FirebirdStud

iTrader: (5)

I downshift all the time, sounds cool, and prepares you for acceleration when its green, or the slow *** in front of you moves. I dont know if its right or wrong, but I do it!

kenkaru

I downshift every single time I slow down. Maybe I'll reduce a little but I've made a habit out of braking/clutching to slow down and I like it. I don't like watching the RPMs hover as I slow down... maybe that will go away after I figure the tune out.

hannibal240

As long as you match revs, its not a problem. It just allows you to take advantage of 'engine braking'. But downshifting, letting the revs drop, and then releasing the clutch is a no-no.

gmmastertech9825

i would rather put front brakes in my car every year than a clutch every year or two it is cheaper and alot eaiser.

Charging TA

I highly doubt Europeans replace their clutch every year or two... and they downshift always.

The Red WS.6

iTrader: (4)

I always down shift to stay in complete control of my car at all times because you never know what the idiot in the econoline or other pice of crap car that they could care less about decides to drive like an idiot. Plus I'd rather replace a clutch than a wrecked car I care about.... my ole ladys civc, well that is a different story lol.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

If you are somewhere that you need to be in a correct gear at a specific time out of a corner, then downshift. But I really hope you guys know how to match revs, or else you are just hard on the clutch, tranny and engine.

If you are just coming to a stop. Just use the damned brakes.

Brakes don't suck today (usually, some do like cheap-o pads). This is very different from 30 years ago when brakes couldn't take as much work for as long, or stop as hard so a lot of folks got into relying on engine braking. But that's just what it sounds like, you are using the engine to slow the car. It's revving to do it and using compression to hold the speed down, and that's engine wear. Further you are also putting more load on the gearbox, clutch and the rear at the same time. After all, the engine braking won't help if you can't connect it to the rear wheels.

And FWIW, in race cars that don't have sequential gearboxes, a lot of drivers would not drop gears individually when approaching a corner. But brake, and give it one blip at the appropriate time to drop into the lower gear. If coming from 5th to 2nd, instead of going 5, 4, 3, 2 with individual downchanges, they go from 5 to 2 with one downchange when they get to the speed they want 2nd gear. Alain Prost did this from what I remember of his book.

INMY01TA

iTrader: (1)

I agree.

Justin00SS

iTrader: (5)

You can't compare driving your f-body on the street to racers driving F1 cars.

The engines and gearboxes couldn't be more different. Ours are designed from the factory to be easy to DD yet kinda quick. The gearboxes in F1 cars are custom to each track.

If a track has alot of twisties and not many straights then the ratios will be fairly close. If it has alot of straights then they will be further apart. This is why you see F1/cart/Indy drivers doing the 6-5-4-3-2-1 shifting instead of say 5-2 shift when coming into a turn. They're ratios are alot closer then ours and its not that much of a difference. If you drive like that with you t-56 then you are just putting more strain that need be on your car.

Also our engines don't rev to 10krpms either.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

You absolutely can compare. It's gear ratios, engine revs and downshifting. RPM, and spacing is irrelevant. It's about getting the right gear for the exit without upsetting the car on the entry or in the middle of the corner.

And sequential gearboxes haven't been around forever, normal h-pattern boxes were in F1 and Indycar into the 90's. And it's sequential gearboxes that demand the in order shifting. You CAN'T skip gears, just like on a motorcycle.

Believe what you want, doesn't matter to me.

qwikz28

iTrader: (12)

i downshift to keep the car in the correct gear and not to come to a stop. i do rev match though, BUT i cannot heel-toe correctly so i just let off the brakes and blip the throttle and then get back on the brakes if i'm street driving. if i'm really drivin hard and i dont have time to let off the brakes i just go for it with my heel or just let the clutch slip into gear.

i wish i could heel toe like the pros

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Either you are doing it wrong (lots of people think their toe goes on the gas and the heel on the brake, which is backwards), *OR* your feet or too small and/or the pedal spacing is too large for your foot to cover the gap.

Pedals are easy to fix with extensions, or pedal pads. Can't fix using your foot backward though.

It's a learned thing, it takes a while. But learning it in a car you really can't do it with pedal wise it about impossible.

qwikz28

iTrader: (12)

that gives me hope. maybe i'll find some pedal extensions and try that... i still think my biggest problem is my coordination. i can barely chew gum and walk at the same time, let alone try to hit the gas an brake at the same time with the same foot. o well, i'll give it a shot

Sonic28

iTrader: (1)

Sam is right. Just use the brakes. It is just easier on every part of the drivetrain. BRAKES are cheap and easy to replace. Throw the car in neutral and use the brakes. It is a much more comfortable ride for those in the vehicle as well.

