ok...last question i swear. Lets say I'm in 4th gear coming to a red light so I brake to around 20 mph and all of a sudden the light turns green. By the time the car in front of me starts moving im like under 15 mph. In this scenario what I do is disengage the clutch-neutral-then shift into second and slowly engage the clutch. Is this correct or incorrect?

 

learn how to rev match! that is one of my biggest pet peeve

 

Take a look at:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm


It tells you how a manual transmission works. I personally feel that knowing what goes on inside the tranny helps my learning process a lot ...


Anyway, totally agree about the rev-matching part Though only do that when you get the basics down ...

 

Being new to a clutch, that last thing you need to worry about is rev matching, especially when you are on the brake. The last thing you'd want to do is rear end someone trying to work all three pedals on a down shift. Concentrate more on getting the correct gear, and never let up on the clutch unless you are sure which gear you are in.

Rev matching is be no means must. The transmition has syncrons to make double clutching and revmatching obsolete. Doing so may save a little tiny bit of wear, but it's not a must.

The one real benifit to rev matching is smoothness, so once you're comfortable with the clutch, start thinking about it. But your not going to break anything if you don't rev match every shift.

For your 4th at low speed question, down shift in sequence if you can. And be sure about which gear your in before letting the clutch up. One useful trick is to use the spring loading of the gear shift to find where 3rd and 4th are. Then from center neutral, a light push forward or back gives you 3rd and 4th. Pulling it toward you gives you 1st and 2nd, pushing away 5th and 6th. I know this is obvious, but think about it as you shift, and you won't miss a shift. If you are slamming gears and don't know where you are, then a miss shift is likely.

 

Rev-matching does not always require heel-toeing.

 

True, but it's an advanced topic, that a new driver shouldn't worry about. IMO, the basics like gear selecting and clutch/gas pedal operation should be mastered first. IMO, with so much going on a misshift is more likely.

 

[QUOTE=__redruM,Oct 20 2006, 11:05 AM] Being new to a clutch, that last thing you need to worry about is rev matching, especially when you are on the brake.

 

Here is something that I posted in a thread last night. It's about double-clutching, which like heel-toe, I'd ask a beginner not to worry about until they can upshift and downshift smoothly, but I included some explanations of the differences between rev-matching, double-clutching, and heel-toe. Maybe some will find it useful.

I'd also encourage you to read through that thread here if you're interested. REDMX5 has some great insight to share and he words his explanations much better than I can.

[QUOTE=00CivicSi @ Oct 19 2006, 09:33 PM]
[QUOTE=zzyzxroad @ Oct 18 2006, 08:24 PM]
The descriptions of double-clutching seem consistent with the term - you are putting the clutch pedal to the floor twice.

 

This is really all I'm saying. But if one must rev match each shift, then one must heal-toe, or do an awkward dance between braking and down shifting. Rev matching on upshifts almost happens by itself, it's really only the downshift where it requires the driver to pay much attention. IMO, rev-matching is just good form, and not a required skill. But tonight, I will open up the old owners manual and see if I can find the page where it talks about rev matching, and then we can put this to rest. Is Honda telling us to revmatch, or is it only good form. That's the misinformation that I see here. Were basically telling a noob that he must revmatch or buy a buick.

 

Also while were on the topic of double clutch down shifts, do I blip once or twice? My instincts say I strech the blip out some, but I very rarely double-clutch.