**I have a question about down shifting**

[TuRbOdReAmZ87]

Well when i was taught how to drive stick. The way i was taught how to down shift was to push in clutch, shift into lower gear, tap gas pedal, and let go of clutch. But i noticed when my friend was driving it, he was down shifting a whole different way. He pushed in clutch, goes into lower gear, and instead of tapping the gas he just lets go of the clutch real slow. And i asked him why he down shifts like that. And he was like its the right way to do it. And i dont know if he's right, i mean he is currently taking classes on manual transmissions. lol But i was just wondering if that wasnt a good way to do it, or if there really is a proper way of doing it. Any answers would be great. Thanks.

 

[swaq]

Your friend is wrong. Matching revs by tapping the gas puts less wear and tear on the clutch. Also, when done right it disrupts the car less. This is particularly important if you are downshifting in a corner.

 

[AF1JZ]

Either one is fine. I usually give it slight gas to make it smoother when I let out on the clutch. But, you can also do the other way.

 

[BlackMKIII]

Depends on if I want to disrupt traction, say, for drifting. Not rev matching can break the rear tires loose. But for daily driving, I try and rev-match. Less wear.

 

[TuRbOdReAmZ87]

yeah when i do it, i "rev match" it and its so smooth i cant even feel it So he is wrong. Hmm thats interesting.

 

[IJ.]

Your friend might have been "wrong" 40 years ago BEFORE Syncromesh gearboxes but now either way works fine......

 

[51Cards]

Your friend is still technically wrong IMO if you want to have those nice syncro's last a long time Yes, both will work... rev matching puts significantly less strain on the trans though not to mention the disruption in the car's motion.

As IJ said though, pre-syncro's your friend would have been reefing on the stick trying to get it into gear and hearing lots of pretty grinding noises.

 

[TuRbOdReAmZ87]

oh alright. I just wasnt sure because i would figure that it would wear out the clutch faster by letting off it really slow, oppose to just letting off quick.

 

[Ckanderson]

Your friend might have been "wrong" 40 years ago BEFORE Syncromesh gearboxes but now either way works fine......

except your disrupting the car.

if he downshifted mid corner he could find himself backwards realy quick.

rev matching is the way to do it.

Ask him why ferrari is now building rev matching into its SMG gearbox downshifts.

 

[IJ.]

<old man hat on> You kids don't know how good you have it with modern cars in my day......... <hat off>

A lot depends on how you're driving the car just plodding slowly around town method #2 is fine and won't really hurt/affect anything, it's not like a 7M is a high comp motor that will lock the rears on compression/engine braking.

Spirited driving is another matter I always rev match if pushing ard and will use some slip if I'm jumping on the brakes as well.

 

[IJ.]

except your disrupting the car.

if he downshifted mid corner he could find himself backwards realy quick.

rev matching is the way to do it.

Ask him why ferrari is now building rev matching into its SMG gearbox downshifts.

How does it "disrupt" the car if he slips the clutch on the downshift? :nono:

Sure if he drops it down a gear and just drops his foot off the clutch.

 

[TuRbOdReAmZ87]

<old man hat on> You kids don't know how good you have it with modern cars in my day......... <hat off>

A lot depends on how you're driving the car just plodding slowly around town method #2 is fine and won't really hurt/affect anything, it's not like a 7M is a high comp motor that will lock the rears on compression/engine braking.

Spirited driving is another matter I always rev match if pushing ard and will use some slip if I'm jumping on the brakes as well.

yeah i mean i remember when he was driving it wouldnt matter how fast he was going he would still downshift like that. So say he was driving down the street doing about 40-45ish and then he comes up to a red light. He'll just down shift into like 3rd or 2nd and let off the clutch real slow! I mean after being in 5th! wtf? lol

 

[Mr. Sinister]

will use some slip if I'm jumping on the brakes as well.

What do you mean by this?

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

You should be downshifting BEFORE you get to a corner not when you are in the turn, "slow in fast out".

 

[IJ.]

Dreams: Still wouldn't make a whole lot of difference

The rev match makes life a bit easier on the syncros once they're engaged it's all good (try 100 mph 5th to 2nd and you'll find their limitations though)

Sin: Say I'm playing on winding roads I'll be using 3rd/4th a lot hammer up to a hairpin bend rev match and go 4>2 stand hard on the brakes to kill the speed feathering the clutch so the engine braking doesn't affect the braking balance from being on the limit, this will bring the engine rpm up getting the motor into it's happy range to accelerate off the slow corner.

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

Sin: Say I'm playing on winding roads I'll be using 3rd/4th a lot hammer up to a hairpin bend rev match and go 4>2 stand hard on the brakes to kill the speed feathering the clutch so the engine braking doesn't affect the braking balance from being on the limit, this will bring the engine rpm up getting the motor into it's happy range to accelerate off the slow corner.

Slow in fast out right?

 

[swaq]

You should be downshifting BEFORE you get to a corner not when you are in the turn, "slow in fast out".

You should be doing heel-and-toe. At least for racing. When you aren't on a race track you're probably not always wanting to be downshifting for every corner, but you may decide mid-corner that you need to downshift.

 

[IJ.]

AJ: Correct it works well for Turbo cars where having the engine spinning fast mid corner helps it get back into boost sooner, if you try and get back on it too soon it really upsets the balance mid corner....

Totally different driving styles depending on the motor, for example I used to have a 12.5:1 comp 302 SBC that would rev to 8k and on downshifts it would easily lock the rears wheels through compression if not careful and you'd get CK's "backwards into the scenery"

 

[TuRbOdReAmZ87]

Dreams: Still wouldn't make a whole lot of difference

The rev match makes life a bit easier on the syncros once they're engaged it's all good (try 100 mph 5th to 2nd and you'll find their limitations though)

Sin: Say I'm playing on winding roads I'll be using 3rd/4th a lot hammer up to a hairpin bend rev match and go 4>2 stand hard on the brakes to kill the speed feathering the clutch so the engine braking doesn't affect the braking balance from being on the limit, this will bring the engine rpm up getting the motor into it's happy range to accelerate off the slow corner.

oh alright. Well thanks for the info! I appreciate it.

 

[MK3Brent]

Sin: Say I'm playing on winding roads I'll be using 3rd/4th a lot hammer up to a hairpin bend rev match and go 4>2 stand hard on the brakes to kill the speed feathering the clutch so the engine braking doesn't affect the braking balance from being on the limit, this will bring the engine rpm up getting the motor into it's happy range to accelerate off the slow corner.

That must be ROUGH on your auto.