lilquazyvietboi

slowing down while clutch depress does no damage to ur car, and as long as you rev-match when u wanna go back into gear, u should be fine.

dont listen to these people who says... "u should downshift 1 gear at a time" or "staying in gear all the time so that if case of emergency you can ride away quickly"

i have not once... thought that by accelerating is a better idea as oppose to braking... to avoid accidents.

if u are driving behind a truck with barrels in it going 70mph on the highway.... and for some driver's mistake... the barrel fell off the truck... all you gotta do is stop. the barrel rolls FORWARD... not BACKWARDS into you.

but driving in nuetral IS a noobish thing to do though... staying in gear avoids fumbling around with gear and clutch

Manu

And what is wrong with what I wrote, O mighty master of poop ?

tattoo60012

All of you take yourselves way too seriously. If you are trying to impress your friends, or some girl who knows nothing about cars, downshifting, revmatching, and the like will probably get you brownie points. I've been driving for 16 years, and have always had a manual transmission. I can revmatch, downshift, smoke, eat, and talk on the cell phone at the same time, doesn't make me cool, doesn't make it right. In 16 years of driving 20-40K mi. per year I have NEVER, and I do mean NEVER EVER had to take off quickly to avoid an accident. I've had to stop a whole bunch, but never speed up. Coasting does no damage to the car, nor does engine braking, and downshifting. If anything engine braking, and downshifting puts unnecessary wear and tear on your clutch, not your engine, nor your transmission. This is specially addressed to the guy who "pops" his car out of gear without using the clutch, what are you thinking? Why wouldn't you use the clutch to shift the car out of gear? That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. It likely won't hurt your transmission as long as your rpm is low, but why chance popping it into 3rd accidentally? Just my double penny, as long as you asked for opinions.

roast

iTrader: (2)

Perhaps the fact that all modern cars with manual transmissions require the clutch to be depressed in order for the starter to crank.... kind of shoots your boat watching theory plumb out of the water.

usmanasif

iTrader: (4)

Rev-match, downshift, and then apply the brakes. Simple.

infamous350

sry to be a ******* But anyone who says put it in neutral is a moron look in your manual. It says to downshift. The reason people think its bad is because they dont do it properly you guys just drop a gear and let the clutch out slow that is wrong. If you throttle bleep and rev match and go down gear by gear that is the proper way. i alwayts downshift my car has 49000 miles guess what i have the original tranny and i have a 2003. Rev matching is the key and dont be excessive liek always downshifting to like 5500 try to not have to match above 4 and go gear by gear. But you should always be in gear begginers leave it in neutral. And someone was talking about only doing it on a corner well there wrong cause the correct thing is not to just downshift but to do is "heel to toe" you guys are wrong. Its commen sense man you shift it up when you start you bring it back down when u slow down.

tattoo60012

The reason the manual tells you to downshift is because most people who would read the manual to learn how to drive a standard transmission will need plenty of practice to learn which gear to be in at which speed. Downshifting as you are slowing down beyond the range of the gear you are in is normal driving, the question was what do you do when you are going to stop. Not what do you do when you slow down. After you are done reading the manual try reading the question that was put before you and answer appropriatly. On a side note, 49k miles is not a lot for a car, nor a clutch, I've personally put 95,000 Mi on a single clutch and that was in a car that had 102,000 mi when I bought it and replaced the clutch. Last year I put 38,000 mi. on just one of my cars, 49K in 4 years is nothing.

n8vz

Depends on the situation. Down shifting may be important (especially if you are driving down from a hill or mountain top). But I wouldn't necessary do that at every stop.

Joe2

sounds the most reasonable so far.

infamous350

anything you wanna say downshifting is the hwo you drive manual no point me wasting time on this

tattoo60012

I couldn't agree with you more infamous. We should all just ask you all of our questions. You obviously have all of the answers.

Though if you go back and read, I made it perfectly clear that there is nothing wrong with driving the way that you do, but just because something is not wrong, does not mean by definition it is right. A wise man once said that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Personally I don't know what I’m going to do with all these cat skins, but you have your way, and you are entitled to it. Just be careful not to confuse your way with the only way.

