if you're maximum braking into a corner, the only place where you're accelerating is going to be the grass, and I don't think an extra 30 horses are gonna do me any good.

then you are braking too late.

point is, 5-4-3-2 down shifting or braking at 5th and shift into 2nd before enter into the corner, it really doesn't matter as much. IMO it's more the personal preference.

again with close gear ratio like the FRS, skip a gear or two won't make much difference.

personally, I like to be in stay over 2000 rpm, where engine will still make decent power. If I drive a car that makes all its torque at 2000rpm, then honestly I will drive around town in 5th gear most of time.

not too much experience on that, since I am from Vancouver. We only had 2 days of snow last time. Winter driving is not our expertise.

Other than skipping gears on upshifts I also drive this way. Once I've driven a close ratio 6 speed, I find the gear selections so much better that I can never go back to an old school 5 speed. :burnrubber:

I usually just clutch in & put my gear into the gear I want for exit while breaking, then release clutch once I'm about the speed for wit ever gear I want to be in?

I think OP might benefit from riding a bicycle that is equipped with shifters that can shift multiple gears up or down at once, in order to be more easily familiar with the mechanics and behavior of how a transmission works.

I'm surprised that anyone recommends not engine braking. I have always been in the habit of downshifting while decelerating. For example from 80km to a light I might go from 5-4-3 and possibly to 2 for gentle deceleration. Heading for a corner usually progress toward 2 going into the turn for best acceleration out of the turn, sometimes with heel/toe. I just find my brakes last much longer and I've never needed a new clutch. I use gears to supplement the brakes.

If you're maximum braking into a corner, you shouldn't be driving on public roads, that's fucking stupid.



EDIT: I should clarify my original reply. What I mean is you're approaching a right turn in no particular hurry, coming down from say 90km/h. You leave the car in fifth and brake normally getting ready to turn in. You glance in your rear view mirror and you see some fuckwad in a lifted duelly coming up behind you, iPhone 6+ in hand approaching at your original speed, 90km/h. At this point a you're fucked. No chance you're going to make your turn before this truck hits you, and no time to get into a low enough gear to get enough acceleration to at least bring your speed delta up so that fuckwad has more time to realize he's about to hit you, or at least reduce the difference between your speed and his. You're going to have a crash.

Driving properly is how I've lasted 15 years driving the highest-risk roads in Canada year round without a single collision.
@pushrod, I've been through two nasty winters now with my BRZ on the worst winter tires money can buy. They had 40K on them from my previous vehicle and they were shit when they were new too, and I've never spun from downshifting. Come to think of it I haven't spun this car yet, despite my playful/reckless driving style. If you snap oversteer on a downshift you're doing it way too aggressively, way too early, and not rev matching.

and you're fucking stupid for assuming I was talking about public roads


rifle-shifting 5 through 2 on a 60-80km streets is an exercise in masturbation, if you do this every single time I really have nothing to say other than you're simply wasting effort and wearing out parts.

I too have 14 years of collision-free GTA-driving, along with 9 years of track and autocross, so take that bagel and shove it in your mouth.


that whole "acceleration in a hurry" defense is very common, but not very practical. Quick hands and fast reaction will overshadow any horsepower gain on city streets. If someone's barreling down on you from behind, you'd need a McLaren to get your ass out of there.. a standard production car is doomed either way.

I didn't look too closely, but form my perspective you're the only one here talking about anything except public roads.

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/0a/0aac...fa71d0200e.jpg

post a 20-30 min video of you driving through GTA rifle-shifting all your braking

who fucking cares? some of us enjoy down-shifting simply because it's fun and we love the sounds our cars make when we do it. that being said i'm not an asshole and will keep it to a minimum if it's late at night or i'm in a subdivision or some shit.

if i stick my downshift just right (especially 3rd to 2nd), i get a shitload of pops and backfires that make me smile. plus i enjoy the motions of rev-match downshifting through the gears to a stop. it's fun. if you think it's "masturbation" or not necessary, you are entitled to your opinion, but i don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks. if you're rifle-downshifting simply to impress other people, THEN you might want to give your head a shake.

as for people saying they "downshift" to 1st...what?! 1st is a starting gear only and you should never ever ever put your shifter into 1st if the car is still in motion (okay more than 5km/h anyways).

downshifting one gear is not the same as going from 5th to 4th to 3rd to 2nd while rolling up to an intersection at city speeds.



not that there's anything WRONG with that, my point was that it's definitely not necessary an proclaiming such a procedure as "good practice" is based on flawed reasoning.


the existence of which is party why the OP even asked this question.

A gear box can be changed out of order at the driver's will and there is no set rule on how you should do it, so long as it fulfills the desired outcome of propelling the car at the desired speed.




It's somewhat useless for the street, but there is nothing inhertetly wrong with downshifting to 1st if your exit speeds are below 40kph. 2nd gear wouldn't have quite the kick (if you need it). Your 1st gear goes up to 55kph... that's you could technically drive in 1st all the time within city limits :) :)

here is clip... I downshift for a pin turn and proceed to do a tight slalom in 1st at max revs.

Of course I'd never bother with this on the street but don't ever think it's a technical impossibility.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaRKCawnkEw&feature=player_detailpage#t=31 "]2014 PITL Autocross #4 - YouTube[/ame]

Toyota/Subaru Development Team:
Engineer 1- "How many gears should we give it"?
Engineer 2 - "Well it really only needs 1st, 3rd and 6th"
Engineer 1 - "Why not the rest"?
Engineer 2 - "All the self proclaimed GOOD drivers will say they just skip them anyway"
Engineer 1 - "We need to keep the costs up so lets put all 6 in anyway"

OH and THAT ladies and gentlemen is sarcasm for any that are not sure!

This debate is flawed in that every person should drive differently according to circumstances not a set pattern.
Do I sometimes skip a gear on rapid acceleration? Certainly!
Do I take my time and granny shift all the way through each gear in slow steady traffic? Certainly!
Do I row through them all on a gradual slow down? Certainly!
Do I skip them all and go to 1st or 2nd in heavy traffic? Certainly!
Do I do exactly the same thing every time regardless of the situation? NEVER!!!!!