump I coast in neutral and use some brake, Once im over the bump I put it in second gear and just ease on to the clutch. Im not sure if this is okay since the car gets some shutter and the rpms drop to about 1000, but when I try instead to get in to first gear i feel some resistance as im shifting in to first. Any comments and help is appreciated.

[TheRedGlacier]

Hey, nice job with getting the 'proper' tranny. Tip menbers might hate me for that. Anyway, I think I know exactly your situation personally. So that resistance.. If it is when you are letting out the clutch, it is the engine braking. Like it is slowly you down by raising the engine rpm. Also known as downshifting (which you already know). Anyway, I've always considered the 01A 5 speed manual to have a very awkward spot in the range.. Right at around 10-15 mph. If you shift into second, you lug the motor = no good. You shift to first, you throw yourself around = not comfy and makes you look bad to some. SO! If you are closer to 10mph, slowly press the gas when the clutch starts to grab, and that way you won't abruptly slow down with the engine braking. If you are closer to 15 - 20 ish, do the same, with second. Don't give it too much gas. It' may take some practice, but you just basically use the gas pedal to smooth out the clutch in awkward places like these. Hopefully that helps a little bit. I'll be around for awhile if that wasn't what you meant :p

Edit: The shuttering that you described, likely linked with the whole car vibrating, is just lugging the motor. Basically your engine is trying to keep up with a tranny thats RPMs are very low, and it (the engine) isn't designed to run that low. So if you were to keep slowing down without going to first or neutral, or shift into third, or higher at that point, you would stall your engine, and have to fire it back up. Lugging isn't going to kill your engine, but try not to make a habit of it.. As the internal vibration at those low rpms is not going to do an engine any good.

[Turbo_B5]

Ride first gear over the bump?


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[Yuren]

WOW im glad I joined this site thanks for the responses guys, Im already learning new things about my car, however what I meant by resistance is not when im letting the clutch out but I feel resistance in the shift knob, like im forcing it to go into 1st after the bump. Ive heard that if you feel resistance like that youre going in to the wrong gear, I wouldnt mind going over it from the start in first gear, but the way the streets are here it gets a but tedious having to shift up from 1st to second so im not going super slow, but then i have to hit another 2 or 3 bumps.

[dalazybastard]

My personal preference is to just do as you said. Coast over bump and depending on speed afterwards, shift into 1st(short/tall) or 2nd(long/flat) with a fair amount of gas.

And you're right don't force it, but if you haven't already changed your transmission fluid; do it. It really cleaned up my shift into 1st and 2nd.

[b6Hate4]

I always come to a complete stop before the speed bump, put it into first then roll over it. Maybe because my cars are both slammed to the ground and I have to cut it completely sideways.

[Avant Nate]

The resistance is caused by your syncros. Either worn or the speed differential between engine and transmission is to great.
I've personally never thought about how I shift on a speed bump, just slow, because I am slightly lower. That and my lowest point is the muffler right behind the front wheels.

[LongBeach]

Just make shure you hit the bump at a steep angle or else you'll pop the oil pan "slammed life"

[OverSpun]

I always come to a complete stop before the speed bump, put it into first then roll over it. Maybe because my cars are both slammed to the ground and I have to cut it completely sideways.

I do it the same way. People must love me when I roll over speedbumps... Sometimes people blast around me in parking lots, etc since I don't run over speedbumps at full speed. Not my problem, no rush in parkinglots or roads.

[down_n_dapper]

You may have to double clutch too get it back into first of second, but first is a pita, can't get mine back in of I'm going over 10 mph

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