Manual Downshifting to 1st Gear

[Kundiethala]

Im def no expert in driving stick but have practiced the basics on my brothers chevy cruze for the past year. When ever coming to a full stop from like 45 mph, I would hold in the clutch while placing the car into 1st gear in preparation for after the stop. The clutch would be engaged the whole time i was braking and until the light turned green. Never found a problem with the cruze so it became a routine at every stoplight or stopsign.

Just picked up a MT FR-S yest and in the same situation (slowing down for red light from 45) when I have the clutch all the way down, I tried to put it into 1st gear, I hear a grinding sound. Did I just learn it the wrong way on a beater car or is something wrong with my car. After I heard the grinding, I switched to only moving the gear into neutral to slow down. Sorry if this is a really dumb question. This is my first real car and dont wanna mess it up.

[5hairpins]

Rev matching. Goose the gas and it will go into gear much easier.

[Snozzberries]

The car won't let you drop into first gear until you are below 10 mph or matched for revs (if you are going 20 you would need to rev up to around 5 grand) is what I have been seeing. Ideally you will be downshifting through all your gears as to not wear on your brakes as much. If you do this right you will barely need to break and will have as smooth as a deceleration as if you were braking, figure out heal toeing as well. This is just the habit I was taught.

[Turbowned]

Most manual cars will keep you out of being able to shift into first gear until you're going very slow (<10mph). You can try forcing it but it's not good for the transmission, hence your crunching sound. Keep it in second til you're at a mostly dead stop. Besides, shifting into first when you're still in motion makes for herky jerky driving which passengers don't enjoy.

[yomny]

Usually most cars I've driven won't allow me to input first gear while applying mild force until the speed of the car comes to around 10-15mph. Now if you push the gear hard enough you may be able to put it in at higher speeds but may cause the grind. Try this while coming to a stop, clutch in and try and go into first gear but without pushing, keep holding it there and you'll see when reaching <15 the tranny will allow you to input it.

[civicdrivr]

Two things -

Leave it in gear when slowing down. You save more gas this way and you can easily accelerate if you need to.

You shouldnt put it into first if youre going faster then ~10mph. Go into second. Hell, at 45mph, thats third gear.

[FRSowner]

Originally Posted by Snozzberries

The car won't let you drop into first gear until you are below 10 mph or matched for revs (if you are going 20 you would need to rev up to around 5 grand) is what I have been seeing. Ideally you will be downshifting through all your gears as to not wear on your brakes as much. If you do this right you will barely need to break and will have as smooth as a deceleration as if you were braking, figure out heal toeing as well. This is just the habit I was taught.

Brake pads are much cheaper and easier to change than clutches. I recommend using the brakes to slow down. It's easier on the car and much more controllable.

[speedy racer]

Downshifting might save your brakes, but it puts more wear and tear on engine. Cheaper to replace brakes as oppose to engine work.

[DaJo]

Originally Posted by speedy racer

Downshifting might save your brakes, but it puts more wear and tear on engine. Cheaper to replace brakes as oppose to engine work.

Some wear and tear on the clutch and the flywheel, yes
But downshifting is not at all bad for the engine. It was made to be rev-ed.
With proper driving techniques (downshifting and foot brake), you can save gas (believe it or not) and your brakes. Win-Win

[ZDan]

Downshift while slowing down, not to save brakes, but to always be in the right gear should you need to accelerate.

Done properly, no issues as far as engine/trans/clutch wear. Clutch in a modern car will last approximately FOREVER if not abused. I have always downshifted through the gears in my S2000. 149k miles, 22+ track days, original clutch/trans/engine.

Usually not necessary to downshift to 1st, though I do that as well just to keep practiced in heel/toe rev-matching.

[empower-auto]

Street driving you should never have to downshift to first in the traditional downshifting method. You should be going slow enough that 1st is absolutely warranted and then I recommend going from 2nd to neutral, letting the revs drop and slowing down a lot and then engaging 1st from a very slow roll. Treat your car well

[Draco-REX]

I've never had a car actively prevent me from shifting into first above 10mph. And that includes my BRZ. The thing is, the engine has to rev very high to match the car's speed in first. This disparity means the synchros need to work very hard to get everything up to speed, which they usually can't.

However, with proper double-clutching and rev matching, you can shift into 1st at any speed.

Here's a downshift into 1st at speed, at 0:13
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jw2_Krx_1g"]7/1/12 OVR SOLO (BRZ Drift) - YouTube[/ame]

[Snozzberries]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

I've never had a car actively prevent me from shifting into first above 10mph. And that includes my BRZ. The thing is, the engine has to rev very high to match the car's speed in first. This disparity means the synchros need to work very hard to get everything up to speed, which they usually can't.

However, with proper double-clutching and rev matching, you can shift into 1st at any speed.

Here's a downshift into 1st at speed, at 0:13

That was a clean down shift!

[winter]

Originally Posted by civicdrivr

Two things -

Leave it in gear when slowing down. You save more gas this way and you can easily accelerate if you need to.

You shouldnt put it into first if youre going faster then ~10mph. Go into second. Hell, at 45mph, thats third gear.

I second these points.

If you leave your car in gear and don't push in the clutch while slowing down your car doesn't burn gas to keep your engine turning.