Preferred downshifting method?
 

I was just pushing the clutch in putting it into the lower gear and then pressing the gas pedal liberally while releasing the clutch. I have now started practicing heel toe. Blipping the throttle with it in neutral and foot slightly on brakes then throwing it into the lower gear and then gas in and clutch out.


Is there a method that I should be doing? Or does it not really matter?
Still have tons to learn with manual, so don't make fun of me too much. :P

Put it in a lower gear when/if needed. Pretty much don't need to be rev matching, blipshifting, double clutching, heel-toeing etc when driving normally.

I rev match downshifts and double clutch rev match if skipping gears.

DOn't know what is correct just how i do it.

You don't need to heel toe unless you really need to slow down and expecting to accelerate right away, i.e. making a turn but you went from 40 to 20mph you can heel toe to get you down to the right speed and be in the right gear right away. Even then you're mainly doing it for the sake of no jerking and being at a preferred rpm.

Otherwise what you're doing is right, still practice the heel toe for the sake of learning it but you're essentially just rev matching regardless if you're braking or not. Just clutch in, blip the throttle while switching gears and release clutch at a smooth rpm.

hell toeing/ blip shifting, etc. is normally not needed for everyday driving.. You should rev match for smoother downshifts but that's about it when it comes to daily driving..

i rev match when wanting to take a turn faster or when i want to pass someone

Rev matching is essentially what I said that I've been doing right? Just clutch, neutral, lower gear, gas to right rpm as I pull the clutch out. Is that right for normal driving? It feels right. When I do it to the proper rpm, there isn't any jerking or excessive acceleration.

Also when in 3rd or 4th gear and rolling up to a stop light, I clutch and brake, neutral, clutch out, come to stop, clutch in, put it in first and wait. Is that proper for minimal clutch wear? Or should I just hold the clutch in all the way through the deceleration to the stop?

I would go to 3rd gear and when u start to get below 1500 rpms follow this sequence;
Clutch in
3rd to neutral
Clutch out
coast to stop
wait at light til green
clutch in
first gear
go.

Never just hold the clutch in when not needed. That puts premature wear on your throw out bearing and out cars are notorious for having bad TOB..

Over thinking the whole thing once again! If it feels right do it. If not don't.

I prefer the paddle on the steering wheel for downshifting :popcorn:

I just rev match every downshift out of habit and it's smoother. For agreesive-ish daily driving I only heel and toe when going from 40+mph to a right hand turn. Otherwise just don't ride your clutch and drive it like a normal manual car.

You should really learn and master how to do them all (rev-match, double-clutch, heel and toe, even granny) as you can use any one of these techniques in different situations of traffic at various speeds.

Don't overthink just keep practicing and most importantly get some good fitting shoes with thin flexible soles (I always recommend Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 which is readily available).

Thin soles give you good pedal feel so you can accurately apply the amount of gas / brake / clutch. The best I've found is actually Geox Xense Moc but I've had durability issues with them from too much walking (burned thru 3 pairs in 2 years and not exactly cheap either).

You should never be sitting at a light holding the clutch in; you will prematurely wear out the throw-out bearing.

Hi. Could we get the IKEA version of these instructions? Kthxbyeeeeee.

I'm with @Tcoat. All of the overanalyzing.

Syncros do all the work for you. Any downshift blipping/rev matching, heel toe, etc is all above and beyond the necessary.

I'd like to take a second to counter something said before though. Coasting to a stop out of gear is a good way to end up in a situation you can't get out of. Stay in gear until you're at a point that your engine can no longer sustain it, or downshift.

Okay. This is probably a stupid question now, but how do I downshift without rev matching? Do I just wait until the rpms get low enough by taking my foot off the gas and then shift smoothly down? Or do I just do it whenever I want and let the engine brake as long as it isn't going to redline?

I have given up even presenting that fact since some people just don't seem to get the simple concept of in gear = control of the car, coasting in neutral = soapbox racer.
Be prepared for the multi "But Bro brakes are cheaper than engines" responses.


