How to Shift Correctly

[imlou]

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]

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]

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]

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]

no one double clutches anymore. we dont have to.

[BarracksSi]

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]

so ive been driving around like a retard the last few days for nothing?

[imlou]

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]

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]

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]

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.