drbobvs

Besides, nothing more annoying than being in the passenger seat with a moron downshifting at every stop. Talk about rubber neck!

AmericanMuscle4.6GT

let me ask, why exactly wouldn't you rev the engine with the clutch in? thats the whole point. unless your double-clutching, which is completely pointless other than for first gear downshifts.

nitetimebolher

I hear that according to Cali Law, its illegal to be in neutral while moving....

Leoleo

I don't do it much, but I do like the sound.

Make sure the car is not in gear, let the clutch, then rev the engine.

With the clutch push in/down you put wear on the "throw out bearing", Right?

CataclysmGT

When you rev the engine with the clutch in, your tranny does not speed up, but your flywheel does. When letting out the clutch, you will have a substantial difference in RPM between the two, and therefore cause more wear. Double clutching is used for all downshifts, not skip shifting, which is incorrect anyhow. At high RPMs, the RPM difference between gears is even greater (its a percentage difference) and if you do not rev match, you will cause all sorts of wear and weight distributution issues.

MustangBatman1

Even if thats true, it'll be pretty hard to pove you weren't in gear unless the officer is riding shotgun

NickSezz

I don't like being in neutral ever...ill down shift till she dies, and thenstart over...

What if you have to make a defensive move and you are in neutral? It takes that much longer to react while getting the car in gear.

If the road is clear and you know you are going to be stopping, then I can justify throwing it into neutral, butI still don't do that.Downshifting isthewayI learned to do it andIlikedownshifting becauseI feel in control(an important feeling while driving).

The propper method would be to use both the brakes, and downshift, while matching revs with a tiny bit of gas. Yeah it is more complicated, but it feels awesome when you become good at it.

A more useful scenariois when your driving along in 4th at maybe 40mph and there is a 90 degree turn coming up. I would brake untillI reach 3rd gear speed and then push in the clutch, put it in 3rd, blip the gas, and let out the clutch. The all happenssimutaniously. I get no jerking or bucking or anything of that sort. Most people in the car cannot even tellI shifted. The same process is done for 2nd gear right before the turn so I have the ablility to accelerate through the turn.

One more example would be highway driving. If you are in 5th at 70mph and want to make a quick pass or just have fun, downshifing and rev matching is important. If you just put it in a lower gear and let the clutch out, we all know it creates a lot of drag and wear on parts. If you blip right before you let the clutch out, everything remains smooth and you can accelerate instantly.

Everyone drives different though...This isn't even what this thread is about so uh yeah...

chain1

I always keep it in gear when moving. Downshifting (if done correctly, matching revs while in neutral) is not necessarily bad for the car. I've done it with every car/truck I've owned and have yet to replace a clutch or transmission. Gone through very few sets of brakes too.

golden_eye

Same here. I only just got my 'stang but I've had my truck for 5 years and have always downshifted when slowing down, thoughI usually only go as far as 3rd and let the brakes do the rest. Last clutch I put in was when I had to drop the trans to do my rear main seal and my brakes seems to last just as long as anyone else's. Like some of the others have said I feel more in control that way and I'm prepared for any sudden reaction I may have to make for any reason. Any difference in myfuel economyis negligible (though it's always horrible ).

Sho

I'm with the last few guys, i have never replaced a cluth because of this. I had a 95 Mitsubishi Eclipse with 70k on the odometer when i bought it and over 180k when i sold it and downshifted everyday. And trust me that car was a peice of crap. The front passanger side wheel seperated from the lower control arm while driving if that gives you some idea. The clutch never slipped one time in the 110k i drove the car. I think this is all dependent on how you do the down shifting. If you are going 50 and cram it into second gear then its going to make some problems with the drivetrain. But if your using the breaks and waiting till the car is near the 1k rpm range when you downshift and it pops up to something like 2.5k then thats not major stress by any means. I also like the feeling of control and safety that the clutch always being engage to provide a shorter stopping distance.