More on Downshifting....
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Joined: Jul 2002
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From: Washington DC
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More on Downshifting....
Ok... Thanks to all the tips, I've been out practicing. Its going well, sometimes the car slows down very quickly, sometimes it doesn't. I'm not getting thrown forward nearly as much as I was when I started.
Now. Is it right to feel the clutch pedal dragging up the RPMs? This is what seems to slow the car down. I'll give it a little gas then let the clutch out and it will pull the rpms up to where they need to be. OR do you rev it higher than you need to and then release the clutch so that the RPM's fall to where they should be? I'm not sure.
Other question: What is double clutching? It's in F&F and I've seen it around on here, but what is it?
Now. Is it right to feel the clutch pedal dragging up the RPMs? This is what seems to slow the car down. I'll give it a little gas then let the clutch out and it will pull the rpms up to where they need to be. OR do you rev it higher than you need to and then release the clutch so that the RPM's fall to where they should be? I'm not sure.
Other question: What is double clutching? It's in F&F and I've seen it around on here, but what is it?
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 366
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From: Toronto, ON. Canada
Rep Power: 0 i didn't catch your first post, just make sure you aren't at an rpm in the gear you are shifting from that will redline the gear your shifting to, shift, let the clutch out nice and smooth, and yeah, you will feel that "drag", that's your engine slowing you down.....
alritey folks. grab a pencil and a notepad, cuz class is in session.
when you are travelling at a certain speed in a given gear, let's say 60 mph in 4th gear for illustration's sake, the engine will "produce" it's respective speed of about 3600 Rotations Per Minute (RPM).
when you downshift to third, solely by means of your clutch, the engine speed (RPM) will try to catch up to the road speed (the speed at which the car is travelling), or MPH as we see it on the speedometer.
since at this point the car is travelling faster than is the engine revving, you will feel the car 'catch' like you've stated. That's called engine braking.
Drivers use that to their advantage to shorten braking distance and to remain in gear longer in order to accelerate, out of perhaps a turn, quicker. By the way, at sixty MPH in third gear, the tach might read something near 4800 RPM.
about the part where you said the car isn't catching when you rev the motor as you're downshifting? it's called rev-matching. Drivers rev-match the by 'blipping' the throttle to the anticipated RPM range for the lower gear as they downshift. Rev-matching is performed for a smoother downshift by avoiding engine braking.
Keywords review:
Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) = engine speed
Miles Per Hour (MPH) = function of formula distance/time to calculate speed
engine braking = car feels like it's catching
rev-matching / throttle blip = smooth downshift
woohooh00 = sage. found zipping through busy streets of large cities.
now give me your hot sister. whichever one.
when you are travelling at a certain speed in a given gear, let's say 60 mph in 4th gear for illustration's sake, the engine will "produce" it's respective speed of about 3600 Rotations Per Minute (RPM).
when you downshift to third, solely by means of your clutch, the engine speed (RPM) will try to catch up to the road speed (the speed at which the car is travelling), or MPH as we see it on the speedometer.
since at this point the car is travelling faster than is the engine revving, you will feel the car 'catch' like you've stated. That's called engine braking.
Drivers use that to their advantage to shorten braking distance and to remain in gear longer in order to accelerate, out of perhaps a turn, quicker. By the way, at sixty MPH in third gear, the tach might read something near 4800 RPM.
about the part where you said the car isn't catching when you rev the motor as you're downshifting? it's called rev-matching. Drivers rev-match the by 'blipping' the throttle to the anticipated RPM range for the lower gear as they downshift. Rev-matching is performed for a smoother downshift by avoiding engine braking.
Keywords review:
Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) = engine speed
Miles Per Hour (MPH) = function of formula distance/time to calculate speed
engine braking = car feels like it's catching
rev-matching / throttle blip = smooth downshift
woohooh00 = sage. found zipping through busy streets of large cities.
now give me your hot sister. whichever one.
hmm..but does rev-matching still slow u down? cuz i've been tryin it out lately goin from 4th gear around 40 mph to 2nd matchin the rpm's an it doesnt really feel like it gets any slower then if i was just coasting in neutral but i duno..i r uber noob
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Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Bellevue, Nebraska, US
Rep Power: 0 Well, i dont know if this answers your question but...
Most people think simply dropping gears and not rev-matching makes you go faster cuz you "feel" a "boost" but really its the car getting slower real quickly until you hit the gas which will make your head fly back from going slow. so in reality you go slower and lose time when you dont rev-match.
When you rev-match, its a nice smooth "boost" without much of an engine brake like stated above.
but i could be wrong, so somebody please correct me if i am, or elaborate for me.
Most people think simply dropping gears and not rev-matching makes you go faster cuz you "feel" a "boost" but really its the car getting slower real quickly until you hit the gas which will make your head fly back from going slow. so in reality you go slower and lose time when you dont rev-match.
When you rev-match, its a nice smooth "boost" without much of an engine brake like stated above.
but i could be wrong, so somebody please correct me if i am, or elaborate for me.
yes, rev-matching will slow you down. letting off the gas will slow you down just as well.
like i said, there is a significant sensation when using only the clutch to perform engine braking.
downshifting will slow the car down in all situations, but most drastically in this type of extreme situation, aside from engine braking:
5th gear at 75 MPH at ~5000 RPM, rev-match to about 6500 RPM, downshift to third. (actual figures may vary: these are off the top of my head.)
the speed will decrease in third gear much quicker than in fifth gear, just by letting off the gas.
all of this has to do with gear ratios, and you don't want really want another lecture from me, do you?
like i said, there is a significant sensation when using only the clutch to perform engine braking.
downshifting will slow the car down in all situations, but most drastically in this type of extreme situation, aside from engine braking:
5th gear at 75 MPH at ~5000 RPM, rev-match to about 6500 RPM, downshift to third. (actual figures may vary: these are off the top of my head.)
the speed will decrease in third gear much quicker than in fifth gear, just by letting off the gas.
all of this has to do with gear ratios, and you don't want really want another lecture from me, do you?
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Joined: Feb 2002
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From: Charlotte, North Carolina, US
Rep Power: 0 You blip the throttle so as to not upset the car when entering a turn. If you are entering or going through a turn, you want to downshift so you can acelerate out of the turn but you don't want to upset the momentum of the car when you do. The heel-toe method is popular for accomplishing this. Also, if you want to downshift smoothly if you are traveling in traffic and need to pass or what have you, simply press clutch in, quickly rev the engine, and release the clutch. This will keep you traveling at your current speed instead of slowing down for that split second before you get back on the gas.
