How Do I Downshift Properly?
 

I seem to have trouble mastering the Downshifting...
A lot of times Im driving at 60-70MPH and when I approach a turn I take it at about 20MPH.
The thing is I never seem to downshift/ or know how to, when I approach such curves. I always come up short and end up not shifting all the way to desired gear. I dont want to start downshifting from a long distance and slow traffic down...
Am I supposed to downshift sporadically from 70-20MPH? Wont that waste the clutch?
Someone guide me!

TO CLEAR THINGS UP
It seems that when I want to brake fast from 70-20MPH shifting from 6-2nd is a motion of one gear after the other, constant clutching... is that what im supposed to do? or am I doing something wrong?

And how Am I supposed to brake and blip throttle at the same time? The pedals arent exactly strategically placed in my favor. Do I even blip the throttle? or do I just wait to match my speed to proper lower gear?

I would suggest having someone teach you how to drive in person. Trying to explain it over the internet is not ideal

:(

PM DEpoint50 or kenchan. I believe one of them taught driver's ed and can walk you through the basics but I can't remember who.

Umm...what? I would say the fastest way to brake from that kind of speed is with the BRAKES. But if it was me driving, I'd apply brakes for the desired speed I'd like to take the turn and then put it in the desired gear. Depending on how I want to accelerate out of the turn I generally use 1 gear for every 10's of mph I'm going. So if I'm slowing down to 20mph and I want to quickly accelerate out of the turn I'd go to 2nd gear. Once I get into the higher mph if I want to accelerate quickly out of the turn I use -1 gear for every 10 mph (this is just regular street driving btw). So if I'm going 50 mph then I put it into 4th gear. But that's just a rule I use for myself. Like that other guy said, you should probably have someone show you in person.

I think your the only one who understood what I was trying to ask!
So your saying if your driving at lets say, 70MPH in 6th, when you approach a turn... you brake to 20-25MPH while in 6th, then switch to 2nd? You dont go through the other gears?

You're basically asking if you should always row your gears up shifting and down shifting?

If you have S-mode turn it on, and let the car heel and toe for you..use the brakes to slow the car to the speed you want to go through the corner at, and select the gear you want to exit the corner in before you start the turn in to the corner

If you don't have S-mode have someone show you how to heel and toe. You can't effectively explain braking and throttling with the same for in words.

You CAN cycle through all the gears and engine breake but if you're looking to slow down quickly on a city street I just don't see that as a viable option. I'm very familiar with the streets where I'm at so I have an idea of what gear I want to be in when I exit my turns. I would (in the scenario you're using) apply brakes and clutch and shift to 2nd simultaneously, upon exiting the turn I'd ease off clutch allow the gears to engage and apply throttle.

just skip all the other gears. No need to even heel toe on the street. Just brake, clutch, shifter in neutral, finish braking, turn, shifter to second, slowly clutch out and a little gas as you come out of turn.

You are a rookie manual driver OP, all these techniques will come in time. You have S-mode so make sure you keep it on. Rev matching/ heel and toe is a little more advanced driving and involves some skill that I don't think you are up to just yet. And like mentioned above, you need someone in the car teaching you, sorta hard to explain something like that on a forum

Ummm.. you should never just shift into neutral while the vehicle is moving, let alone during a turn.

If you don't have the time for one-on-one lessons, look up manual shifting on You Tube. There's hundreds of videos on there for driving enthusiasts. I agree that you're skills will grow with time, but be careful on the street. There aren't a lot of areas, sans a highway transition, where you should be going from 70mph to 20mph. Don't drive past your skill limit.....makes it unsafe for you and for the rest of us.

I would seriously suggest, like someone on here already has, that you get involved with an autocross club in your area. Guys and gals there would love to teach you everything you want to know, and you can thrash the hell out of your car if you want.

Not me. I can't wait for manuals to die... LOL

My suggestion would be to look up Heel-toe downshifting via Youtube. You can also catch some good live videos on television during road race events that are broadcasted live.

