Downshifting and you

[Cackalacka]

Couple things:

Save for my ape-like proportions, I'm of average height/weight/shoe size, and I've got to say, these pedals are perfect for heal-toeing/blipping. Look at how the gas pedal tapers, assuming you don't have ballerina feet, you can span the brake/gas pedal sufficiently without twisting your foot hardly at all.

If you're heel-toeing to downshift to pass, unless you're decelerating because you're rapidly approaching the pass-ee, you're doing it wrong. (edit: I should add, I see the need to blip between 4/3, but with our cars' torque, I don't really see the need to blip going from 6/5 (unless you're downshifting ~80mph)

Most of my daily is highway, freeway speeds out, stop and go home. My main concern in both situations is keeping the drivetrain happy. I like to keep my technique fresh, but unless I'm in the country or on the mountain, I generally keep the shifting linear/tight and coast/use the brake. Like the folks are saying, the brake pads are cheaper than the transmission/clutch.

 

[McQueen77]

What do you mean?

If you are doing it right and consistently you won't even realize you are doing it anymore.

I drive 35 miles (each way) in a variety of traffic conditions (stop and go, back roads, and highway) and am always heel-toeing.

Practice and it will be the only way you shift.

^this

driving a manual properly and employing good clutching/shifting should not feel like 'work' at all and if it does, you might need more practice. driving a manual to anyone who has done it long enough feels as second nature as anything. if all i had to do in my daily driving is alternate between hitting the gas and the brake, and maybe touching a little paddle now and then, id be quite bored and one of those people who drives the uh.. what are they called? the things that shift faster than the blink of an eye while making you a caramel machiato and making a little fart noise? D..DS... Ah, I can't remember.

 

[Hilfloskind]

The true test is when you hop into an auto slusher and keep grabbing for the stick and pushing your left foot down onto nothing

 

[xHeartcoreboyx]

^this

driving a manual properly and employing good clutching/shifting should not feel like 'work' at all and if it does, you might need more practice. driving a manual to anyone who has done it long enough feels as second nature as anything. if all i had to do in my daily driving is alternate between hitting the gas and the brake, and maybe touching a little paddle now and then, id be quite bored and one of those people who drives the uh.. what are they called? the things that shift faster than the blink of an eye while making you a caramel machiato and making a little fart noise? D..DS... Ah, I can't remember.

Actually i use my pedals 80% of the time and its quite fun, feels like a true modern german sports car when you hear it shift, so crisp.

Oh...and i can fap while i drive, u cant, i win.


=P


Sent from my iPhone with typos.

 

[Shoehat]

The true test is when you hop into an auto slusher and keep pushing your left foot down onto nothing

I do this all the time in my wife's prius!

 

[Jimmer1]

After reading this thread, I can't stop the image of you all driving to work in a Sparco fire retardant suits and full face helmets. The ability to heal and toe is great, if you're looking to shave tenths of seconds off lap times. In fact, these days most rally/race/F1 cars have sequential manual transmissions which do all the work for the driver - no heals or toes involved. Honestly, unless you're trying to be Ken Block, you really are wasting your time. You won't save your car/gas/the environment. It's like wearing sunglasses at night, P Diddy might be able to pull it off, but most will just look silly.

 

[x_paradoxal_x]

I think about this a lot honestly. I usually downshift to 2nd when I make a turn (2nd seems too low, and 3rd too high), and I have been trying to make it smoother without using more petrol. I come from driving the TDI for 2 years, so the gearing in the GTI has taken some getting used to, especially when downshifting. I have always blipped the throttle a little bit, just to make the downshift slightly smoother, but usually I downshift to go slower. My procedure: Brake, drop the clutch wait for the car to slow a tad more, then let out on the clutch smoothly as to not jolt the car. I have found that giving it a little throttle (bliping I assume?) will make that downshift slightly smoother.

At higher speeds though I have no qualms about downshifting with throttle blipping or rev matching, but at lower speeds I have to be more precise. I know I sound like a noob here, but I've only driven diesel manuals (golf TDI, Focus cdti, Corsa 1.4 d) until now, and the petrol engine is a completely different animal.