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Both, depending upon circumstances. There is no one answer to this. I could show you how to do the various different things and what circumstances they are best for but to try to reply in print is almost impossible.

Synchros do work but I disagree in general. If you drive even just slightly aggressive dragging the clutch will cause jerky shifts.

IMO anyone who regularly drives "spiritedly" should rev match

Damnit. I need just sit in a car with a good manual driver for a while to learn shit. I mean, I can get from point A to point B now, but I want to get better. I want to learn these situations. Trying to figure them out for myself will work I'm sure, but it will take a long time. haha. I'm almost at 1k miles, and I still feel like such a newby.

I'm 40k still feel like a nub

Learn by doing man

Wait, so to confirm do not hold down the clutch at like a stop light? Have I been doing this wrong the whole time? ffs

A few seconds fine. A few minutes no.

I never said your shifts wouldn't be jerky, I said it isn't necessary. I always blip and actually heel toe if I'm trying to decelerate faster. I get a lot more lash than most if I don't blip though, too many bushings and stiffeners.

No, you'll eat your throwout bearing faster. Also don't rest your hand on the shifter.

40 YEARS and still screw up every now and then.

occasionally when downshifting, you may miss the time window for getting back into gas smoothly. rpms drop too low and let the clutch out, the momentum will drag the engine rpm up to meet the momentum.
opposite of that is over revving by giving too much gas for given momentum.

neither are best practice situations from a mechanical perspective (it would seem) but wont grenade the car if happens occasionally.

When I drive I like to pretend my car has a sequential gear box and go through the gears, usually heel toe unless I have the room to just engine brake. My philosophy is the more comfortable you are with your car the better you will drive on the track in a sense.

This is so true. I been driving for a little more than a year on my BRZ (first manual trans car) and at first i was over thinking the whole thing too much and it was messing up the first few days. But now i just do it without thinking too much and my revmatch on downshift are solid 99% of the time.

I don't really know how to explain this... but I learned standard on a motorcycle, and I drive my car the same way I ride. Clutch in, put in gear, then release clutch and push gas at the same time. What "method" is that exactly? I didn't even know there was more than one way to drive a stick. What the heck is rev matching lol?

Matching the transmission and engine speed so you don't get driveline lash?

Just gave that a shot. The cruise control turned on for some reason.

All I know is - I've owned manual transmission vehicles my entire life - and I drive all of my cars to 100k miles or more. I hold the clutch in at just about every stop light everywhere I go. NEVER have I worn out a clutch or throwout bearing.

Lol. This is exactly what I do. If you give it enough gas it gives you a pretty smooth transition into the lower gear. I am just going to keep doing that and am going to stop holding the clutch in at stoplights. Still going to coast into the stops though. I am nowhere close to fast enough to downshift in time before making it to the light. I will piss so many people off because I will have to start down shifting so far away from the light. I will keep trying to downshift as much as possible and try to learn the other methods, but right now they are confusing as hell with all the different opinions and without knowing when to use which one.

Spot on

If I'm coming up to a stop and say in like 5th gear or whatever (example, red light on a highway) I just clutch in, move from 5th to 1st, stop, then take off from 1st. Is that not how it's supposed to be done lol? Do people actually go 5th,4th,3rd,2nd,1st?

This is easier, faster, and smoother when you are downshifting on the street. You don't need to shift to neutral it's unnecessary.

1. Clutch in
2. blip throttle
3. shift to lower gear
4. release clutch

Well you have literally no power in 5th gear at 20 mph, and you're probably lugging the engine pretty good, so yes I do downshift, maybe not necessarily in that order. It's a good idea to stay in gear, just in case shit happens. If the guy behind me is about to smash into me because he's texting, another car comes flying at me head on for whatever stupid reason, etc, you better believe I'm getting out of the way, or at least giving it my best effort.

I rev match most of the time when downshift for smoother transition. Heel toe'ing is fun! It's so easy to heel toe in this car.

for me, i usually downshift to the gear that is 1 number less than the current gear. so ill numerically go down one. example: 5th gear ill go down to 4th...etc.

i say this because rev matching should be the only method as it will save your friction disk.