[QUOTE=RED MX5,Apr 5 2008, 09:05 PM]I generally don't see most questions as stupid, because they generally reflect a desire for understanding.

 

The fast reply feature is often used irresponsibly, as demonstrated about 15 times in this thread

 

How does this do anything at all ? you put the clutch in, you rev the motor, shift gears and then let the clutch out...you just did NOTHING !!! You did not rev match the gearbox, you may have rev matched the motor but you did nothing to save the gearbox.

You put the clutch in, shift to neutral, let the clutch back out, match the revs, put the clutch in and shift to the lower gear.

Now you have rev matched the gearbox and will do no harm to your synchros or gearbox.

 

Yes, it is possible. Let me share a story with you first, and then I'll explain how it's posible to shift so smoothly that the passenger won't even feel it.

Right after we put the supercharger on my car, I naturally had to take all my closest friends for a ride. Cindy Cook was as impressed with the power increase as everyone else, but during her ride she made a comment that took me aback. We'd just accelerated away from a red light, not at WOT, but "briskly," working pu through the first four gears, when Cindy asks me, "Do you know what I like most about your car and Ryan's car?" Of course I had no way to know, so Cindy told me; "I like the way your car and Ryan's car can accelerate up through the gears without throwing you back and forth." I grinned uncontrolable, looked at her, and spoke, and at the same time, she also spoke. In unison, we both said, "Maybe it's the driver rather than the cars."

Ryan is a very smooth driver, and that's exactly what Cindy was feeling when she rode with him, and with me.

Being smooth and keeping the car balanced is critical in autocrossing and track duty. Ideal control inputs are sinusodial. When shifting, the throttle is not slammed shut. Rather, the throttle is released smoothly. At the same time (and since several things happen in parallel, fast shifts result) the clutch pedal is depressed. This operation is timed such that the clutch disengages at the point at which acceleration reaches zero. Likewise, as the clutch comes back out, the throttle is pressed again, smoothly, so that the clutch engages as the engine speed is just enough for very slight acceleration, so as to avoid shifting weight to the rear. This is in fact the ONLY safe way to shift mid turn when you are already near the traction limit of your tires. If you don't use well timed sinusodial control inputs you simply cannot keep the car as well balanced as it can be kept, and on the track or autocross courses you won't be as quick as you could be (at least at those times when smooth shifting is critical). On the track or autocross course, you drop the power or add power as quickly as you can, but you still use sinusodial inputs to avoid overshoot and the resulting unbalancing of the car. You will feel the acceleration taper off quickly and smoothly to zero, and them pick up again, just as smoothly and quickly. On the street, you generally drop and pick up the power much more slowly, and it's actually very easy to shift so smoothly that the passenger doesn't feel it. It is primarily a function of timing the clutch engagement and release points with zero (neither plus nor minus) acceleration from the throttle.

As far as I know, it's just a matter of practice. It's actuall the way I was taught from the beginning, so it's the only way I know.

 

[QUOTE=neuronbob,Apr 6 2008, 06:23 AM]Thanks for the .

 

[QUOTE=hguerrero,Apr 6 2008, 09:02 AM]i always use the brakes.

 

LOL, is that what's happening? Are people posting without reading the entire thread?

 

I don't see others as "stupid" just because they don't understand something.
LOL, there are an infinite number of things I don't understand.

One thing I don't understand is some of the comments late in this thread. They seem to totally ignore all that has gone before. I'm thinking I'm expecting too much of some here when I expect them to read an entire thread before posting something stuipid.

I think this was one of the things that use to get XViper upset, and this thread has made me feel some of his pain.

 

[QUOTE=mikeyr,Apr 7 2008, 12:18 AM] How does this do anything at all ?

 

[QUOTE=marks_lude,Apr 4 2008, 03:21 PM] if the car caught fire, thats has nothing to do with rev matching.