so why is clutch-braking bad news so long as you rev match... what would be the difference from downshifting as entering a turn as opposed to straight-line stopping... as long as you correctly rev-match

 

Read what was posted one more time.

"If you are just stopping, I think you just step on the brake, and put it in a lower gear without blipping throttle."

That is not revmatching.

Clutch braking does not involve a rev-match or it wouldn't be called clutch braking. It's using mismatched speeds to slow you down, which puts an enormous amount of wear and tear on the clutch. Clutch braking is for newbies who like replacing clutches.

 

You can rev-match and engine-brake at the same time, though, no?

 

Nope. Revmatching is matching your RPM to the gear your about to select(clutch in). Engine braking is off-throttle deacceleration (in gear/clutch out) . Can't do both at the same time.

 

So basically, the only way to downshift and not hurt the car is to heel-toe? Do you slowly release the clutch or just let it go? My friend who taught me stick told me to slowly release for a smoother ride, but I would think it would wear the clutch out that way.

 

I have been driving manual tranny cars (and trucks) for over 50 years.

I have been downshifting for over 50 years, both for engine braking, and to keep engines in the strong part of the torque band (increased accelleration)

I have owned some vehicles beyond 200K.

I have NEVER had to replace a clutch, or rebuild a tranny.

If you ever go to a sports car race, with highly qualified drivers, you will note downshifting is a universally practiced technique, both for optimizing performance, and assisting braking/decel.

bill

 

So..........when you're going 70 on the freeway and drop it into third, do a little fish tail, and take off passing three cars.....this is a bad thing?

 

No, revmatch your downshifts. Heel-toe downshifting is just a way of rev-matching a downshift while simultaneously using the brakes to slow down.

I'm not sure why you quoted my post. If all of that is true then you do not clutch-brake. Clutch braking involves using the clutch (and only the clutch) to slow the car down by selecting a lower gear and letting the clutch out without blipping the throttle. It *WILL* murder your clutch, it's only a matter of time. I downshift on a daily basis and you can bet I rev-match or heel-toe my downshifts. I drive for a living.

 

3 pages, wow.

 

might as well make it 4

 

I guess what I was getting at was that you can rev match to the lower gear, then off-throttle, effectively using the engine to slow down the car, but applying the proper technique to preserve your clutch.

 

That's exactly correct.

 

that's what i was refering to also... I do it all the time... so by your definition it would not be "clutch-braking" it would just simply be downshifting into a lower gear and coasting...

I completely agree however, engaging gears with absolutely no rev-match is extremely high wear on clutches... at least if done comfortably... ex. not dumping the clutch into a lower gear...

but my point is that you can rev-match and slow down at the same time... it takes practice to do fluidly but it is possible...

 

Who would have thought driving an MT was such a mystery...

 

Try not to use your tranny for braking. Brake pads are consumables, tranny is not. Take care of it. Rev matching is a good idea. It is the same principle as heel and toe for racing.

 

Probably the same person who wasn't born knowing everything.

 

i dont wanna start any trouble but i think some people need to relax a lil bit when it comes to posting on a forum( any). i understand waiting a question answered but a lil joking never killed anyone. as long as no name calling or anything offensive happens then i realy dont see anything wrong.


remember this is a ca forum, nothing else. live without a lil fun is worthless, people need to learn how to have a lil fun sometimes.


anyways moving on....

 

interesting terms.. i have been driving manual tranny since a i got my liscense (8 yrs) and have no problems driving em. although this is the first time i am learning these terms, i know how to do them but dont know what they are called..

so...
rev matching - bliping your rpm to a certain range to match the speed of the car, basically setting the right rpm for the right gear and car speed to avoid jerkiness, i know how to do this cant say im an expert

heel-toe - ?? is this the same thing as what racers do ?

clutch-braking - ?? step on the clutch while braking, shift 4-3-2-1-N stop release clutch ?

engine brake - i know this one.. i only use this technique when exiting freeways.

are there more of these for us to talk about?? LOL

 

can someone explain rev-matching again, after the 10th explanation I'm still a little confused...

I know your toe bones are connected to your heel bones....

engine breaking that's like breaking your engine because of no oil or something like that...

clutch breaking just sounds bad too....

See.... deez, I can have fun... I promise.