Wow there's a lot of advice going on here and terms that people don't understand. After racing F2000 cars and being in a formula atlantic car I quickly realized theres more to shifting then even 99% of "aggressive" drivers understand

Let me actually explain "rev-matching" and "double clutching" so we're all on the same page.

For everyone on here saying DON'T SKIP GEARS.....
There is no problem with skipping gears. There however is a problem with skipping gears up or down improperly. I'll teach some fundamentals here.

1# The double clutch vs. Rev-Matching

The term double clutch means clutching two times between shifts (read on). Rev-matching is what it sounds like. Matching the engine RPM to the drive (wheel) shaft speed. Majority of drivers here on this forum likely well understand the concept of rev-matching. However i would bet my T3/T4 hybrid turbo smile.gif that there are a HUGE number who don't understand the double clutching concept.

A Rev-match is used to smooth the "jolt" that happens from the clutch plate and drive shaft spinning at different rpm. This is most important in a corner where a jolt to the rear wheels can upset traction being used to corner thus making the car potentially spin out. A rev-match smooths the transition of the gear change allowing the driver to stay in the proper rpm range for maximum power delivery without upsetting the balance of the car. Simply rev to a higher rpm that you would estimate will best match the downshift gear your moving to. This is a linear equation (example: 3rd gear at 5,000rpm *needing to go to 2nd gear* will mean a throttle blip with the clutch in to 6,800rpm will put you much closer then just grabbing 2nd gear at 5,000 which will the clutch plates to accelerate the flywheel up to the speed of the driveshaft in a jolting action.

The double clutch technique... Double clutching properly does more then just rev-match the engine rpm to the drive shaft rpm. Double clutching also matches the tranny speed to the other two speeds. I will most commonly double clutch when i know i must do a massive down shift such as 5th gear WOT to 2nd gear for a tighter corner. As I begin maximum braking with the ball of my right foot and and my speed gets close to proper corner entrance speed I clutch and move to neutral. THEN LET OUT THE CLUTCH and blip the throttle to the correct RPM for 2nd gear (you'll probably need to be adding throttle here to avoid engine braking). STILL while I'm braking I depress the clutch AGAIN and switch to 2nd gear. Then I very quickly let out the clutch fully and now I'm in 2nd gear still or more likely no longer braking for the upcoming corner. This is commonly called "swinging your knee" because when your doing it correctly to pivot your foot and hit the throttle with your knee you''ll notice your knee swings towards the passenger seat. With this method as I make the apex of the turn I begin accelerating out of the turn progressively to WOT. And wait to do it all over again smile.gif
This method will reduce all your tranny wear issues, and if you've driven a tranny with no syncro-mesh you'll be forced to do this.

YOU MUST WHILE DOWN SHIFTING MOVE TO NEUTRAL AND THEN WITH THE CLUTCH OUT AND REV TO SPEED THE TRANNY. Then depress the clutch as you would normally to change gears.
Consider Neautral a gear of it's own as if it must be used between every other gear when down shifting. SIMPLY REV MATCH NEUTRAL WITH CLUTCH OUT BETWEEN DOWNSHIFTS.

ALSO NOTE...If you do this correctly you can shift up and down any gear to any gear without ever touching the clutch!!!! i can move from 4th gear high rpm to 3rd gear no problem with no clutch. (dry shift) Just make sure you know what your doing before you do it. To learn the concept drive through 2nd gear when your accelerating. When its time to shift (mid rpm to learn this) Simply let off the throttle and for a short moment before engine braking kicks in theres a point where the engine is providing no load at all to the driveline. This is the moment to pull the car outa gear WITH NO CLUTCHING. As you pull it out of gear continue right past neurtral and put with a swift movement go straight from 2nd gear and continue pulling right into 3rd... you'll feel it just drop into place... no clutch. No grind No jolt (very slight jolt) When you can do this on up shifts *much easier* you'll be ready to learn it on the down shift... Just blip in neutral just slightly higher then the drive gear speed would be and continue downshifting with pressure against the next gear and it will fall right into place. NEVER PULL A CAR OUTA GEAR WHILE ON THE THROTTLE PAST WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO MAKE THE CAR REV TO THE CURRENT RPM IN NEUTRAL.

 

I agree with the whole rev-match, but double clutching on a S??
is that really necessary? with a syncro trans I didn't think it made a difference if you double clutch and if it did would be such a small difference. Also shifting with out the clutch in my experience in a car takes longer to shift than with the clutch.

I have been riding bikes for years and raced for a while too.
I would only use the clutch to start but after that would just blip to the next gear. Also its way easier on a bike because it revs way faster.

