Driving manual....

thanks gnx1987 great explanation so are these the correct steps to rev matching say Im im in 4th and want to go down to 3rd basically i clutch in and whilst its clutched in i rev it abit than take foot of gas than pop it into 3rd is that right ? If not can you give me the step by step guide to doing this ? but in general if you dont rev match when downshifting it will pull ya back unless you let up the clutch very slowly ? Do most people that drive manual rev match or not really ? once again thx

clutch in
shift to lower gear
blip
clutch out

revmatching will save unnecessary strain on the clutch

^Drinks more petrol tho :)

Do you still have to slowly lift your foot off the clutch or you can do it quicker? because whats the difference between normal downshifting and rev matching etc ?do most of you guys use this method or ?

Ok, in order to get a smooth downshift, you have to rev match. You don't learn to downshift smoothly first and then learn to rev match. You learn to rev match first. If you are downshifting smoothly using the clutch alone, then that is wearing your clutch out, and.... cheating. If you can upshift smoothly, then the problem with your downshift is not because of clutch control, but because you're not revmatching.

Forget double clutch and heel toe now. Just concentrate on the basics. And that includes rev matching. You just press the clutch in, go from 4th to 3rd, tap the throttle once and release clutch at normal speed. With practice, you'll be able to tap the throttle such that you have just enough revs. But at the moment, just practice the sequence.

So everyone who drives a manual car does rev matching is that right ? because when i had a few manual lessons the instructors never mentioned anything like it at all ? Thats why im so confused ,at the moment this is what i have understood, if you dont rev match when downshifting you put more strain on your clutch and etc plus its not as smooth as rev matching whereas with rev matching its much more smoother and less wear and tear on engine and parts Am i on the right track here ?

and to downshift when overtaking,
you don't blip, u just press and keep going ? can someone confirm whether this is right ?

driving instructors don't really teach you how to drive...they teach you how to pass youre test...

okay...once you are confident with your manual skills (ie. upshift/downshifting without revmatching/hillstarts/accelerating from a standing stop)
hen try to work in revmatching...

start with what was said b4, with
clutch in
shift to lower gear
blip
clutch out

but over time you'll want to perfect this and you'll find that it may look something more like this
clutch in
once your past the friction point of the clutch you're already starting to shift the gearstick and press the throttle all at the same time
then clutch out

so what it'll feel like is as if you are pressing down on the clutch and accelerator at the same time...

another note is that the amount you need to lift the revs is different from gear to gear. This is due to the difference in the gear ratios...

in your typical car for example, downshifting from 5th to 4th requires just a touch of throttle to match the revs...however downshifting while revmatching from 2nd to 1st (which rarely needs to be down) requires you to greatly increase the revs...

the more perfect you can match the revs of the engine to that of your transmission, the quicker you can clutch out while remaining smooth

when you first try this...you won't be smooth, far from it, but it doesn't take long for it to become a smooth process from any downshift, then after a while it becomes second nature...after a lot of practice you should be able to upshift and downshift without feeling any accel/deccel forces

and yes this may waste more petrol (hardly any i'd say), but it saves your clutch and offers you another element of control...

do u guys ride the clutch in so u dont feel the clutch bite as hard (wen changingn gears) eg. ease the gear change wif clutch
does this help in preserving the clutch life?

i've gotten into the habit nowadays of jus lettin the clutch bite in quick so theres somewhat less 'lag'

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrwillz

do u guys ride the clutch in so u dont feel the clutch bite as hard (wen changingn gears) eg. ease the gear change wif clutch
does this help in preserving the clutch life?

i've gotten into the habit nowadays of jus lettin the clutch bite in quick so theres somewhat less 'lag'

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I let the clutch out fast, at the same speed that I press it in. For upshift, I'm used to the rpm dropping so I can get it almost right most of the time, while for downshift, I blip the throttle and let it out just as fast. No riding of the clutch at all if I can help it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anfz

So everyone who drives a manual car does rev matching is that right ? because when i had a few manual lessons the instructors never mentioned anything like it at all ? Thats why im so confused ,at the moment this is what i have understood, if you dont rev match when downshifting you put more strain on your clutch and etc plus its not as smooth as rev matching whereas with rev matching its much more smoother and less wear and tear on engine and parts Am i on the right track here ?

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Not everyone who drives manual rev-matches. But to answer your original question about how to change down gears more smoothly without that 'jerky' feeling, it would be to rev-match.

I know alot of people who learnt to rev-match while they were learning to drive, some who learnt after. And some people who simply don't rev-match at all.

You are on the right track with the pros of rev-matching, but it doesn't matter if you don't master it, because you're not doing major damage/wear/tear to your car when you're not rev-matching. If you're still uneasy about normal driving, then learn it later.

I know you've had a few explanations, but I have a really simple way to explain rev-matching to my learning-manual friends. . .

Obviously in your car there's two main big gauges, one is the speed, and the other is the revs. The revs shows how much you're accelerating. (Obviously, sorry to be tedious. etc. bare with me.)

Notice how the revs change if you're travelling 70km/hr in 2nd gear to when you're travelling the same speed in 3rd, 4th etc? You will learn that the lower the gear you are in, the higher the rev's will be at the same speed. . .

So say you're in 4th gear at 70km/hr and your rev's are at 3000rpm.
And normally when you're in 3rd gear at 70km/hr, your rev's are at 4500rpm.

When you change down from 4th to 3rd, the rev's will drop and you will feel a slight jerk. So, to try and keep the rev's even and make the change down-gear feel more smooth, you blip the acceleration pedal a little to raise the rev's to even it out to what it would be in a lower gear.. make sense?

Seriously though, because none of us know how well your driving capabilities really are at the moment, and whether it's dangerous for you to drive around trying to learn how to rev-match on the streets...just take it easy because it's not the be-all and end-all. A little jerk when downshifting isn't going to do severe damage to anything, so just be safe and wait till you feel you're confident with all your driving, and judge for yourself when you want to try rev-matching, and all that. Each person to his/her own driving capabilities eh? I didn't rev-match until I had driven my car for 2 years. And there's nothing wrong with my tranny and I still have a stock clutch. Some people don't ever rev-match. So ..yeah. :) Good Luck.

thanks norma thats the best explanation Ive understood up to now,just to give ya an update went for a drive tonight and was trying it quite often, and what happens is i dont feel no jerking, but the rev meter goes up quite abit,im guessing i should give less gas, also how do i know exactly if im doing it right ? I did it in this order, say im in 4th gear going into 3rd
1) clutch in
2)slip it into 3rd
3)whilst holding down the clutch still i give a bit of gas
4)as im giving a bit of gas i release the clutch up

hopefully thats right ?