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phammerz
04-19-2004, 06:06 PM
Hi, I'm completely new to the world of driving stick, I was wondering if people post how the shift ie slowing down to a complete stop or getting it into first for that matter. What are good habits, and what are bad habits? What is rev-matching and how is this accomplished? What are other terms that should be noted etc etc. Any and all good advice is greatly appreciated, thank you for your time.

ps. if there is an outstanding guide that I couldn't find, please direct me to it

chubbychu
04-19-2004, 06:07 PM
just be gentle.

Si4U2NV
04-19-2004, 07:14 PM
"do not downshift into FIRST, ever"

unless your going VERYYYYYYYYYYY VERY slowwwwwww

-Mike

siver-SI
04-19-2004, 07:24 PM
For stoping I push in the cluch while I brake and then I only shift into 1st if I am making a complete stop. If it is a rolling stop or just a slow down for someone to turn in front of you I will go into 2nd.

Slip_Angle
04-19-2004, 07:27 PM
What if your autocrossing? Say your going around a slow corner and second gear is at like 1500rpm and you need to apply throttle to exit fast? Downshift warranted?

siver-SI
04-19-2004, 07:34 PM
Originally posted by CDN-SiR-02
What if your autocrossing? Say your going around a slow corner and second gear is at like 1500rpm and you need to apply throttle to exit fast? Downshift warranted?

I would try 1st because it is racing, but watch out for tire spin because that would suck to get while in the middle of the turn.

ecsahs3
04-19-2004, 07:36 PM
blip the throttle before you throw it into first

siver-SI
04-19-2004, 07:44 PM
Originally posted by ecsahs3
blip the throttle before you throw it into first

Good point there.

Si4U2NV
04-19-2004, 07:47 PM
Originally posted by ecsahs3
blip the throttle before you throw it into first

revmatching is alwayz good when downshifting period...

correct me if im wrong...:smilem:

-Mike

civic hatch boi
04-19-2004, 08:20 PM
first off. if you're racing, heel toe.

secondly, when you brake, you shouldn't press in clutch until you're bout to shift out. other wise ur car will become a bullet.

chubbychu
04-19-2004, 08:25 PM
Originally posted by civic hatch boi
first off. if you're racing, heel toe.

secondly, when you brake, you shouldn't press in clutch until you're bout to shift out. other wise ur car will become a bullet.

whats wrong with this?

Rueda del Queso
04-19-2004, 09:18 PM
If you depress the clutch while braking, you are making the brakes do all the work. If you leave it in though engine compression helps slow you down as well, making you stop faster.

civic hatch boi
04-19-2004, 09:21 PM
Originally posted by Rueda del Queso
If you depress the clutch while braking, you are making the brakes do all the work. If you leave it in though engine compression helps slow you down as well, making you stop faster.

exactly.

chubbychu
04-19-2004, 09:27 PM
oh i see...but woudnt that put unnecessary strain on the motor?

ilive2r011
04-19-2004, 09:56 PM
i just put it in neutral most of the time i stop now ..i figur whats easyer and cost less to replace the syncros or the brakes ?

ATRIOT
04-19-2004, 10:40 PM
Hold the shifter like a womans breast not like your own dick.

phammerz
04-20-2004, 05:34 AM
okay, say im going 50 on the road and im in 5th, i need to start to slow down so i press the break and then down shift when the rpms are lower? or do i just press the break until i stop? then when i want to get going again do i downshift from 5-4-3-2-1 then get goign again that way or do i put it in neutral when im stopped and then go to 1st and the cycle begins again?

ecsahs3
04-20-2004, 09:22 AM
Originally posted by phammerz
okay, say im going 50 on the road and im in 5th, i need to start to slow down so i press the break and then down shift when the rpms are lower? or do i just press the break until i stop? then when i want to get going again do i downshift from 5-4-3-2-1 then get goign again that way or do i put it in neutral when im stopped and then go to 1st and the cycle begins again?

don't downshift thru the gears. you'll just be wearing your clutch. mainly use your brakes. from 50, after hitting the brakes, i would probably downshift to 3rd or 2nd depending on where my speed is at....somewhere that lies me around 3.5k on the tach. or, if i was about to mash around a corner, i'd brake at 50mph and before i hit the corner, blip the throttle and toss it into 2nd and accelerate (heel toe). make sense? i'm not a good explainer sometimes.

civicxnoob
05-05-2004, 01:03 AM
does blip the throttle mean when you press in clutch and push the accelerator down to match revs and then complete the shift? im also noob to stick but im learning.

