Downshifting
 

Downshifting: yes or no?
Double-clutching: necessary or not?
Comments and suggestions welcome...

Since there are fewer 5/6-speed manual transmission autos sold in the
U.S. these days, perhaps it is a lost skill?

Downshifting
 

In article >, CR > wrote:
>Downshifting: yes or no?

huh? Of course you need to downshift. Not sure what specific
circumstance you are asking about. Downshifting when slowing for a
light? Not necessary. Downshifting when performance driving, of
course.

>Double-clutching: necessary or not?

Not necessary. If you want to do it for aesthetic or whatever
reasons, by all means.

>Comments and suggestions welcome...

Heal-toe is a worthwhile skill, one I'm pathetic at. But only
needed for racing. Basically, rev-matching on a downshift when
braking to smooth out the transition (avoiding upsetting the car)
and getting it ready for accelerating past the apex. A necessary
skill for serious racing. On the street? Nah, but an enthusiast
would practice the skill.

>Since there are fewer 5/6-speed manual transmission autos sold in the
>U.S. these days, perhaps it is a lost skill?

Yes. Though sales are actually on the increase, albeit from
sadly low #'s.

Downshifting
 

In article >,
CR > wrote:

> Downshifting: yes or no?

Depends on the situation and what you're trying to accomplish.

> Double-clutching: necessary or not?

Optional/waste of effort with modern synchronized trannies. Mandatory
for non-synchronized trannies.

--
Don Bruder - - If your "From:" address isn't on my whitelist,
or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow"
somewhere, any message sent to this address will go in the garbage without my
ever knowing it arrived. Sorry... <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd> for more info

Downshifting
 

On 2006-11-03, CR > wrote:

> Downshifting: yes or no?

Yes.

> Double-clutching: necessary or not?

It's probably not necessary.

But, neither is a Miata. ;)

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Is this ANYWHERE,
at USA?
visi.com

Downshifting
 

On 2006-11-03, Dave > wrote:

>>Downshifting: yes or no?
>
> huh? Of course you need to downshift. Not sure what specific
> circumstance you are asking about. Downshifting when slowing
> for a light? Not necessary. Downshifting when performance
> driving, of course.
>
>>Double-clutching: necessary or not?
>
> Not necessary. If you want to do it for aesthetic or whatever
> reasons, by all means.
>
>>Comments and suggestions welcome...
>
> Heal-toe is a worthwhile skill, one I'm pathetic at.

I could do it in my Alfa Spyder, but I've never been able to do
it in a Miata. I just can't get my foot on both pedals in a
useful manner.

>>Since there are fewer 5/6-speed manual transmission autos sold in the
>>U.S. these days, perhaps it is a lost skill?
>
> Yes. Though sales are actually on the increase, albeit from
> sadly low #'s.

I sometimes practice up/down shifting without the clutch. Now
that's pretty much a useless skill, but it's sort of fun.

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! Yow! We're going to
at a new disco!
visi.com

Downshifting
 

In article >,
CR > wrote:

> Downshifting: yes or no?

If you need to slow for a corner and you wish to accelerate out of it
with as much acceleration as possible, then yes. Definitely yes.

> Double-clutching: necessary or not?

If you want your shifts to be as smooth as possible, then yes.

> Comments and suggestions welcome...
>
> Since there are fewer 5/6-speed manual transmission autos sold in the
> U.S. these days, perhaps it is a lost skill?

--
'It is Mac OS X, not BSD.' -- 'From Mac OS to BSD Unix.'
"It's BSD Unix with Apple's APIs and GUI on top of it' -- 'nothing but BSD Unix'
(Edwin on Mac OS X)

'[The IBM PC] could boot multiple OS, such as DOS, C/PM, GEM, etc.' --
'I claimed nothing about GEM other than it was available software for the
IBM PC. (Edwin on GEM)

Downshifting
 

I have driven my three kids crazy with this one, yes downshifting is part of
operating a manual transmission correctly. I still have to work on them as 2
of them like to put the clutch in and limit the use of brain cells (are they
trying to preserve them? I say use um or lose um!). It saves on your brake
pads to use the engine as such and if shifting is done correctly, there's no
serious detriment to the clutch. It's an advanced driving technique, not
hugely advanced by any means but it shows that you know what they heck
you're doing if little more.

