rev matching

[twoodcc]

ok i grew up on small 4 cylinder engines - all with manual transmissions. however, i was never taught to rev match. i was always taught to change gears early (below 3k rpm) to save on gas.

all i do to change gears is - let off gas, push in clutch, change gear, as i'm letting out clutch, i push on the gas, sometime hold the clutch in the sweet spot for half a sec, and then let all the way out.

i'm usually very smooth with changing gears at low rpms. however with sometimes lately i'm not as smooth, especially at higher rpms. i'm not over 1,000 miles yet in my brz, so i haven't pushed it yet. what should i be doing?

thanks in advance

[86_ZN6]

Search for heel and toe technique

[Dalers08]

Originally Posted by twoodcc

all i do to change gears is - let off gas, push in clutch, change gear, as i'm letting out clutch, i push on the gas, sometime hold the clutch in the sweet spot for half a sec, and then let all the way out.

First off, rev-matching is only used on downshifts not upshifts.

Second, "sometimes hold the clutch in the sweet spot for a half a second", you shouldn't need to do this, that's just slipping that clutch. Just smooth motions off the clutch and on the gas.

Third, the whole point of rev-matching is when you downshift you want to match the RPMs the engine is going to be at, therefore saving some clutch life and just a smoother ride... and bonus cool points!

Lets say you are going to downshift 4th to 3rd:
You're at 4th gear at 2500rpms, a turn is approaching...
Clutch in, shift knob to 3rd gear, "blip throttle" to what the RPM's WILL be at when you engage third, probably around 3300-3500rpms, let clutch out. It should be quick and smooth and you should feel nothing in the motion of the car, no engine braking. The longer you take to blip the throttle the less smooth you will be. It's not hard to get the hang of it.

Now heel-toeing is when it gets fun! It is the same thing as a rev-match but lets just say that you are in the same situation but that corner is approaching quickly and you want to be a badass, you heel-toe that bitch!
Brake with the LEFT side of your RIGHT foot, clutch in (keep braking), rev-match the gas with the RIGHT side of your RIGHT foot (keep braking), clutch out, right pedal down!

All of this just takes practice, learn to rev-match first, then heel-toe that sumbitch!

I hope this all made sense...

EDIT: Some people are more comfortable with the 50/50 style (left side of right foot on brake, right side on gas), some people like the traditional heel on brake, toe on gas. It's up to you to see what you like.

[sho220]

Originally Posted by Dalers08

some people like the traditional heel on brake, toe on gas.

For those people with upside down feet...

[Dalers08]

Originally Posted by sho220

For those people with upside down feet...

And broken/double jointed ankles! Never understood how people do it.

[sho220]

Originally Posted by Dalers08

And broken/double jointed ankles! Never understood how people do it.

I just use the left side of my foot for the brake and the right side to blip the throttle. My ankles don't cooperate when I try the normal heel/toe method...

[LeeMaster]

Originally Posted by twoodcc

ok i grew up on small 4 cylinder engines - all with manual transmissions. however, i was never taught to rev match....

Rev match = clutch + throttle to make RPM go up + downshift one gear and release

You can practice this on the highway when you are in 6th gear going 60mph. Keeping your eyes on the RPM needle(and the road), try going from 6th gear to 5th gear and clutch in + press the throttle and then release clutch.

If the needle drops that means you need to give it less gas, but if the needle went up, that means you need to give it more gas. If you fail, go back to 60mph and try again, it should be smooth as butter when you let go of the clutch. I did this for two days and now I'm pro at every gear and RPM and any speed, takes time to learn, so goodluck my friend.

[KKaWing]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxGtx9xXhlM"]Heel and Toe Braking - Shifting Technique Tutorial: Hooked On Driving - YouTube[/ame]

[twoodcc]

thanks everyone for the replies. i plan on practicing this weekend.

What about double clutching?

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by twoodcc

thanks everyone for the replies. i plan on practicing this weekend.

What about double clutching?

Synchro box, no need. I didn't have to double-clutch the gearbox in my 1971 240Z, you surely shouldn't have to in a 2013 BRZ...

[LeeMaster]

Originally Posted by twoodcc

What about double clutching?

Dont worry about it, you will never need to do it in this car

[KKaWing]

Originally Posted by twoodcc

thanks everyone for the replies. i plan on practicing this weekend.

What about double clutching?

You don't need do this for the car. That said, it is kind of like heel-toe, but the steps are more separated. The purpose of this is to make the speed of the different parts match so you could shift into gear, if they don't match, it'll *cruunnnchhhh*. This "matching" is now done by the synchro, so it is basically an "out of date" technique... unless you drive trucks or have a broken synchro(s).

What you actually do is pretty similar. You clutch in, shift to neutral and let out the clutch, then rev-match (blip throttle, heel-toe, w/e). After that you clutch in and shift into gear. "Heel-toe" skips the clutch out in neutral part and goes straight to the gear you want.

Have fun, be safe.

[twoodcc]

thanks everyone for the clarification!

[Rayme]

My first car had fucked up synchros, it was a 90 celica.

I've been double clutching and rev matching all my cars ever since. The 86 is a joy to do it in, I barely use my brakes in town lol. They're great techniques to master...it's just how much you want to put effort into it.