For the MT owners: how do you downshift?

[Horse]

4:35 - "I can't quite heel and toe because the brake and throttle aren't really related to each other." Glad to hear it from a guy that does it all the time. I'd imagine that when you're getting deep on the brakes on a track things are different, but for daily spirited drives, I can relate to him.

Sure, no doubt it is hard to do it in S550. Even when Chris Harris does it in the video, he does it by the sideway (left-side & right-side of right foot) method.

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[Horse]

With practice, you won't intentionally slip the clutch on a rev-matched downshift any more than you would for any normal lift-throttle upshift.


Norm

Yes, exactly. In my opinion, one should actively rev-match the rpm so that the clutch does not need to suffer the extra wear.

If one gives up on rev-match and only relies on the clutch to take the hit, then...well...the clutch will TAKE THE HIT.

My philosophy is that since we can rev-match and save the clutch, we do it. (Yes, I understand that modern clutch is pretty robust to take some abuse.)

 

[mikeyjobu]

Practice rev matching for sure - but the component - the elephant in the room - is the fact that you must also learn to slip the clutch some to avoid lurching. The job of a clutch is to slip. When starting from zero, you slip the clutch to get started - about the same amount (probably more) than doing sequential downshifts. If your going down more than one gear, you'll want to throttle up some. Also, nobody has spoken much about the actual speed of the car, or rate of deceleration. If you're not using brakes and are just lifting to slow down in traffic, you can just hold the clutch in, then as the car continues to slow, select the lower gear with the same amount of throttle as before. It's very relaxed, and is probably slipping the clutch less than if you try to match revs with a blip, and then lift again. I find this really useful when traffic slows on the beltway, and you're not sure if traffic is going to stop, or if it will pick up again.

I'm essentially talking about two things here - the first is slipping the clutch. It happens so some degree with each and every shift anyone makes in any manual equipped car. Yes, it wears the clutch. It's not exactly evil or something that has to always be avoided - just mitigated. So learn how it slips.

Next I'm talking about matching the gear to the speed of the car while doing a gentle deceleration that has you in a lower gear at a lower speed without slipping the clutch

 

[CJ4life]

This is probably going to sound dumb, but don't you HAVE to slip the clutch when reversing and when moving forward really slowly (like inching forward or getting into a tight parking spot)?

 

[GT Pony]

^^^ Yep, pretty much.

 

[OppoLock]

This is probably going to sound dumb, but don't you HAVE to slip the clutch when reversing and when moving forward really slowly (like inching forward or getting into a tight parking spot)?

The trick is to keep slip to a minimum along with little or no throttle at low speeds. I never use throttle while reversing.

 

[GT Pony]

The trick is to keep slip to a minimum along with little or no throttle at low speeds. I never use throttle while reversing.

I always use as little throttle as possible to move the car. With the V8, the torque at idle helps a lot to keep the clutch slippage down to a minimum.

 

[CJ4life]

The trick is to keep slip to a minimum along with little or no throttle at low speeds. I never use throttle while reversing.

So as long as you're not actually applying any throttle, it's well within normal driving necessities? Good to know.

 

[OppoLock]

I always use as little throttle as possible to move the car. With the V8, the torque at idle helps a lot to keep the clutch slippage down to a minimum.

Same here, and first gear is idiot proof with the auto-crawl feature. With the 3.73 rear end, 1st engages at like less than 5mph, so it requires little slippage before everything's engaged anyway.

So as long as you're not actually applying any throttle, it's well within normal driving necessities? Good to know.

You're never going to apply any practical wear to the clutch if you're at crawling speeds riding the clutch, be it in 1st or reverse.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Mikey must be thinking of the tiny bit of slip that can happen simply because the clutch can never go from fully disengaged to fully engaged in zero time. Your foot can't move that fast, and even if it could, the clutch springs still can't. So theoretically even a 1 rpm mismatch could be assumed to cause a super-tiny amount of clutch wear.

I'd worry more about the possibility that I poured today's morning mug of coffee half a drop short of full.


Norm

 

[mikeyjobu]

Don't forget launch control - seems like that's rough on about everything...

 

[Norm Peterson]

Drag-race launches are by definition rough on everything in the powertrain. Electronically trying to optimize them doesn't really change that, especially that initial 'hit'.


Norm

 

[Horse]

There is also powershifting, speaking of rough.

 

[MustangS550]

The right shoe helps. I actually think it's easier in my flip-flops than my work shoes -- maybe because there's less of a heel, and I can discern what's going on better? I haven't tried my driving shoes yet :headbonk: Too bad barefoot is illegal where I am...

Actually, barefoot driving is legal in all US states, so don't worry about it.

 

[pilot0987]

I just push the clutch in and downshift. Works everytime

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