Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by tankinbeans »

I finally taught myself how to rev-match downshift a couple months ago and still have issues with my 3-2. Sometimes I over-rev it, sometimes under but it evens out. I've noticed that, in my car, each lower gear is an increase of ~500 rpm. If I'm going 65 at 2500, in 6th, and want to pass I'll go into 4th and rev up to 3500 (forget the wonks on Top Gear who say you should be passing in high gear :) ). Slides like a hot knife through butter.
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by potownrob »

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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by Nermin///M3 »

Thanks guys - i have been having great time learning, i and my car appreciate all the help here. :D
I love rev maching, M3 has a nice sound when you rev it up and when you nail the down shift its nirvana. :D

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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by six »

potownrob wrote:
six wrote:I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet... Welcome to StandardShift! :D Congratulations on your purchase of an awesome car. Please post pictures of your car in the Member's Cars forum! 8)
potownrob wrote:...welcome to the forum btw!!
:? :evil: 8) :lol: :o
Sorry :oops:
I missed it.
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by Fit4Fun »

This has been a very helpful thread for one still pondering the mysteries of rev matching (ETA: by which I mean, MOI). And welcome, Nermin!
Last edited by Fit4Fun on Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by potownrob »

six wrote:
potownrob wrote:
six wrote:I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet... Welcome to StandardShift! :D Congratulations on your purchase of an awesome car. Please post pictures of your car in the Member's Cars forum! 8)
potownrob wrote:...welcome to the forum btw!!
:? :evil: 8) :lol: :o
Sorry :oops:
I missed it.
you have been forgiven 8) :)
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by six »

Yay :D
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by kayubassist »

Nermin///M3 wrote: One question i wanted to ask you, this morning as i was driving to work, i was in 5th, car slows down in front of me, and i dont have enough time to rev match on down shifts, so i press the clutch go from 5th to 4th to 3rd slowly release the clutch and accelerating in 3rd. This was very smooth transition in 3rd however i am not sure if i should have blip the gas pedal a little bit while i was holding the clutch in 4th and then put the car in 3rd. The down shift for me was very smooth without rev matching.
sorry for bringing up an old thread,
I have a question about rowing through gears when coasting to a stop.
Do I keep the clutch depressed the whole time while going through 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 ? (in this case, what does downshifting through gears help with? I always have this mind set of depressing clutch = shifter in neutral position. and can't I just go from 5 to 2 if the speed is low enough?)
or do I need to take my foot off the clutch and press again each time I downshift?
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by Shadow »

kayubassist wrote: sorry for bringing up an old thread,
I have a question about rowing through gears when coasting to a stop.
Do I keep the clutch depressed the whole time while going through 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 ? (in this case, what does downshifting through gears help with? I always have this mind set of depressing clutch = shifter in neutral position. and can't I just go from 5 to 2 if the speed is low enough?)
or do I need to take my foot off the clutch and press again each time I downshift?
Not sure that I'm following what you're saying... if you have the clutch depressed, then why would you move the shift level in sequence from 5th down to 2nd? You're not downshifting until you engage the clutch. So if you're holding the clutch pedal down the whole time, then you might as well just go right to 2nd gear. What I'll often do is just use the brakes to slow the car down in gear and then if I'm not coming to a complete stop or if the light ahead turns green, I'll then step on the clutch pedal, put the shift lever into 2nd gear (or whatever gear is appropriate for my speed) and blip the throttle a bit to match the revs before re-engaging the clutch.
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by kayubassist »

oh
that's what I was wondering too.
so you would take your foot off the clutch pedal and depress again everytime you shift from 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 right?

I thought the OP went from 5 to 4 to 3 while depressing the clutch whole time.
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by Shadow »

kayubassist wrote: so you would take your foot off the clutch pedal and depress again everytime you shift from 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 right?
If I was downshifting through the gears, then yes, I'd press/release the clutch every time.
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by bk7794 »

kayubassist wrote:
Nermin///M3 wrote: One question i wanted to ask you, this morning as i was driving to work, i was in 5th, car slows down in front of me, and i dont have enough time to rev match on down shifts, so i press the clutch go from 5th to 4th to 3rd slowly release the clutch and accelerating in 3rd. This was very smooth transition in 3rd however i am not sure if i should have blip the gas pedal a little bit while i was holding the clutch in 4th and then put the car in 3rd. The down shift for me was very smooth without rev matching.
sorry for bringing up an old thread,
I have a question about rowing through gears when coasting to a stop.
Do I keep the clutch depressed the whole time while going through 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 ? (in this case, what does downshifting through gears help with? I always have this mind set of depressing clutch = shifter in neutral position. and can't I just go from 5 to 2 if the speed is low enough?)
or do I need to take my foot off the clutch and press again each time I downshift?
doing so each time you downshift will help you slow the vehicle down. But if your going lets say 30mph in fifth and wanted to go to third then I can not see a reason why you need to even enter the 4th gear gate.

I read someone on here doing something similar. When they want to skip a gear upshifting like going from 1st to 4th but skipping 3rd and 4th, sometimes they would shift to those while keeping the clutch depressed then shift into fifth like normal to keep the synchro wear even.
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by kayubassist »

got it!
thank you shadow and bk!
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by potownrob »

bk7794 wrote:I read someone on here doing something similar. When they want to skip a gear upshifting like going from 1st to 4th but skipping 3rd and 4th, sometimes they would shift to those while keeping the clutch depressed then shift into fifth like normal to keep the synchro wear even.
not sure if that's really beneficial since the transmission synchros are in constant mesh (no??). i always saw that as just playing around with the shifter, being artistic etc.
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Re: Do i have to rev match when down shifting gears?

Post by theholycow »

potownrob wrote:not sure if that's really beneficial since the transmission synchros are in constant mesh (no??). i always saw that as just playing around with the shifter, being artistic etc.
The gears are constant mesh. The synchros are not. Their whole job happens while the clutch pedal is on the floor, and shifting through each gear instead of shifting directly to your target gear will even out the wear, but the sum total of wear involved is more than the amount if you just get it done unevenly in one shift.

There's no good reason to downshift sequentially while approaching a common slowdown or stop, whether you're engaging the clutch or only engaging the gears while keeping the clutch disengaged. Stay in gear until you run out of RPM* then shift to neutral until you expect to accelerate again soon, then shift into your target gear and go.

*: or shift to neutral before then, if you prefer.
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