Little help handling manual trans on 2003 2.5 RS

Yes, they can be tricky to shift smoothly. With a bit of practice I came up with two tricks that do the job for me. First trick, if in no hurry: short shift it, just go 1-2-3 quicker than you normally would, not accelerating too hard between the shifts and not letting the engine revs go up higher than 2000 and just being... smooth with it. This, of course, is for 'normal' driving. If you want to get going faster than your neighbor's Honda, then do the exact opposite, shift it at higher than 3500, or even 4000, especially between 2nd and 3rd. Have fun... ;-)

2.5's : transmission. My gear shifts are more often than not a little rough (I'm not : just shoving the clutch out or anything). Usually from 2-4th gear I feel and : hear a little jerk as I let the clutch out. If I let the clutch out really : slowly (about 1 or 2 seconds total) and give it some gas, the power is : transfered very smoothly. My concern about doing this is ruining the clutch : / flywheel / general transmission. Just wondering if I was shifting properly : (gradual let out of the clutch) or what. : -michael rodriguez :

You shouldn't need, or want, to slip the clutch. When you press in the clutch pedal and lift off the throttle, the revs start to drop. When going to a higher gear at the same speed, the motor will want to be turning slower anyway, so the trick is learn to shift in the amount of time it takes the revs to drop to correct rpm's for the next gear. Every car is different and it takes some time to adapt, but the bottom line is that if you match the speed of both sides of the clutch it won't jerk when you engage it.