When it comes to learning stick shift in a manual transmission car, there are a lot of things that you need to be aware of. For instance, you must understand poor driving and handling of gears can ruin your car clutch and even the engine. That’s not all; another thing you need to be aware of is mid shifts.
Missing a shift in a manual car could cause a lot of issues. For instance, a downshift mis-shift, which occurs when you shift into a lower gear instead of a higher one, could cause a blown engine. Although an upshift mis-shift will, most likely, not damage your car engine, it could damage your gears in the transmission.
To avoid hurting your vehicle or disrupting its balance when driving, it’s essential to avoid missing a shift at all times. What is the best way to stop missing shifting in a manual transmission car? Is it even possible to forget how to drive a stick shift vehicle? As you read through the rest of this post, you’ll find answers to the frequently asked questions above and more. So, let’s dive right in.
How do You Miss a Shift in a Manual Car?
Before going ahead to talk about how mis-shift works, let me start by talking about how the shifting of gears in manual transmission vehicles work.
In a manual transmission car, a stick shift is important for changing gears, especially when depressing the clutch pedal to disengage the engine from the wheels and drivetrain. For you to have better control over your car and achieve a smooth transitioning from one gear to another, it’s essential to understand how the stick shift works.
Generally, most manual transmission vehicles often come with 5 gears. However, some also come with 6 gears, including one reverse gear and five forward gears. Furthermore, changing gears can occur in two different forms; uplifting and downshifting.
Upshifting simply means you’re shifting gear from a lower one to a higher gear. This process is usually done during acceleration, for increased speed and to improve fuel economy in higher gears. Some examples of uplifting are changing your gear from 1st gear to second gear, 1st gear to third gear, second gear to fourth gear, and so on.
As for downshifting, it’s the opposite of upshifting. It simply means you’re going from a higher gear position, such as 5th gear, to a lower one. It’s pretty simple; when running your car in 5th gear and you shift to 4th or 2nd, it’s called downshifting. Now, let’s talk about the mis-shifting of manual vehicles.
Here’s How Mis-shifting Works
Now, you already know exactly how upshifting and downshifting work in manual transmission vehicles. As earlier mentioned, when you shift your gear from 1st gear to second gear or 1st gear to third gear, or even 2nd to 3rd, it’s called “upshifting” and the technique is usually adopted during acceleration.
Imagine you’re driving your vehicle in second and are interested in shifting to the fifth gear for more speed. However, instead of shifting to the fifth gear, you mistakenly shift to the first gear. This is an example of mis-shifting. You chose a lower gear instead of going forward.
That’s not all; the illustration is a perfect example of a “downshift mis-shift.” That said, a downshift shift occurs when you shift your gear to a lower one instead of a higher one.
Here’s another illustration of mis-shift; imagine you’re driving in fourth gear and are looking to shift to third or second. This is an example of downshifting in manual cars. However, instead of changing to the lower gear, you mistakenly shifted the gear to fifth. This is another example of mis-shifting.
This time, you mistakenly shifted the gear to a higher one instead of a lower one. It’s simply called “upshift mis-shifting.”
So, to the burning question of how do you miss a shift in a manual transmission car? The answer is simple; you can do that in two different ways;
- Upshift mis-shift, which involves changing to a higher gear instead of a lower gear.
- Downshift mis-shift, also called “money shift,” involves shifting to a lower gear instead of a higher one.
What Happens if You Miss a Shift in a Manual Vehicle?
The answer to the question depends on the type of mis-shifting; is it downshift mis-shift or upshift mis-shift?
A downshift mis-shifting, if done at a high speed (4th gear for instance), will force your engine past the redline and cause it to spin pretty faster than it’s designed to perform. If this happens, it could cause a blown engine. That’s not all; the driving error could also make the rear wheels lock up. Moreover, a downshift mis-shift could also upset the balance of your car when driving.
On the other hand, an upshift mis-shift will most likely not cause a blown engine in your car. However, it could hurt the gears in the transmission.
Can You Forget How to Drive a Stick Shift?
I’m sure you’ll agree with me that mistakes can happen at any time and place. Since that’s the case, it’s possible to forget how to drive a stick. Matter of fact, this has nothing to do with being an experienced driver.
There are a couple of cases on social media platforms where racers find themselves in this type of mess; mis-shifting. You can check here to see the moment (1:33) Tommi mis-shifted when racing. For those who don’t know, Tommi Mäkinen already won four World Rally Championships before this video.
How Can I Stop Missing Shifting?
Missing a shift when driving your manual car can cause serious harm to the car. If you think you make this mistake too often, it’s best to practice how to shift properly. You can do this during normal driving by shifting slowly until you become better at it.