Downshifting is to maximize your braking power via the brakes and the engine. Over revving is a no-no. Hmm, seems some folks on here have never been on the ragged edge slowing a car down quickly. S-mode is nice, it does the throttle input for you. I am kinda old school and like it all to be the drivers skill.

If I understood you correctly, just throw the car in neutral and use your brakes to slow down. Once you come to the 20-30mph range, put it in whatever gear you need to accelerate again.

Just takes practice man, find out where the tach will be for that given mph and the rest is simple. For heel to toe downshifting, it certainly takes some finesse and practice. You need to roll your foot over to blip the throttle. Like others have said, watch some YouTube vids and go out and practice.

How I do it is that if you downshift without blipping the throttle, the engine forces itself to rev itself up. If you blip the throttle, just rev it high enough such that the engine doesn't need to ramp up to that speed. Don't rev too high since it's overkill. Then let the clutch out like normal. Do it just right and it'll be smooth sailing.

I did this in my 280zx all the time, never had an issue. over 223k on the engine and Tranny. Never replaced synchros, still shifts smooth. I don't know about the "during a turn," I guess I never really paid attention.

Neutral is just that neutral. Then engine revs to an idle and you are just coasting. Personally I don't see the danger in it. Your brakes stop the car, never ever ever use the engine or tranny to stop the car. Why, they are crap loads more expensive. That is for racing when you need engine assist, our brakes are fine for street driving. If you need engine assist on the streets you are going to get a DA award soon.

I think i understand the OP completely.

i.e. Exit freeway doing 70 cruising because it is a clear access road and you feel spirited...there is the turn around. 70-60-50-40-30-20 in about about 150 yrds. No need to downshift in that short amount of time, that would be silly. Not to mention you just stressed the hell out of your engine and tranny and maybe ground some gears trying to keep up. Your engine in 6th gear will not bog down and chug until you get to about 15mph. I typically leave it in gear till i get down to the turning speed about 15 or 20. Push in clutch change place it in second let out clutch and prepare to accelerate after I exit turn.

I understand some will get technical about driving a stick. Really it is not rocket science and you will figure out when to down shift and when not to.
I do not down shift to brake I down shift to maintain the correct rpms for the speed I am driving. If i am going to continue to apply my brakes till i come to a stop, i typically do not down shift.

Just my opinion on down shifting.

ok we are definitely having some conflict in here because some are giving advise for sport driving and some are just going daily, like the whole not putting it into neutral in a corner daily sure why the hell not if you are slowing down, on a race course though this will unsettle the rear end so it is a no-no. heel and toeing on the street is just a pain in the ***, if you are drving on the street and down shift to pass just clutch change down and let the clutch out a little slower or latter than you give it gas to get the engine going before the clutchs slams in, if you are slowing down clutch, off gas, on brake change down, slowly let clutch out so you don't shock tires until it is full engine braking. On the race course heel and toe and drop that **** while standing on the brakes

Thats exactly what I do and exactly how I feel. Good man.

I was taught to never coast to a stop in nutral, it was drilled into my head that if something happens you may need to accelerate or slam the breaks on. Can't do that in nutral. I will shift to nutral after coming to a stop waiting for a red light for instance but, always have the car in gear apprpriate to the speed im going while slowing down.

1. Approach the corner
2. Brake to desired speed (don't ride the clutch)
3. Downshift to appropriate gear right before the apex
4. Accelerate out of the corner at the apex

The end.

It's not the end it's another person who didn't read the thread nor help at all.

