For a while i've lived with the aggressive rocking that results from letting off the gas in first gear. The car pitches back and forth if i were to give it some gas and let off. Of course I expect this to happen with a front wheel drivetrain and loads of torque, but I remember a time when my car wouldn't behave this way. Before if I were to do the same, the gear would wind down in a linear motion without jerking the vehicle around. Now it seems to grab really quick causing the nose to dive, then let off causing the nose to rise, eventually settling down as the gear winds down.

Sure I could change my suspension setup to counteract the effects but it only masks the symptom. I'm curious whether this is a mechanical issue worth taking to the dealer or if its just a nuisance that you other 6-speed owners have put up with by riding the clutch more at lower speeds.

 

well i did it today in my auto.. avout 15 min ago and my car is 4 years old.. you run up to like 4000 rpm and then let off suddenly the front end will dive a little then rise back up.. but its not like the car continues to rcok up and down like this for a while right, my car seems to do it once and stop and my shocks have 85,000 miles on them and havent EVER been replaced

 

i'm pretty sure since 1st gear is so short, all cars experience this. Might be getting a little worse as the suspension ages, but I doubt anything is "wrong".

 

No I don't get this and I am a 6spd too.....but I am not stock either.....i'm running D2 coilovers set on the stiffest setting....n aftermarket rims/tires (both very lightweight compeition wheels).....I can go WOT in 1st gear and let off and the car never jerks back n forth.....it catches easily and doesn't bounce around......

try stiffening up your suspension or upgrading rims/tires.....also maybe consider upgrading motor mounts....i'm going to buy PLACE RACING ones pretty soon.....so i can get rid of that wheel hop

 

okay dumb question, but are you taking your foot all the way off the gas?? because once it starts to slow from the engine drag, your foot might be moving forward (inertia) and stepping on the gas again?? I don't ever let off the gas in 1st gear without pushing in the clutch, because it's just too short to slow down smoothly, particularly in the lower RPMs...likewise with downshifting..I don't know many people who downshift into 1st when they're slowing down...

 

Seems normal..except if it is too much that the jerking is unbearable, it might be your engine mounts

 

I think that jerking you're feeling is your engine rocking back-and-forth on the mounts.

 

yes i do let off the gas completely....it doesnt jerk at all.....but i do understand where your coming from.....i driven a few cars and let off the gas in 1st gear and it would jerk back n forth...

 

bad motor mounts makes sense with what i'm having.

Those Place Racing mounts have recieved some praise on this forum.

 

My first gear does that too. I assumed it was driveline slop since we have weak motor mounts. Another thing I have noticed about 1st gear is that if I am rolling with the shifter in 1st and the clutch in I get a whining noise. Anybody else experience this?

 

I've experienced that jerking on any stick car i've driven. All part of having a manual, i guess.

 

the whining is normal. In fact, everything you are talking about is normal. Maybe you should not have bought a stick? All this is to be expected when owning a close ration 6 speed with a lot of torque.

Mark

 

Mine does this rather annoyingly (2000 5spd), I'm pretty sure it's the front/rear motor mounts.

I'd wait out for the Energy Suspension initial deal for their new motor mounts (and other suspension bushings kit) coming out soon. I'm going to buy some and have them installed whenever I can get to it.

 

The rocking, if it's anything like what I'm experiencing, is NOT normal. I mean, some 'rocking' is normal but not with the level of force I'm feeling it. Sometimes even after taking off, with the car maintaining its speed you can feel a back-and-forth "oscillation" in the chassis, as if the engine was continually bouncing back and forth on its mount (presumably to dissipate force applied to it when I shifted into 2nd and hit the throttle).

 

I have been experiencing this with my car as well since day 1, but the Nissan Tech said thats normal. The only way to have a smooth start is to play with your clutch and gas pedals: revv it up a little then let go of clutch fast, then switch to the 2nd gear. Just learned to live with it.

 

It could be an aging motor mount and not a totally broken one. I guess have a dealership check the motor mounts.

If it is violently moving I would say there is a problem which it seems that is what you're describing.

Mark

 

That's exactly what it is -and it's so common it has a real name: rubberbanding in the drive line.

If you are old enough to have ever driven a Fiat 124 Spyder or Coupe or any one of the Fiat 131 Mirafioris, you know rubberbanding intimately....these cars were infamous for that.

The reason it's more noticeable in 1st gear is simple: the same way that 1st gear gives you the greatest rate of acceleration, it also provides for maximum retardation on engine braking so...it's the gear where the engine rocks most on its mounts when you let off the throttle quickly...

 

I also noticed this too (2k2 6-spd), but i didnt think anything of it. I just thought it did that because the gears were so short. I just put in the clutch every time i take off the gas if im in 1st

 

Das the way to do it! If you cant get off the gas smoothly -meaning, using a very controlled rate of deceleration where u are still feathering the throttle, just clutch and coast......

 

Yeah, i get this too in my 2000 maxima 5 speed...its got around 73000 miles on it now.

 

Mr Galo: Isn't riding the clutch bad for the clutch? I was always taught NOT to ride the clutch ever..

Mark

 

A simple solution would be to take it out of gear. Otherwise shift into 2nd gear. If my TQless 3rd gen can coast well below 5mph in 2nd gear without complaints, I'm sure a TQwonder 5th gen can

 

Screaming VQ nailed it.....just pop it into neutral.....

 

shift! first gear is meant to get you moving, not cruise around in.

 

Sounds to me like some of you 2k/2k1 guys may be experiencing the infamous fuel cut issue. That is different from driveline shock and shouldn't impact the 2k2+ crowd as far as I know.

With the fuel cut problem, the extreme jerking you feel is not the result of a mechanical problem - rather it is the ecu cutting the fuel and then resupplying and it has been a subject of many discussions and a tsb to somewhat fix the problem.

The way you should be able to tell the difference is based upon the rpm at which it happens. If you are in first at 4k rpms and let off and immediately get a jerk - that's driveline shock. You will feel the fuel cut at a different place - around 1500 rpms if you haven't had the tsb and a much narrower window and less severe around 2k if you have had the tsb.

So, if you let off and don't get an immediate driveline shock but get one as the rpms wind down - that's fuel cut.

Still aggravates the heck out of me - cruising in 1st gear around my parking garage is a real PIA.

 

I know what you mean. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish the two, but the fact that I sometimes have the fuel cut and THEN a series of oscillating jerks forward-and-backward afterwards tells me that there's definitely something more going on than a mere fuel cut...

 

I hear you. I've attributed the oscillating jerks to the fuel being cut and resupplies then cut and resupplied. However, it may be that the fuel cut initiates the driveline shocks and that there are some motor mount or suspension issues exacerbating the problem.