For the MT owners: how do you downshift?

[P4RKER]

Rev matching to either engine brake or for high acceleration both are required to drive my car. That buck is unacceptable for someone to put my car through if I'm going to be in the passenger seat. I'm aware that there is little to no impact on these modern transmissions to not doing it but it drives smoother. Also the people who slip the clutch halfway while braking and do not fully engage are in fact putting extra wear on their clutch.

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[KilluminatiDre]

I avoid granny shifting and double clutch like I should.

 

[Lord Thunder]

Well, to me, if you downshift revmatching 100% accurate, it'll take you a while to really slowdown and stop.
The good thing about a MT, is that you can use the "engine brake" to slow down your vehicle before coming to a stop, having to actually brake way less than with an AT. This way you dont go through your brake too much, not get em overheating like I guess some people do when I see some AT driving arounf here, starting to brake like 1/2 mile before a light.
I dont revmatch, but downshift smartly to really use that engine brake, also helps before getting into a curve or something... I guess being French and having been driving AND taught manual my whole life (passed my car, bike, and heavy truck license in France) does help with it

^ This.
Use engine braking to bring down the rpm's and shift down at the 'right' time. Don't ask me any RPM numbers as I honestly don't know. We're taught in driving class to do it by engine sound. I never had to heel-toe in my life.

 

[peetucket]

I'll rev match if its a hard downshift but I do not rev match all the time

Same, I almost never do it. Normal driving scenarios do not usually create a big RPM change on downshift anyway. Been driving manual cars for 20+ years and have never changed a clutch or done any repair to a transmission so I am pretty sure there is no damage.

 

[P4RKER]

 

[OSUbrew]

I've driven pretty much only manual transmission cars for about 15 years now and have always downshifted and used engine braking while slowing down to turn and I've never had to replace a clutch or had transmission problems. These were 90% muscle/sports cars and BMWs.

The only time I rev match is when I'm downshifting during a race.

 

[fionic]

I rev match every single downshift. Why would you not?

 

[Tamadrummer88]

After reading and watching videos I still don't understand what double clutching and rev matching is.

 

[smitty]

I don't bother double clutching, but maybe 50% of the time I rev match (as best I can... Not perfect). Usually I will match revs when slowing for a corner on a back road to get into the gear I want without upsetting the chassis as I enter the turn. This is also fun to do when exiting the highway onto a curvy off ramp. I challenge myself to do this as smoothly as possible and is one of the rewards of owning a MT car for me.
On a side note, I was pretty impressed with the automatic when I test drove it and how it rev matches as well, but it still didn't feel as "connected" as what I've become used to having driven mostly manuals my whole life. It was, however very good and had they had a base 3:55 in the right color, I might have gone for it. :cheers:

 

[50hhh]

Doesn't hurt the car at all. Nobody rev matches anymore lol

 

[P4RKER]

Doesn't hurt the car at all. Nobody rev matches anymore lol

Not arguing. Just try taking a turn and downshift without rev matching and the same one with rev matching and tell me which one you come out of faster harder and with a bigger smile. (Assuming you know the proper technique of course). Not rev matching isn't harmful obviously we are passed the 1950s but the performance impact is still there. Also after doing it in every car I've owned since I was 16 I don't even realize I do it anymore it's second nature.

 

[madweazl]

After reading and watching videos I still don't understand what double clutching and rev matching is.

Easiest way to think of rev matching would be if you were ascending a hill and needed to downshift. Lets say you were in 6th and bogging so you downshifted 5th. If you didnt bring the RPM up to match the delta between the 5th and 6th ratios, you'd feel a jolt when you let the clutch out and the vehicle would decelerate to some extent before you applied throttle. In that instance, I typically bring the RPM slightly beyond what I think it will be for 5th gear and clutch it a bit for a nice smooth transition.

While decelerating, you're typically trying to find a sweet spot that makes it easier to shift between gears. If you're using the clutch, you wont really notice much difference and the sweet spot typically happens far lower in the RPM range on synchro transmissions.

 

[Barrel]

I dislike the bucking on downshift, so I rev match.

 

[madweazl]

I dislike the bucking on downshift, so I rev match.

Your left foot can correct this too...

 

[Barrel]

Your left foot can correct this too...

If you slip the clutch, sure. But a quick downshift to pass in traffic? Throttle blip is faster.

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