Just wanted to see how people downshift on daily driving...

I normally let go of the gas, hit the clutch, downshift, blip the gas, and then let go of the clutch.

Apparently some people I know never lets go of the gas when they downshift, so they would hit the clutch, downshift, and let the clutch go again. I found this to work during normal daily driving...anyone else did either or otherwise?

 

I normally blip the gas to make the transition smooth. Never tried just keeping my foot on the gas, maybe I should

 

Clutch, foot off the gas, downshift, clutch release and gas.

 

I don't know why u would keep our foot on the gas if u are downshifting for normal driving. Downshifting for normal driving means your slowing down to stop more then likely. if u are keeping our foot on the gas u wouldnt be slowing down. Anyway I'm normally off the gas letting the clutch slow the car then around 2000 ramp clutch in downshift tap the gas(heel toe) the let the clutch out still not on the gas

 

The rational for the "blip the gas" step is to rev-match your engine speed to your road speed so that the gear can slip in without grinding. So, you must blip before downshift. If you do it perfectly, you don't need the clutch (don't practice it on your new car). Go drive a car with an SST to hear how it's done.

 

Blipping the gas in order to engage the new gear hasn't been necessary since before many of you guys were born. Google "synchromesh" when you get a chance and pity those of us who learned to drive stick without it. The main reason for blipping the gas these days is to prevent the car from being upset when you come off the clutch. You do not want to use the clutch-face to spin the engine up, as this acts like the brakes and wears the clutch out sooner. The first of these isn't much of a big deal with AWD, since, in many cases (such as turning into a side-street while shifting down to 2nd), you actually need some brake at that time and AWDs "drag" on all four wheels in a non-matched downshift. But I'd still try to rev-match each downshift in an Evo because changing the clutch is an incredible PITA, so you don't want to do anything to wear it out sooner.

In a racing situation, you rev-match each down-shift because upsetting the car can be the difference between staying on the tarmac and sliding onto the grass. But people who race don't need to be told this.

 

well, say during normal driving, you come across a slight incline, and you have to shift from 5th to 4th to gain more power. downshifting doesn't necessarily mean slowing down in this scenario.

apparently, if i'm light enough on the gas pedal, and i shift from, for example, 4th in low rpm to 3rd, even if i didn't go into 3rd, the revs would be within range of smooth transition. the chances of that happening lessens as i shift to a lower gear. of course, if i'm even slightly heavy on the gas pedal, i'd over-rev and the clutch/flywheel won't be in sync. it's technically possible, i've tried it myself yesterday, but i've blipped the gas pedal my whole life, and probably won't change my habits soon.

 

Seems to be a lot to do about nothing. Hell , just down shift and let the friggen clutch out, your not going to wear the clutch any more than a slight tap on the brakes would cause pad wear--now for those road racing I can see a difference with a shift in weight transfer ect---for street driving--- I think you saw fast a furious one or two dozen time too many times. Drive the car normally like every other person on the road and all will be fine, I can assure you. If the car isn't going into gear down shifting or up shifting it wont be because your not " rev matching".

 

ive always blimped the gas, as long as i know there is a 1k difference in RPM, ive been driving stick for like 5 years now, and thats how ive always done it, and thats how my dads been doing it his whole life (on a tractor -.-) and so on. only seems right, why hold the gas your going to over rev the motor to match rpms. blimps are normally semi accurate but depends on the scenario

 

Have you compared the time required to swap brake-pads vs replace a clutch?

Add in that good habits need to be practiced consistently (on the track and when driving to work)and I'll keep rev-matching my down-shifts, thanks.

 

What he said

 

I always heel toe when slowing down. At first it was a little tough because I have smaller feet. It's become second nature now.

 

Yes, done my share of both-- have 85k on stock VIII clutch--so I think I might be onto something... Just sharing, your going to do what you want anyway.

 

Ive always blipped the gas in down shifts, i would always be a bit more comfortable rev matching with anything but a stock clutch in case i screwed up.

 

both of you are missing the point of the question, and if you associate simple driving habits with fast and furious, you're more ignorant than i thought. you'd think if it's not relevant or important, other car makers won't even bother introducing rev match systems, such as the ones used in ferrari and nissans. if you prefer the car jerking around while doing routine operations, well, whatever floats your boat.