Another driving-a-car trick put into practice... which I shouldn't have.

"Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French" (Tentacle)
08/18/2013 at 13:09 • Filed to: None

Ok, so I'm a bit of a driving otaku. Driving technique nerd if you will. Because, let's face it, things like left foot braking, heel-and-toe'ing (side-flipping actually) and trail braking are not quite needed in normal daily driving. Sure, you can put it/them to use, no one's going to stop you, but our typical/average commute will happen perfectly well without any race-related pedal-and-stick work.

So, last week I added another driving trick to the Put Into Practice List: clutchless upshifts. And now I wish I didn't. Not because anything went wrong. Quite the opposite, the upshifts went smooth .

Then what's the problem? As simple as it seems, clutchless upshifts are tricky, at least it is for me as something new, so it's rewarding to pull it off without grinding any teeth in the 'box. I now have to suppress the urge to skip the clutch! I want to do it at every opportunity.

But, erhmmm, this is my daily driver, with over 220k km (133k miles) on the clock. And on the gearbox. So it'd be better if I do not treat the gearbox as if it has dog engagement gears.

*sigh* First world problem.

DISCUSSION (15)

The World of Vee > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 13:10

clutchless shifting is fun.

i had so much more to add and then realized that was more than adequate

Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 13:11

I use no clutch shifting to save my clutch...

If you do it smoothely with no grind then there should be no issues in the box occuring.

Nerd-Vol > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 13:13

I heel-toe on a daily basis. I love mastering new driving techniques, but clutchless shifts are not on my to-do list. The risk vs reward is just too slanted for me to go for it.

Pure87 > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 13:17

I once did a smooth clutchless downshift. I wasn't trying to be cool or anything; while I was learning to drive stick, I was out practicing my downshifts and I simply forgot to press the clutch. Oops. I haven't tried to do it since.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 13:39

heh. I used to clutchless downshift my old celica every once in a while.

I feel like I got the revs right 2/3 of the time. I haven't much tried it in the Z. Being older and stuff, mechanical sympathy and all that.

Saracen > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 13:58

I match revs on every downshift, and heel-toe for every corner. I don't do 0-60 launches so I'm not worried about my clutch, but I'd rather not lug the car on downshifts (and preserve my synchros)

Boss2452stolemylunchmoney > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 14:10

It's pretty easy, up or down. Light pressure on the shifter and it'll pop out of gear as soon as you left off the throttle...as soon as the engine speed drops to the same speed as the output shaft of the transmission the shifter will "fall" into gear.

Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French > Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT
08/18/2013 at 14:13

Hmmmm. As I understand it, clutchless shifting on a regular gearbox will put greater strain on the synchromesh. On the blocker rings (or baulk rings) to be more precise.

So if preventing wear on the clutch is concerned, then one should minimise sliding friction by proper rev-matching instead. In the end a clutch plate is easier and cheaper to replace than the gearbox itself.

Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French > Boss2452stolemylunchmoney
08/18/2013 at 14:17

I'm not worried about pulling out of gear without using the clutch. Just a little bit of throttle to sit right between engine braking and engine driving, and you pull it out with as little resistance as if you used the clutch.

It's the "getting into gear" that leaves me with the Want To But Shouldn't feeling.

Roadster Man > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 14:33

I heel-toe or at least downshift coming up to every stop light, but I've never tried to shift without the clutch. Can someone explain this to me? I'll doubt I'll ever try, though.

Eric Siedlecki > Roadster Man
08/18/2013 at 14:39

For clutchless upshifting, instead of using the throttle to match the revs, you'll instead go to neutral and wait for the RPMs to drop to the correct speed for the next gear. This is opposed to cluthless downshifting (also risky, also fun) where you would use the throttle to match the RPMs for the lower gear.

Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French > Roadster Man
08/18/2013 at 15:01

Key is accurate rev-matching. Pulling out of a gear is easy, just a tiny bit of throttle, so you're not engine braking, and you can pull out out of gear without any resistance. If you do it with closed throttle, you'll feel more resistance.

Getting in gear, like Eric is saying, is more difficult. It takes good timing and throttle control. Pull out of gear, let revs drop, and once the revs (nearly) match the higher gear, engage it. If you time it exactly right, you'll slide into gear without any more resistance than when using the clutch.

Downshifts are even trickier because you have to blip the throtle and raise the revs before you can select a lower gear without using the clutch.

Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 16:21

Well the clutch was dead anyways, always slipped under load.

And the trans was a Getrag. Decent trans that will take a beating

Clown Shoe Pilot > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/18/2013 at 21:03

i can upshift w/ no clutch w/ a 99% success rate. my clutchless downshifts are more like 60%

ilostmypants > Tentacle, Dutchman, drives French
08/19/2013 at 00:34

It's nice to just hear other people talk about manual transmissions, It makes me feel less alone in this automatic world.