BarracksSi
05-08-2004, 05:40 PM
Originally posted by civicxnoob
does blip the throttle mean when you press in clutch and push the accelerator down to match revs and then complete the shift?

Yup, that's the gist of it.

Lancesta
05-08-2004, 05:50 PM
NOOOB!!!!!! doesn't even know how to drive stick yet! hahaha

siver-SI
05-08-2004, 06:14 PM
Originally posted by Lancesta
NOOOB!!!!!! doesn't even know how to drive stick yet! hahaha

Hey give him credit at least he is asking. There are a lot of people that think they know ho to drive and they do not. So what do they do? They screw up their trans.

BarracksSi
05-08-2004, 06:17 PM
Plus, everybody was a noob at everything. Remember not knowing how to walk? Or how to keep from pooping your pants? I don't think anybody was born knowing all the tricks to shifting a transmission.

k20whiteboi269
05-08-2004, 06:33 PM
Originally posted by Lancesta
NOOOB!!!!!! doesn't even know how to drive stick yet! hahaha

not cool. eveyone had to learn once......

civicxnoob
05-09-2004, 03:13 PM
i don't understand the difference between blipping the throttle and double clutching. whats the point of double clutching when you can take a shortcut and just blip the throttle?

BarracksSi
05-09-2004, 03:39 PM
Double clutching brings the gears inside the transmission up to engine speed, which relieves the syncros from too much friction. But, it involves blipping the throttle, too.

Car in gear, then:
clutch in;
shift to neutral;
clutch out;
blip throttle, bringing revs to anticipated engine speed for downshift;
clutch in;
shift to desired gear;
clutch out;
keep driving.

All in about one second. It's pretty neat when I can do it right (still working on 100% effectiveness.. lol).

Blipping the throttle with the clutch disengaged doesn't quite get the same result, but it can take care of matching the engine speed to road speed. Proper double clutching (which does blip the throttle) also effectively brings the transmission up to road/engine speed.

civicxnoob
05-09-2004, 10:42 PM
wow that explains it. thanks! does it matter how long it takes to double clutch? does taking too long have any negative effects?

BarracksSi
05-10-2004, 12:25 AM
As long as you get it done before you have to start accelerating again, you're fast enough.

BLKNJEP03
05-14-2004, 07:46 AM
uhhhhhhhh....::scratches head:: thats confusing for some.... how bout a vid for the underminded!!haha,.... yet i have found that doubleclutching while downshifting feels better and the passanger isnt getting whiplash...

BarracksSi
05-14-2004, 09:15 AM
Those were the fewest words that I could use, and yeah, it's still a bunch of steps. You'll probably have to sit there at the computer desk and do it in slow motion (don't worry if you're at work and your coworkers laugh... ;) ).

I've seen a bunch of footwork on videos, usually rally vids and stuff like that. Also, someone posted a link to a Japanese Honda site that featured a multi-angle track video of a CTR, and I think it had an inset window showing just the driver's feet.

imlou
05-17-2004, 08:44 PM
examples on when to use heel-n-toe and double-clutch:

double-clutch:
say your cruising around town on 5th gear (70km/h) and the light ahead of you hits yellow and your not really close enough to just breeze through it, and being in 5th doesn't give you enough torque. So in this case I would double-clutch into 3rd and floor it to get enough *umph* to get you through the light.

