Quick question about "rev-matching" and wearing on the clutch.
#1
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Quick question about "rev-matching" and wearing on the clutch.
I recently bought an 03 Silverstone Z, and am still learning how to adequately drive a manual transmission.
No one in my immediate family understands the logistics of driving a stick, and can't seem to give me a square answers as most of them have been absent from such transmissions for many decades.
When I'm shifting I let off the gas completely, fully push the clutch to the floor, and then put it into gear... and generally (I can tell if I need to or not) I let on the gas while I'm re-engaging the clutch so that my RPM's match to where I think I'll get the smoothest shift (and my 2nd, 3rd, and forth, as of right now, can't even be felt in the car when I do this). This is just how I naturally picked up driving the stick, as that's how I learned to bite first gear well under 2k rpm. My question is, does this add any wear on the clutch and should I stop doing it? The car never really sputters or lurches forward (unless I mess up on my shifting technique grossly [which happens, I'm still a nub and have no instructor]). I also do the same thing while I down-shift.
No one in my immediate family understands the logistics of driving a stick, and can't seem to give me a square answers as most of them have been absent from such transmissions for many decades.
When I'm shifting I let off the gas completely, fully push the clutch to the floor, and then put it into gear... and generally (I can tell if I need to or not) I let on the gas while I'm re-engaging the clutch so that my RPM's match to where I think I'll get the smoothest shift (and my 2nd, 3rd, and forth, as of right now, can't even be felt in the car when I do this). This is just how I naturally picked up driving the stick, as that's how I learned to bite first gear well under 2k rpm. My question is, does this add any wear on the clutch and should I stop doing it? The car never really sputters or lurches forward (unless I mess up on my shifting technique grossly [which happens, I'm still a nub and have no instructor]). I also do the same thing while I down-shift.
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I was taught that any time you push the gas above the clutch's friction point, you are adding more wear to the clutch. While rev matching may make for a smoother ride, I can think of better uses for $600 instead of being spent on a prematurely worn clutch (and I'm impatient and rev matching takes more time than shift and go).
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If you're upshifting smoothly, there should be no need for you to blip the throttle. I suppose if you're shifting so slowly that the engine RPMs drops off way below where it should be when you reengage the clutch, it's worth doing, but in that case, you should just shift more in a fluid motion and the revs should not drop off as much.
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Yea I'm still shifting somewhat slowly... and I don't ride the RPM's very high - i keep my Z pretty tame just because I'm not used to driving a stick, and I have a great amount of respect for the power I'm not used to handling. It seems like when I don't do it, it jerks or lurches a bit into gear because my RPM's fall so much compared to my wheel spin... Not that I try it all that often, just because I'm used to it the other way; I just don't want to start any bad habits. As of right now it'd probably be pretty easy to change the technique as it's not 2nd nature just quite yet.
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Originally Posted by TenTilFour
Yea I'm still shifting somewhat slowly... and I don't ride the RPM's very high - i keep my Z pretty tame just because I'm not used to driving a stick, and I have a great amount of respect for the power I'm not used to handling. It seems like when I don't do it, it jerks or lurches a bit into gear because my RPM's fall so much compared to my wheel spin... Not that I try it all that often, just because I'm used to it the other way; I just don't want to start any bad habits. As of right now it'd probably be pretty easy to change the technique as it's not 2nd nature just quite yet.
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Originally Posted by GalvatronType_R
I was taught that any time you push the gas above the clutch's friction point, you are adding more wear to the clutch. While rev matching may make for a smoother ride, I can think of better uses for $600 instead of being spent on a prematurely worn clutch (and I'm impatient and rev matching takes more time than shift and go).
Rev-matching while upshifting is the opposite; no blipping the throttle is needed, one just has to release the clutch once RPMs have dropped enough for the next gear. Doing so doesn't "help" the clutch in any way; it just results in smoother shifts.
#11
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Originally Posted by TenTilFour
I recently bought an 03 Silverstone Z, and am still learning how to adequately drive a manual transmission.
No one in my immediate family understands the logistics of driving a stick, and can't seem to give me a square answers as most of them have been absent from such transmissions for many decades.
When I'm shifting I let off the gas completely, fully push the clutch to the floor, and then put it into gear... and generally (I can tell if I need to or not) I let on the gas while I'm re-engaging the clutch so that my RPM's match to where I think I'll get the smoothest shift (and my 2nd, 3rd, and forth, as of right now, can't even be felt in the car when I do this). This is just how I naturally picked up driving the stick, as that's how I learned to bite first gear well under 2k rpm. My question is, does this add any wear on the clutch and should I stop doing it? The car never really sputters or lurches forward (unless I mess up on my shifting technique grossly [which happens, I'm still a nub and have no instructor]). I also do the same thing while I down-shift.
No one in my immediate family understands the logistics of driving a stick, and can't seem to give me a square answers as most of them have been absent from such transmissions for many decades.
When I'm shifting I let off the gas completely, fully push the clutch to the floor, and then put it into gear... and generally (I can tell if I need to or not) I let on the gas while I'm re-engaging the clutch so that my RPM's match to where I think I'll get the smoothest shift (and my 2nd, 3rd, and forth, as of right now, can't even be felt in the car when I do this). This is just how I naturally picked up driving the stick, as that's how I learned to bite first gear well under 2k rpm. My question is, does this add any wear on the clutch and should I stop doing it? The car never really sputters or lurches forward (unless I mess up on my shifting technique grossly [which happens, I'm still a nub and have no instructor]). I also do the same thing while I down-shift.
You procedure is correct. All tht you need to learn to do is 1) step on the clutch, 2) select the gear, and 3) relese the clutch. When you learn to do those 3 steps smoothly, by correctly modulating the engine speed, you are doing just fine.
bill
#14
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For upshifting, I generally don't rev match. Mostly because, as long as you don't take forever, it isn't necessary. I release the clutch while *gradually* applying the accelerator, which makes the engagement smooth and fast.
For downshifting, I almost always rev match. I'll only double-clutch when dropping 2 or more gears, though. By "rev match" I mean merely applying throttle during the downshift to blip to appropriate RPM and "double-clutch" I mean: clutch-in, shift to neutral, clutch-out, blip throttle, clutch-in, shift to lower gear, clutch-out.
For downshifting, I almost always rev match. I'll only double-clutch when dropping 2 or more gears, though. By "rev match" I mean merely applying throttle during the downshift to blip to appropriate RPM and "double-clutch" I mean: clutch-in, shift to neutral, clutch-out, blip throttle, clutch-in, shift to lower gear, clutch-out.
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I drove around for about 30 minutes today back and forth on some highway's and residential streets. I release the clutch slow enough to not get a jarring affect, and i generally don't bite into the gears. I find i do less rev-matching than i thought while upshifting...more or less i hit the gas as i slowly release the clutch to hold the RPM I thikn it should be around.
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Originally Posted by Spike100
^^ Correct. With a little practice, instinct takes over and you don't need to think about it.
--Spike
--Spike
exactly...with time it will smoothen out and become second nature to you