Just my thoughts

 

nice write up i liked it.

but u never really explained the "concept" of rev matching.

 

i'll go over that sexycheeto, thx

Crash test your right on the money I've raced street and dirtbikes for years and No it isn't necessary. However it will make your tranny last longer. apparently from the topic goin on about 5/6th gear taking damage i guess it is necassary due to an underbuilt 5/6th gear? I'm just teaching people a way to avoid the issue of it being damaged all together if they want to. I Always rev-match and if i skip more then one gear i always double clutch, no reason for the sync-mesh to take all that load when a simple blip in neutral (clutch out) will smoothen it out.

Yes shifting w/o clutching is almost always MUCH slower and much smoother. I'm not recommending this for aggressive driving but everyone should teach themselves until they could do it comfortably because this proves their own ability to correctly guesstimate rpm gear to gear.

 

Helps a lot when you clutch master/slave goes out. Only thing hard is if your at a dead stop (traffic) since the car will most likely jump when put into gear.

 

i rev-match when i down shift all the time. Always have always will. Nice writeup.

 

ok i'm gonna ask again...because i've done a lot of research...mainly what i keep getting from every source that no matter how its done...its the clutch slipping that will wear out a clutch. not keeping the clutch pressed down while braking and such. this is my point..i wanna know if this is myth or fact...

say i'm doing 50 and i approach a stop sign...so i put the clutch in..hold it in...and stop with brakes...what people call "ride the clutch"...how much damage does this do if any in newer car's? seriously i think this is total myth bs that "the springs will wear out and the clutch will start slipping and omfg your engines gonna blow!!!!"(exageration) but pretty much thats the point...i think people really make too much of holding the clutch down and i wanna know if its true or not...

here's a better way to put it...who here had a clutch fail because the springs failed because they kept it held in while breaking instead of putting it into neutral and letting the clutch out???

 

Naa i mean you wear the throw-out bearing when you do that. It's bad habbit, It wont wear the clutch plates as much as it stresses the system. The disc is well supported when it has pressure on it. When you depress the clutch and seperate it theres more room for it to flex and it will to some very small degree flex while its spinning due to a lack of perfect balance and put a very small amount of strain on the whole system. It could be compare to dry-firing a handgun. For example 95M3's have a throw-out bearing the wears out easily and you dont wanna clutch more then you need to for that reason.
If you know your comming to a stop....just throw her in neutral and let the clutch out and have no probs at all.

For your question... no it wont make your clutch wear out extremely fast etc. I stay in neutral at a light until i see the oposite side turn yellow...then its time for first gear. You dont have to do this but its just a little easier.

I dont brake while im in gear and the clutch is out. Engine braking the engine is hard on internals.

It'd be hard to honestly be able to prove that riding the clutch is what weakened the springs and made the clutch slip and caused it to wear out. To some degree there is truth in this. However, I'll tell you a far worse thing is smoking the clutch to hot temps which will for sure weaken the springs and create more slippage thus wearing the clutch out faster. This is what i suspect the previous owner of my car did as my clutch now slipps at over 295hp. Titanium springs (and ti-metal in general) are FAR more resistant to these things which is why Ti springs are being used throughout motorsports now. Ti- is wearker then steel but stronger then aluminum but more flexible then both. It's ability to flex and come back to its original shape is phenomenal.

 

ok cool thank you very much for the answer...i appreciate it...i dunno i just feel safer driving the way i do because it's saved my *ss twice already where i had to quick step on teh gas and dump the clutch to get outa the way of freakin idiots on the road because they didn't see the bright red light that means "stop your f'ing car"...so yea i might wear out the throw out bearing...i dunno to me i just like being that much more ready....

i really honestly think all these people who's clutch goes in 20 to 30k miles are just bad drivers....like i dunno it took me a week with my s to learn to pull out right...but i always have been able to pull out in first with little to no slippage...and thats why i guess my old car's clutch never wore out with me driving it for 4 years...and 50k miles...and it being my first manual car hahaha i know not many others can say they sold their first manual car without ever replacing the clutch and not having too because it was still just as good as the day when you bought it hahaha...and for everyones interest my grandfather gave me his car for a week to learn manual...a week after i did that i bought my old car..which was a nonturbo eclipse manual...so its not like i learned on a diff car for 5 months AND THEN got my eclipse...i only stalled the eclipse 1 time its entire life too(second day i had it..lol in the middle of traffic on a hill in a 3 lane highway roflmao i was emabarrassed)...damn i must be good

 

you owe me one T3/4 turbo.