Pyrat

Someone was wondering if simply clutching revving the engine to bring it's RPM up then downshifting and releasing the clutch accomplished the same thing as shifting into neutral releasing the clutch, revving and then clutching and downshifting. Here's a little more detail about what happens during a double clutch downshift:

The purpose of the double clutch is to match the speed of the rotating parts of the gearbox for the gear you wish to select to the speed of the transmissions input shaft as well as the engine. When you release the clutch in neutral and rev, it brings the speed of the transmission's input shaft up to match the gear cluster you are selecting. For example, if the engine is turning 3000 RPM in 4th gear at 50 MPH and you are shifting down to 3rd gear where the engine is turning at 4000 RPM at 50 MPH, simply clutching and bringing the engine up to 4000 RPM does not increase the RPM of the transmission's input shaft. When you shift into neutral and release the clutch then rev, the input shaft as well as the engine speed up to 4000 RPM, making for a much smoother downshift.

Note that all modern automotive transmissions have synchronizers which eliminate the "necessity" to double clutch in order to down shift. On older vehicles transmissions did not have synchronizers and you had to double clutch to downshift them and even when up-shifting (you double clutch up-shift just like downshifting but you do not rev). Double clutching a modern vehicle will make the downshift much smoother and in a race car (as well as your street car) that means a lot less stress on the transmission and clutch. In fact, with practice, you can do a double clutch downshift without using the clutch at all which comes in handy if you ever fry the clutch and still need to get home.

dmhines

I personally never downshift to use the engine to brake the car on any of my standard shift vehicles ... I agree that brake pads are cheap ... the additional stress put on the clutch and drivetrain to slow your car down is hardly worth it ....

AmericanMade

I understand what you're saying and I pretty much agree. I just want to make sure nothing is wrong with it. By the way, dmhines, where'd you get your 1/4 window louvers? and what brand are they? Thanks alot guys I really appreciate the help!

dmhines

Got my 1/4 Louvers from ...

http://www.wheelskin.com

Dan

AmericanMade

Oh kick *** that's the same place I was planning on getting mine from and the same louvers I'm getting! Thanks man the car looks great by the way. I've been wanting to recreate the mach 1 look as well with the black decklid spoiler but you beat me to it lol. Thanks again!