If you want to have some fun and gain a little humility go out and try driving a standard transmission vehicle without the assistance of a synchronized transmission. When you master that, then come back and spout off how you know everything there is to know about driving a manual transmission car, and you can show off how cool you are that you now know how to double clutch. The next time you decide to get all defensive when nobody is saying you are wrong, you may wish to proof read your post. 1 line and you have both spelling and grammar errors, truly a new low.

Manu

Well then it must be a US-only safety feature, because my Z or any other car I've driven starts without having to depress the clutch pedal.

Oh well, it's not that important anyways. Have a nice day.

irvbulldogs72

iTrader: (1)

So cars outside of the United States don't have a clutch safety switch? I find that hard to believe. Clutch interlock switches became industry standard in the late 70's.

Lusky

just do whatever you want, it's your car

infamous350

sry forum master who the helll are you. whne did i say everyone should listen to me lol double clutching? maybe if im driving a 18 wheeler. sry didnt relize this was a grammar test i dont realy care about my spellin andf grammar on a forum just given my input all i was tryin to say if someone says down shifting hurts or is bad for your car there just doin it wrong

Combat350z

Actually that is true. I know on the S2000's most made outside the US don't have to depress the clutch to start the car.

As far as this whole downshifting issue. I've only been driving a 6sp for around a month or so and I know the lights around my area. If I know I'm going to come to a complete stop and have enough speed I'll put it in N and coast to a stop.

If I'm not sure I'll usually clutch in and brake and once I get to a speed to keep moving put it in the appropriate gear.

So say I'm coming to a light that is red but I know its going to change I'll usually clutch in and put it in whatever gear I think I'll need to be in when it changes.

Why the hell would coasting in N be noobish. If I see a light just turn red I know I'm going to stop so downshifting is just unnecessary work. If anything it puts more stress on your tranny and clutch.

Now sure do I sometimes clutch in and row thru the gears just for ****s sake because some say it will help the synchros, yes but not because I deem it necessary.

Take that for what its worth

tattoo60012

I don't even know where to begin, how about everybody take 30 seconds breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth, take whatever prescription medications they might have forgotten, calm the H E double hockey sticks down, and remember that nobody on here was being attacked. There is only one person who has responded in this thread stating that their way was the one and only correct way to drive a car. Neither I nor anyone else has said that you were wrong infamous, I merely pointed out that there is more than one correct way.

Let's call this constructive criticism. If you want people to take you seriously you are going to have to speak and write in a manner that is easy for other people to read. You will discover that when your writing is well thought out and expressed in such a way that people don't doubt your level of education or competence, that your ideas will carry much more influence. You are wrong about one thing, this is a test, everything you say, everything you do, and how you say and do everything else is a reflection of who you are as a person. You obviously have the need to feel that your ideas are being heard and appreciated, I'm attempting to assist you in that goal by showing you ways in which you can improve your communication skills, and pointing out the importance of those skills. If you choose to ignore the simple and well intentioned constructive criticism, don't be surprised when the world does not take you seriously, for ultimately you are the only person responsible for changing how the world views you, and your ideas.

Life is a lesson, pain is the teacher.

Kolia

iTrader: (2)

Wow...

RBlover69

iTrader: (2)

god has spoke lighten up buddie , not everyone in a Z knows how to heal toe shift brotha

Kolia

iTrader: (2)

You know, the only thing that could be “bad” for the car in that situation would be to keep the clutch depressed for an extended period of time. The thrust bearing would wear a bit faster. But even there, it’s a stretch. It won’t blow tomorrow morning because of that.

Slowing down in neutral or holding a gear ‘till the last instant or rowing through each and every gear or skipping a few gears won’t hurt your car at all.

As far has knowing what is a good driving practice, I’m from the school of thought that control is better and the least I need to do to change the car’s attitude the better off I’ll be in an emergency situation. So I usually hold my gear and down shift to a lower, intermediate gear until I’m almost stopped. At which point I’ll shift into 1st gear unless I’m planning on staying there for a while (red light) and I have a car already stopped behind me. So basically, coming off the interstates to a stop, it’ll be 6-3-1.

I almost never coast in neutral/clutch in. I’ll take most turns at an intersection in second, engine driving the wheels always.

Here’s another thing to keep in mind. Downshifting has nothing to do with the slowing down of the car. Use the brakes for that.