heel-n-toe:
This is different because you will be needing to use the brakes. So say your coming to a turn and your in 4th gear, so you would need to slow the car down somehow so quick way to do is to heel-n-toe into 3rd then to 2nd and then mash the gas on the way out of the turn. Heel-n-toe is when you use both feet and all pedals at the same time. So easy way is to brake, then step on clutch and while stepping on clutch you use the heel of the braking foot to blip the gas, then downgear and and release the clutch all in one motion. You can either stay on the brake or release doesn't matter.

hope that helps. Best Motoring videos are best to show these manuvers.

ecsahs3
05-17-2004, 10:03 PM
but if you stay on your brake and you don't match engine speed right when you blip the throttle, the car will jerk forward. <----that's me sometimes.

BlasTech
05-18-2004, 06:25 AM
I never 'engine brake'... the brake pads are cheap to replace, and made to stop the car... nothing else.

When I autocross, I never ever downshift to first no matter how slow the turn is... why? Two big reasons:

1.) I suck at downshifting and botch it halft the time.

2.) When I do get it right, the act of down shifting, cooking through first gear while exiting a turn, and shifting back up to second takes just as much or more time than just staying in second through the turn.

Besides, lots of 1st gear torque in a turn just spins the inside wheel, staying in second makes it easy to smoothly accelerate out of the turn... by the time your wheel is straight, you are back in the power zone, and ready to use it.

chubbychu
05-19-2004, 03:23 PM
Originally posted by BarracksSi


Car in gear, then:
clutch in;
shift to neutral;
clutch out;
blip throttle, bringing revs to anticipated engine speed fordownshift;
clutch in;
shift to desired gear;
clutch out;
keep driving.



i dont quite understand the deal with double clutching. besides saving your synchros and tranny from excess friction wear, what else does it do?

is double clutching something to do all the time? when im just normally driving (relaxed and slow) it seem stupid.

also, when i blip the throttle, i overblip...is that okay?

and how does double clutching have anything to do with racing? isnt straight shifting better than dcing when racing?

civic hatch boi
05-19-2004, 03:28 PM
no one double clutches anymore. we dont have to.

BarracksSi
05-19-2004, 07:41 PM
Originally posted by plainol2k2si
i dont quite understand the deal with double clutching. besides saving your synchros and tranny from excess friction wear, what else does it do?

That's the main part of it, actually. The general reliability of transmissions these days doesn't require as much, if any, knowledge of double clutching.

I do it when, say, I need to downshift for turning at an intersection or something. For racing purposes, I'd imagine, it's quicker to skip the double clutching part, although some race gearboxes -- with their straight-cut gears and all -- would benefit from it.

chubbychu
05-19-2004, 07:59 PM
so ive been driving around like a retard the last few days for nothing?

imlou
05-19-2004, 08:04 PM
i rarely double clutch, its just makes the transition from a higher gear to a lower gear smoother without using the brake and without the jerky motion when you release the clutch quickly.

for racing, you would use heel-n-toe alot. this also makes transitions smooth so you won't upset the balance of the car. its not too good to over blip. you just have to get use to the car and know what rpm the car should be at during different gears and speeds.

in everyday driving there is no need for either of the two techniques, especially since gas is so damn expensive its probably more cost efficient no to do either.

BarracksSi
05-20-2004, 09:02 AM
Originally posted by plainol2k2si
so ive been driving around like a retard the last few days for nothing?

I believe so... ;) :D

Just playin'...

imlou
05-20-2004, 09:20 AM
Originally posted by BarracksSi
I believe so... ;) :D

Just playin'...

haha well everyone has to learn sometime. if you practice at low speeds then the amount of blip will be less. this is the only hard part i find to figure out. once your on the track its simple to do cause all you do is mash the brake and at the same time blip the gas high enough that when you downgear its not too low. heel-n-toe on track is much easier to do than on road i find personally.

BarracksSi
05-20-2004, 09:30 AM
Originally posted by imlou
haha well everyone has to learn sometime.

Exactly.

I remember when I had to learn how to walk.

...well, not really, but I'm sure I was a lot less graceful during that first day than I was a year later.