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Re: downshifting Posted by Ari [Email] ![]() ![]() In Reply to: downshifting, Brian (93 9000CSE), Mon, 12 Apr 2004 12:36:45 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Wow- that's a lot of work to do mess up your clutch.
By backing off the clutch slowly, you're taking material off the clutch plate and heating it up. Both contribute to short clutch life. The good news is that by slipping the clutch, you aren't straining the tranny as much as if you just dropped the clutch.
If you're trying to come to a stop, leave the car in gear, and let the engine braking work. Release the clutch when the revs drop so low that the engine is getting near lugging. That, and use the brakes. Brake pads are MUCH cheaper to replace than clutch plates.
Downshifting to slow down may seem sexy, but use the brakes. The reason to downshift is to have the car in the powerband at your slower speed. For example, you slow down for a corner, so you downshift to put yourself in the right gear to accelerate quickly out of the curve.
I'm not sure what 'reverse pumping' is, but it sounds slightly off-color. There is 'double-clutching."
I haven't seen the thread on downshifting. The idea of double clutching is to get the transmission speed to match the engine speed. The key to long clutch life is to have the engine and tranny speed matched as much as possible when you take your foot off the clutch. That way, the two faces of the clutch are going the same speed, and you don't polish them up as much.
To downshift with double-clutching, press the clutch in. Shift into neutral. release the clutch (foot off - actually, just pressure released). Bring the engine revs up to where they should be with at this road speed and gear. Push the clutch in, shift into the lower gear, and release the clutch.
When the shifter is in neutral and clutch released, you bring up the tranny shaft speed.
Do it right, and you get butter-smooth shifts. Do it wrong, and the pros call it 'making metal.'
Now, with most modern trannies, there are synchronizers, devices inside the tranny whose job it is to match speeds when shifting. Double-clutching is a skill for unsynchronized trannies, of which there aren't many around. You'll find those in antique cars and some race cars. That's it. It's a nice skill, but not at the expense of chewing up clutches.
With the synchronized box in the Saab (and most every other car since the early 60's), to downshift, just press in the clutch, bring up the engine revs to where they should be in the lower gear, move the shifter to the lower gear, and let out the clutch. The synchros will do the work. The trick is to do this while braking, and that's where 'heel and toe' comes in. While pressing on the brake with the toe/ball of your right foot, you hit the gas with your right heel.
The skill comes in in knowing what revs to get at what road speed and what gear. That comes with time and practice.
posted by 192.249....
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