And to the guy talking about driving manual properly: I have only been driving for 4 years, 2 of them on manuals, and I ask myself this all the time. It's not that my manual skills are bad, they are great, but I like to get every shift perfect, make them smooth with no jolts, and get great fuel economy. I just love being engaged in my driving, and I fear that one day driving will be completely second nature.

 

[Jimmer1]

^ where are you from? I'm assuming not the US if you've been knocking around in a Corsa diesel!

 

[x_paradoxal_x]

I have been living in the UK for 2 years, just moved back to the States with my family. I Briefly started to drive in the US, but when I moved to the UK when I was 17 I learned there. Drove diesel manuals the whole time there. That is where our family's love affair with the Mk6 started. I learned on a Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 eco diesel which was the worst car I have ever driven. Thankfully we had a leased 2.0 TDI Golf which I drove the wheels off of, all over western europe. But I am American yes, with a slightly messed up accent, living in the South. :/

 

[Jimmer1]

I have been living in the UK for 2 years, just moved back to the States with my family. I Briefly started to drive in the US, but when I moved to the UK when I was 17 I learned there. Drove diesel manuals the whole time there. That is where our family's love affair with the Mk6 started. I learned on a Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 eco diesel which was the worst car I have ever driven. Thankfully we had a leased 2.0 TDI Golf which I drove the wheels off of, all over western europe. But I am American yes, with a slightly messed up accent, living in the South. :/

I'm from the UK and have been living here in SC for 2 years. Every car I've owned has been manual, except for my last car (X5) and the GTI. I do also own a Jetta TDI auto for commuting, so technically that's three I guess. Europe is inverted when compared the US, I'd say 80% of cars are manual so that's all we know. The same applies to gas vs. diesel, well over half of European cars have a diesel motor. I'm very confused why the US market hasn't taken to modern diesels - combined with a good auto transmission there really is no better combo IMO. Fuel economy, torque, reliability combined with real power these days makes for a really good DD. BMW's twin turbo straight six is a belter - pulls like a V8 and still gets 35mpg.

 

[RacingManiac]

Diesel until ~3 years ago are not "modern" in US since we didn't have higher grade(sulfur-free) diesel fuel....So for most before that time diesel car for us are smoky black plume of the buses and semi trucks....

 

[x_paradoxal_x]

Yeah Jimmer I totally agree, the market with cars here kind of perplexes me, but when I moved over to the UK I was thrilled because I didn't have to drive autos anymore. It is only a matter of time (and rising petrol prices) that will bring more diesels and more manuals to our shores. In the US the price of fuel is going up (all be it, incredibly cheap compared to the UK/EU) but eventually it will reach a more comparable level to Europe. It is necessity that will change the market, and for now, we have a long way to go.

 

[x_paradoxal_x]

And believe it or not, the Diesel cars in the US are actually much cleaner because of the EPA's high standards. It is a double standard though, it is driving many auto manufacturers away from developing US-Spec diesel engines. For example, Ford and GM have a plethora of diesel engines on tap in the Rest of the World Market, but they do not want to spend the money to develop them for the EPA's standards.

My $0.02 is this: VW's TDI is revolutionizing how Americans think about diesel.

 

[Jimmer1]

RacingManiac: That's a myth my friend. Diesel engines have improved massively since the late 80s, way before ULSD was introduced. Particle filters remove almost all the soot you may remember being left on the garage door in the 80s. The stereotypical Mercedes kicking out black fog have long gone - modern diesels produce way less CO2 when compared to a similar output petrol motor, which is the main reason most Europeans drive them: less CO2 means less tax. Combined with 40-60mpg there's really no choice. I remember when I bought my wife a Renault Clio 197, as I wanted a go-kart alongside my 5 series diesel. It has a 200 horse high revving 4 pot, which averaged 20 or so mpg - I got bored of that very quickly with premium gas at $8+ a gallon.

 

[x_paradoxal_x]

I would love to have a diesel bmw 3 series estate here, with a manual, but they don't have them here! They don't sell the 316/318/320 d's here which is a bummer. That 335d is an auto, and a beast.

By the way, I'd trade my GTI for a GTD in a heartbeat.