When you are heel toe downshifting multiple gears (from 4 to 2), I know some people prefer to go directly from 4th to 2nd while others go from 4 to 3 to 2. For those that row through the intermediate gears, do you release the clutch while you are in an intermediate gear (for example, in shifting from 4th to 2nd, do you release the clutch when you are in third)? Is the purpose of rowing through the intermediate gears to take advantage of engine braking? Are there any other advantages of this particular heel toe technique?

 

its cuz they dont want to DC revmatch. If you dont drop it through the gears OR double clutch it, the synchros will be very unhappy..

 

ummm.. correct me if i'm wrong.. but if you don't release the clutch in the 'intermediate gear' in your example, then there's really no point in shifting into that gear, since it won't engage if the clutch isn't released....

as for skipping a gear, i think it depends. from a 6-5 downshift, you can skip that because 6 is over drive (i think, where the gear ratio is less than 1) So the relative difference between those two gears is smaller than say, the difference between between 3-2.

But when you're in 4th gear, i'm assuming if you want to skip a gear, you're braking rather heavily, and taking down your speed a lot, but your braking power can't slow you down enough to smoothly down shift into 2nd.

It just makes more sense to shift into 3rd, and let the engine braking assist and then shift into 2nd and that will result in a smoother downshifting while braking, slowing your speed and keeping yourself in gear and in the proper power band for acceleration if necessary.

I would skip 6-->5 if i was driving normally, say below 5000RPM without too much worry/thinking, but if you were driving at say 160kph+, and you wanted to downshift/brake, i wouldn't skip 5th, because you're already at 6000ish (?) RPM, and if you shift directly to 4th, it'll be very hard to match, and if you don't do it right, it'll be very jerky, and dangerous.

The last advantage is that you won't misshift since the revs are easier to match from 3-->2 vs 4-->2, it'll be easier to get into gear without forcing the shift , and if you shift sequentially (up and down) enough, it becomes habit/instinct and everything will be smoother...

somebody correct me if i'm wrong, i'm just writing by what i do, and hopefully, some common sense. I've no racing education or driver's training either... so i feel somewhat not qualified to answer, but just giving it my best shot!

 

actually, after all that typing, realized, you don't want to skip gears downshifting when you're at a high RPM because that won't work, you'll redline

Even if you do match it, the chances for error are great, and that will either damage your car and the potential for unsmooth driving which could lead to weight shifting dangerously from the front to the back.

If you're not at a high RPM, it's kinda pointless, because it's still harder match, and you might as well just engine brake but rowing down the gears.

Lastly, ikeyballz is right, sycros won't be happy

 

Don't repost the same thread in multiple subforums.

I'll leave the one in R&C because that's where you're likely to get the most accurate discussion.