I was gonna say no way has this guy ever taught drivers ed lol least of all how to drive a manual. No offense here OP really some of us where there once but you really are a noob. As far as daily driving goes you will get better at it eventually, I'm not going to say don't have fun but right now what you should be doing is the basics to get to know your car and get the feel for driving a manual, it is like a bike after a while you don't even think about it and can pretty much do it totally inebriated(not saying you should that sometimes ends very badly). Start with the things that help you be a better manual driver and keep the most embarrassing things from happening to you. A big part of driving a manual is clutch and gas control and switching between them and one of the suckiest things to do that needs this is hill starts, find a REALLY steep incline and stop right on it(find a spot where you can do this without being a nuisance and preferably without embarrassing yourself) the best hills are the ones with signs that say "warning steep grade all trucks check brakes" when you can start up that thing without rolling back more than a foot, without spinning the tires, without using your e brake and without looking differently than an automatic car and you can do it consistently no problem you will have figured out one of the hardest parts to driving a manual. Cornering will be no different from an automatic car so unless this is your first car period, once you can drive a manual normally without thinking about it, this will come naturally.

On a personal note are you duck lipping in your avatar pic?

LOL. I wasn't even going to look at this thread until one of my coworkers said "hey, that one looks like a winner!"

I personally don't coast in neutral for fear of being rear ended (again) and I like to have a gear to get out of dodge if necessary. All that is on the street.

On a road course or canyon / spirited / Tail of the Dragon run, I engage SRM (since I normally have it off) and ensure that I stay above 3k RPM so that I don't loose boost response. I learned that hard way that SRM downshifts can cause the car to lurch forward, so I stay above the boost threshold.

Your experience could be different. We don't know what your setup is (NA or FI). The only advice I can give you is to learn how the car behaves and adjust as necessary. Seat time is where it's at.

Well this thread is a few weeks old. I have the hang of it now. Like another said, its not rocket science. I can drive perfectly fine, and on hills too.

And no, Im blowing a kiss ;)

I'm not saying that shifting into neutral during a turn or while moving is hard on the engine or tranny.... but now you have no control of the engine or vehicle in that matter. Yes we know you can coast to a stop with the brakes, but what if you need to push on the gas to get out of a situation quick. That split second trying to shift back into a gear can mean everything.
I've been working for a defense contractor for almost 9 years teaching soldiers how to operate the Stryker vehicle (40 ton 8 wheeled vehicle) and even though its auto, I still had to go to school to get my CDL class B, which had me driving a 26ft box truck that was manual. We were ALWAYS taught never to shift into N while the vehicle was moving. Some people can panic or go full retard when they need to get out of dodge asap, whatever the case may be. Now they're fumbling around trying to get back into gear. Weren't you guys ever taught when you first got your license to never put your vehicle into N coasting down a hill thinking you are going to save gas? Same thing here.

I'm sure everything has been already covered, therefore I will cover it again just in case. If you really want to perfect shifting. train yourself to shift more smoothly, then more faster or better at first. It's gonna have a lot of downfalls, but that way you are paying attention to RPM's and mph with a glance. People who say, "hear the engine" don't know what they're talking about. You can hear the engine when you learn about the critical parts of the car first. It's best to pay attention to the rpms and mph as your upshifting gears. Then you'll know where you can downshift gears. Obviously you can't stare at your guage the whole time so look at rpms and then mphs when you shift with a glance. Play with it. I rather let you learn yourself, it is more fun as you reach the "peak" (whenever that is lol). As far as corners, youtube some videos man, a lot of stuff you can see on the video's there on how they do it. Obviously a lot of people downshift a little bit right before the turn or curve. If say a right curve turns more to a L shape turn then obviously you are gonna have to move your car more to the left side of the road and line yourself up right in a lot slower pace than a curve. Don't listen to me, as I am a beginner myself, just watch the videos

Then send me that sticker and :gtfo2: :tiphat:

is this real life?...........

:wtf2:

Ibtl

That's even worse... wtf is wrong with kids these days :gtfo2:

Shifting. Watch the video. :D

I was taught by a professional that when upshifting from 2-6, position your hand with the thumb down, palm pushing away from you. Downshifting, just the opposite...thumb up palm facing you. Supposed to help prevent the money shift.

..or is this just fantasy..

well played sir!

:tiphat:

RIP Freddy :shakes head:

:bow:

RIP indeed.

if anything AIDS should have got magic johnson and let Freddy live on. i mean thats a better trade off right? :ugh2:

:wtf2: