Brakefade

Hi, all. As you can see I live in Los Angeles. So everywhere I go there will always be cars around, which makes it hard and dangerous to practice things like rev-match downshifting, heel-toe, and double cluching. Does anyone of a place near downtown L.A. (say 25 mile radius) where it's possible to practice these things. Like a wide open space with no car around, where it would be safe to reach and slow down from 50 MPH?

-Thanks

M2-Motoring

iTrader: (1)

u dont need to double clutch. thats for old cars that dont have the synchro. rev match down shifting can be done during normal driving. anyhow go to the track if you really want to practice

bB626

yes, the track is the best place to practice.

djct_watt

the only tricky one to practice is the heel-toe (which is used to rev match, which can be done while double clutching). The reason is that it is hard to modulate the brakes, if you are new to it.

Other than that, all the others can be safely done on the street. You don't need to race to learn to rev match. In fact, you can practice on any road during non traffic times, downshifting from 5th to 4th. Besides the hand movements, it is essentially the same between gears (maybe a little more gas or less for some gears).

I take it you do know what those those shifting techniques are, right? DBL clutching is rev matching, except that you release the clutch in neutral to reduce synchro wear. You don't need to dbl clutch up shifts (unless your synchros are dead or you want to slow down wear). DBL cutching an up shift is ultimately slower than letting the synchro do its job.

Downshifts are the ones that matter (debatable).

M2-Motoring

iTrader: (1)

heel toe is much easier in a lower seating position also. seeing u have a tc maybe get lower seat brackets and racing seats would help make the technique easier to grasp. i can do it in my friends cars but my xb sits too high lol i just do the lazy fat mans heel toe which is use the width of my foot to press both gas and brake but use the outside of my right foot to press the gas down more. lol

bubblemyster

someone's been watching too much fast and furious. Double clutching. Granny shifting, etc. LOL.

AleXb

LMAO!



Going back to the point of this post. I really dont mean this in any kind of offensive way, but why do you need to rev-match and "dbl-clutch" when u r living in downtown L.A. If you really wanna learn, drive out to the canyons, hit up malibu or something. You most likely will never "need" to use these techniques unless your are in circumstances that require these skills. Like i said, i wanna make it very clear that i am not flaming at all, and mean to disrespect to anyone or their opinions.... Just my 2cents brother....

If you ever wanna drive a canyon or if you come out to the SFValley, hit me up, i hit a canyon with you, show u some tricks.... Miss my 240.......

-AleXb.

djct_watt

Well. . . if you drive hard and want your synchros to last longer than 50,000 miles, you'll want to double clutch. Rev matching alone is great for the clutch, but without double clutching, I gaurantee your synchros will start grinding (if you shift hard). I've seen it happen to countless Honda's and it's an expensive process.

Old school MT cars (and semi's) HAVE to dbl clutch, as many they lack the existence of ANY synchros. Unfortunately we do not have race synchros in our cars, and they are designed for light/moderate driving. Aggressive shifting to near red line speeds cause serious wear to the synchros, and the last thing you want is a dead synchro. If you shift aggressively, you can even hear them at work (if you don't double clutch).

I only double clutch when shifting aggressively (ie, more than 1 gear at a time, like shifting from 5th to 3rd).

Heel-toe? You only need that for serious racing (as to have the correct gear engaged before entering or in the turn). Rev matching (or dbl clutching, as you rev matching is assumed as part of the process in downshifts) ensures a smooth shift and prevents jerky movements that may cause you to loose control when driving at the limit. A proper shift should be smooth, not jerky. If you ever go for a ride with me, you'll see that I can shift extremely fast (as fast as I can move the lever) and you'll barely feel the shift.

Ideally you should always rev match. . . even during upshifts. Forcing the gear to shift faster than it is capable of also causes excessive wear. Especially if you don't have a lightened drivetrain, the tranny keeps its momentum during shifts and takes some time to slow down or speed up for the next gear. Rev matched upshiftrs are more practical during relaxed driving than when racing, however.

Granny shifting is more ubitquitous. . . it is essentially double clutching upshifts. . . and when racing it's not really a good idea. Downshifts are the vital ones to remember.