well its just annoying for me b/c my dad says i'm not doing it right if the head is bobbing so everytime he gets in the car he complains, and so i go slow to stop the bobbing like you guys said, and i'd be fvcking damned if he didnt complain that i drive too slow. god damn i cant win with this guy.

but thanks guys, good to know.

and i think i'll get those snub mounts because i think theyre mentioned in just about EVERY THREAD ON THIS WEBSITE.

 

I've been driving a stick shift for Many years now and I notice the head bob too...I don't really care with my guy friends but when I'm with my girl I feel like I might give her brain damage or something so I try and shift cleaner...This is something I noticed about physics. Have you ever been driving downhill and you say damn that was smooth? Think about it, if you are driving downhill your car will continue rolling when the car is not in gear or when you let off the gas. The change in momentum is small because your car does not hisitate as much during gear transistions...Whereas if you are driving on a flat surface your car will decrease speed if you let off the gas. My point? Torque is what you feel pulling your head back as you drive the key is to shift where the least torque is available. Driving slow is an option but also you can rev smoothly up to about 4K rpm where your torque level has decreased and when you let off the gas there is not a dramatic change in momentum; like rolling down hill. It might not be 4k exactly but you will know what i'm talking about when you try it. Drive in first gear until you feel your car sorta level out with torque and then shift. This explains why you get more head bob when you are driving faster, the more torque you create at the time of the shift the more dramatic the change will be between shifts...Sorry this was long...haha

 

is this thread already closed? I just joined this forum and thought I would share what I know.

To prevent head bobing...
.. before you shift, ease your foot off the gas (not all the way but just a little... definately don't accelerate)
.. just after or almost at the same time, push in the clutch (don't have to do this easy but don't slam on it)
.. Shift up
.. rev the engine to the RPM range (it is ok to be higher)
.. let go off the clutch (do this part easy.. might need some practice but as long as you don't suddenly let it go, you should be ok)

why heads bob..
.. the driver, you might notice your head doesn't bob (assuming the car doesn't have crazy power) because you already know you are going to shift and your body anticipate the bob and prevent it.
.. the passenger, unless he/she look at you driving and your feet at the same time, won't know when the shift will happen so the body doesn't counter the effect and thus.. the head bob.

Hope that helps.

*** I started learning with manual trans at 15years and I am now 22 (I think I got enough exp)