Proper way to Rev Match

[pinoyplaya]

Okay. So I went and drove for about 45 minutes with lots of downshifting and ITS SCARY!

I feel like I'm dumping gasoline all over the place. Sometimes I rev too high, sometimes I rev too low, and sometimes its just about right.

Rev matching + braking = skill

I cant do it! I need to practice rev match downshifting acceleration first before I try rev matching and braking. I cant get my heel on the gas and Im too scared to use my toes on both the gas and brakes and afraid I might slip on the brakes and accelerate on the gas lol. But then I guess, the clutch is down, so worst comes to worst, it just revs the engine.

But yea, rev matching seems kind of a gas waster. Is it? I feel like Im killing the engine for reving it.

[serialk11r]

I'm really bad at rev matching, but I find that I am too scared to give the gas much of a stab and so I never rev enough. If you just give it a quick deep stab, it uses only a tiny bit of gas but it massively decreases clutch wear.

[speed3]

It's only a small blip of the throttle so you're not hurting the engine and the small amount of fuel you'll use won't affect your economy.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8By2AEsGAhU"]Ayrton Senna's Heel-and-toe - YouTube[/ame]

[pinoyplaya]

I was driving a stick shift car in Forza and I could shift it down without jerking Stupid game!

[MidnightMonkey]

ok, so i rarely ever have to downshift, but i'm learning how to do it slowly.

kinda off topic, but when im shifting while accelerating, is it bad to not fully let off the gas in between gears? i find it makes the shift much smoother...

[pinoyplaya]

Originally Posted by MidnightMonkey

ok, so i rarely ever have to downshift, but i'm learning how to do it slowly.

kinda off topic, but when im shifting while accelerating, is it bad to not fully let off the gas in between gears? i find it makes the shift much smoother...

Yea it does shift smoother. Also, slowly letting go of the clutch makes it shift smooth too vs just letting go of it. IDK why people recommend to slam off the clutch after switching gears.

[MidnightMonkey]

ok, good. i wanted to make sure i wasn't wearing the clutch.

btw does anyone have an issue with noise when launching in first gear and then some at the beginning of second? i usually have it up to about 1k rpm before letting off the clutch but it sounds like its asking for a lot more :/

[ImAwesome]

the slower you let off the clutch the more you wear your clutch out, the larger rpm difference from where you need to be (upshift or downshift) you wear your clutch.

So yes not letting off the gas all the way when you upshift will result in excess wear.
when upshifting you want your rpm to drop just enough to fall into the right place for the next gear.

its the same thing for downshifting but opposite. you want your rpms to increase just enough to match the tighter gear. I got this skill down by thinking of it in time rather then amount. After that it was all muscle memory.

[Vracer111]

Originally Posted by pinoyplaya

Yea it does shift smoother. Also, slowly letting go of the clutch makes it shift smooth too vs just letting go of it. IDK why people recommend to slam off the clutch after switching gears.

You want to be quick and smooth letting off the clutch...you don't want to have the clutch pressed in any longer than necessary, just like you don't want to ride the brake pedal with it slightly depressed - you will wear out the friction material faster. It will just take practice, but getting your throttle let-off timed correctly with the shift and a swift clutch release makes for a very smooth and quick shift.

[serialk11r]

Took my Spyder home today, practiced downshift rev matching for a little when taking my little brother for a ride. He complained that he was getting carsick from all the jolting T_T

I feel like the window for a smooth rev match is really little unless you let the clutch out slowly, I was off by like 300 rpm and I got a nasty jolt from the car!

[Bonburner]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Took my Spyder home today, practiced downshift rev matching for a little when taking my little brother for a ride. He complained that he was getting carsick from all the jolting T_T

I feel like the window for a smooth rev match is really little unless you let the clutch out slowly, I was off by like 300 rpm and I got a nasty jolt from the car!

Just over-rev it and then drop to a lower gear.
Transmissions smoothly shift from higher to lower RPMs when shifting - this is what you're taking advantage of.
Usually you:
Rev in gear X.
Shift to Neutral.
Shift to Gear X+1.
Summary: Higher RPM to Lower RPM

Downshift:
Shift from gear X to Neutral
Rev engine
Shift to Gear X-1
Summary: Higher RPM to Lower RPM

[mike2100]

Put a cup of water on your dashboard and you'll learn to drive smoothly.

And no I'm not joking.

BTW, all the above advice is great. But you should drive however you are comfortable. If you want to be smooth, be smooth. Maybe you're carrying precious cargo. If you want to jerk it around to save the clutch, then by all means do that.

I can tell you though that if you're coming up on a high speed corner and you shift the weight of the car suddenly because you're not being smooth you could end up careening into oblivion. Feathering the clutch a little because you didn't quite get the rev match perfect is a justifiable sacrifice in this situation.

[Bg8780]

Bonburner and Mike are correct. I noticed a lot of people are saying to down shift to your desired gear and then blip the throttle. I blip the throttle first and then go down a gear. You'll notice it's a lot easier and less "grindy" when you already match the revs and then slip it into gear. You don't have to fight the syncros as much. This will take a bit more practice since it will have to be faster. You'll have less time to get in gear since you matched the revs beforehand. DO NOT feather the clutch or throttle on the downshift. Downshifts are meant to an aggressive maneuver that is why it's so rewarding when you get it right.

Blip the throttle to match the revs (don't be afraid to really stab it because you're better off over-revving when trying to match rather than having the engine speed slower then the transmission speed, that is where the jerking comes from) when you have the revs where you want them (matched as closely as possible) put in into the desired gear then dump the clutch. (Not feathered, just dump the thing) If you match the revs perfectly then it won't hurt the clutch at all since the gearbox and engine are at the same speed there is hardly any resistance.

mike had great advice with the water on your dashboard. It really shows off where the roughness comes from and what you are doing when the water is acting the most erratic. It also helps with throttle response and you should be able to drive with more finesse after that.

All of this takes time and you just have to be patient with yourself, after awhile you'll be downshifting without even realizing it and then you can move on to heel-toe maneuvers and so on.

[Embarrassed]

Good shifting isn't just matching rpms when the clutch is let out, it's matching them when stuffing the lever in the gear -saves your syncros. Tricks:

1. Don't practive the technique with braking at first. Just give yourself plenty of time to coast and let the engine braking after the shift slow you down. That way you can focus on the throttle/lever/clutch technique
2. It's better for the revs to be to high than too low
3. It's better for the clutch to pushed to far, than not far enough - although this is not terribly important when you are good at it.
4. When starting out, always send the revs too high, and the clutch pressed to far.
5. You can tell when the rpm is correct by the force required to put the lever in the next gear. When the transmission is not loaded (in other words, you aren't on the gas) and the rpm is exactly right, there is almost no effort required to shift. A few pounds of force on the shifter while the rpm is falling is enough. It'll feel like it wont go into gear, but when the rpm matches, it'll suddenly go into gear as if by magic.
6. Practicing #5 is easier on upshifting rather than downhifting.

O