Justin00SS

iTrader: (5)

As far as normal driving goes then yes. Downshift all you want to keep the car flowing smoothly.

But there is no point in downshifting when coming to a stop unless your brakes are really bad or you are really about to hit something.

slammedchevy

iTrader: (13)

i downshift just so the girls will look lol

AirForce

I downshift daily for many reasons.

1) It will help to preserve the brakes and rotors

2) It will prevent excessive brake dust build up between washes

3) It sounds good

4) It feels good

5) It is practice for high performance and SCCA driving events (which I sadly have yet to enter)

The stock pedal setup in a Trans-Am Firehawk is perfect for heel-toe technique. In fact, it's so perfect that you don't need to use your heel. You begin the deceleration stage at high RPM (as in a high performance driving situation) and ease into the brake quickly but smoothly, with only the very left edge of your foot on it (the ball of your foot, or big-toe joint, however you prefer to look at it). At the point where you should be threshold breaking (the ABS has yet to kick in), you need only tip your foot slighly to the right to give the gas a decent and quick tap. So, that being said, in one motion you begin to pull on the shift ****, depress the clutch, give the gas a firm but very fast 'tap' while you continue to pull the shift **** into the next gear down, and if done properly the shift **** will finish clicking into place WHILE you are comming back off the clutch. The engine should have been at the correct RPM so that you don't even feel a twitch in the smoothness of the cars deceleration as you come quickly off the clutch. With practice, you can do this through several gears quickly, using both the brakes and engine to decelerate, and will find that you are already wrapped into the power-band as you enter (and exit) the corner so you can whip out like you've been sling-shot! Each phase of this requires practice to get to a good speed, and I suggest going half-speed, half braking, until you get a second nature feel for the motions required.

Hopefully this will have every 6-speed (and/or 5-speed) Firebird I see looking and sounding like the race-bred cars that they are, in and out of ever corner around town. It is quite impressive to see and hear a car being driven like a full out race car on the street. Because it's downshifting, you can do it on the way down from the speed limit and look like a real pro. Besides, the kackle and pop of the exhaust as it comes out the bottom end of the power-band is always something to get ya going.

Watching speed channel, you can see exactly what I mean about heel-toe technique, should you find a race where they have an under-seat mounted camera pointed at a driver's feet. He's (or she's) doing a dance, between the left foot braking, and heel-toe downshifting into and through the corners! It's quite impressive to watch from that venue as well.

Happy grocery-getting everyone!

Edit: Just thought I'd add that I wear Vans shoes most of the time, which yes, are wide but not clunky or too much wider than tennis-shoes. I have performed the explained downshift flawlessly in the Vans, other tennis-shoes, narrow dress-shoes, and safety-toed Red Wing work boots. Each shoe requires a different feel, but the point is that it is possible for someone with nearly any foot size to heel-toe with the ball of his or her foot, and the 'pinky-toe' when driving a 6-speed Firebird or Trans-Am. Hope anyone that was having difficulty now has renewed hope. It takes practice, that's all. It took me many days of slow easygoing practice to get a feel for the motions. Just like hitting a baseball. Or swinging a golf-club (though I shift much better than I will ever tee-off lol)

slw ls1

iTrader: (6)

In my dd truck I'll drop gears with out rev matching and just pop the clutch. I know its bad on the clutch but in that truck I really don't care. It's a 45 min job in and out and a new clutch kit cost about $100 for everything. Then again, that clutch in it right now it still orginal with 187k and beat on all its life and it still has never slipped. I've tried to make that damn clutch slip and I still can't get it to.

In my talon I always rev matched and was able to do it properly so it never cause any wear issues. I had to replace that clutch after I got it and it was not fun, or cheap. All and all it was about an 8hr job on my back with jack stands and absoulty no air or power tools. I was as nice to that clutch as I could be. I had that clutch for over a year and mabey launched it hard 4 or 5 times.

JCS30TH

iTrader: (1)

Anybody who has ever done any mountian driving knows this well. I downshift quite a bit, but sometimes just put in N as I hit 1k or so

bdr_ws6

I downshift, but you would just have to ride with me to know when I do it. lol