Chris
99BBB

"Grant Edwards" > wrote in message
...
> On 2006-11-03, CR > wrote:
>
>> Downshifting: yes or no?
>
> Yes.
>
>> Double-clutching: necessary or not?
>
> It's probably not necessary.
>
> But, neither is a Miata. ;)
>
> --
> Grant Edwards grante Yow! Is this ANYWHERE,
> at USA?
> visi.com

Downshifting
 

In article >,
Grant Edwards > wrote:

> On 2006-11-03, Dave > wrote:
>
> >>Downshifting: yes or no?
> >
> > huh? Of course you need to downshift. Not sure what specific
> > circumstance you are asking about. Downshifting when slowing
> > for a light? Not necessary. Downshifting when performance
> > driving, of course.
> >
> >>Double-clutching: necessary or not?
> >
> > Not necessary. If you want to do it for aesthetic or whatever
> > reasons, by all means.
> >
> >>Comments and suggestions welcome...
> >
> > Heal-toe is a worthwhile skill, one I'm pathetic at.
>
> I could do it in my Alfa Spyder, but I've never been able to do
> it in a Miata. I just can't get my foot on both pedals in a
> useful manner.
>
> >>Since there are fewer 5/6-speed manual transmission autos sold in the
> >>U.S. these days, perhaps it is a lost skill?
> >
> > Yes. Though sales are actually on the increase, albeit from
> > sadly low #'s.
>
> I sometimes practice up/down shifting without the clutch. Now
> that's pretty much a useless skill, but it's sort of fun.

You'll not think it useless if/when the clutch slave cup goes away on
you 50 miles from the middle of nowhere... Being able to get it home
without needing the clutch is a *MAJOR* Good Thing <TM> that a whole
bunch of people who drive sticks never learn to do.

(I learned it "the hard way" when the clutch cable on a '78 Honda Civic
wagon broke on me as I clutched to grab second coming out of a parking
lot. *MUCH* better to learn it ahead of time if at all possible, trust
me!)

--
Don Bruder - - If your "From:" address isn't on my whitelist,
or the subject of the message doesn't contain the exact text "PopperAndShadow"
somewhere, any message sent to this address will go in the garbage without my
ever knowing it arrived. Sorry... <http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd> for more info

Downshifting
 

Chris D'Agnolo wrote:
> I have driven my three kids crazy with this one, yes downshifting is part of
> operating a manual transmission correctly. I still have to work on them as 2
> of them like to put the clutch in and limit the use of brain cells (are they
> trying to preserve them? I say use um or lose um!). It saves on your brake
> pads to use the engine as such and if shifting is done correctly, there's no
> serious detriment to the clutch. It's an advanced driving technique, not
> hugely advanced by any means but it shows that you know what they heck
> you're doing if little more.
>
> Chris
> 99BBB

I replaced my last miata brake pads at 70,000 miles and they still had
some life left on the front pads. I went ahead and did the rears at the
same time, and it looked like they had half of their material left.

The point is, I guess, is that we are talking about maybe 3 or 4 brake
pad changes total over the life of the car, and that is only if I had
owned it for a long time. I can live with that kind of pad wear.

Brake pads and rotors are relatively inexpensive and brake work is
extremely easy.
The same can not be said for clutches. There may not be a serious
detriment to downshifting for stops, but the surface is still losing
just a bit more material more every single time it engages.

I have been rolling up to stop signs and lights for about 16 of my 22
years of driving now, meaning anytime I have owned a manual, and have
never had to replace one of my own clutches. It works great for me.

My god, I am arguing with Chris D. now. Maybe I'll pick on Houston next. ;-)

Pat

Downshifting
 

On 2006-11-03, Don Bruder > wrote:

>> I sometimes practice up/down shifting without the clutch. Now
>> that's pretty much a useless skill, but it's sort of fun.
>
> You'll not think it useless if/when the clutch slave cup goes away on
> you 50 miles from the middle of nowhere... Being able to get it home
> without needing the clutch is a *MAJOR* Good Thing <TM> that a whole
> bunch of people who drive sticks never learn to do.

How do you handle stopping and starting?

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! We just joined the
at civil hair patrol!
visi.com