shifting no clutch

mikeeeee

Member
:
Mazdaspeed protege
ok guys here the deal i've talk to this computer tech guy that has a 800+ hp Rx7 and he tells me that you know that you're a good driver when you know how to shift without clutching. and i was thinking dayam how the **** do you do this.
anybody know?
somethhing bout perfect timing?
im clueless.
 
It's all about timing. I've done it once or twice just while I was experimenting. You've got to know your car and that the RPM needs to be at at the exact right moment.
 
By the way, this should be in a different section. Thiis section's supposed to be just for the website help/feedback (related to the forums, not cars) but yeah.
 
It's called powershifting. It's not recommended at all.

But yeah, learn your rev matching first (what rpm and what speed in which gear).
 
somebody correct me if i'm wrong....but you can shift from a gear to neutral without a clutch (i did that once by accident :)), and if the revs match you can pop it into gear from neutral without a clutch too (which i've never tried)....thus totally clutchless shifting

so i think if you're REALLY good you never have to use the clutch, except when you're at stop signs, of course. :)
 
o sorry for posting it wrong place but i didnt know where to go. and i was thinking if you dont use clutch wouldnt you be able to switch really fast and get better times?
 
um i thought the general consensus on the term "powershifting" is when you shift without letting off the gas (to my understanding)

and it completely different from clutchless shifting.

correct me if im wrong.
 
zumi said:
somebody correct me if i'm wrong....but you can shift from a gear to neutral without a clutch (i did that once by accident :)), and if the revs match you can pop it into gear from neutral without a clutch too (which i've never tried)....thus totally clutchless shifting

so i think if you're REALLY good you never have to use the clutch, except when you're at stop signs, of course. :)
Right. It just takes a little more force than usual.


uclap5 said:
um i thought the general consensus on the term "powershifting" is when you shift without letting off the gas (to my understanding)

and it completely different from clutchless shifting.

correct me if im wrong.
I don't know about the general consensus, but I was just assuming that his friend was telling him about powershifting (yes, still giving gas, but not using clutch, and you still have to shift where the ratios make it easier for that to happen), not just putting it into gear from neutral.

correct me if I'm wrong too ;)
 
While rallying, we sometimes don't have enough feet to transfer the weight of the car using left foot braking techniques and downshifting with a clutch...so...the clutch goes. Drop into neutral, rev the engine to match the gear speed for the lower gear and the gearshift slides right in without the clutch.

I drive my street Protege without the clutch all the way to work and home some days...except at stops...just to practice the technique.

It is a last resort technique when rallying. It isn't worth trashing the synchros if you don't need it. You are not LFB'ing on upshifts, so there is no reason to do it while accelerating...unless drag racing and truly powershifting, but I wouldn't recommend that with a Protege 'box. I use it when coming into a corner and the feet are too busy doing more important jobs, but honestly, it rarely is necessary. I typically can cover brake and throttle with right foot while downshifting and then switch back to LFB mode.
 
mikeeeee said:
o sorry for posting it wrong place but i didnt know where to go. and i was thinking if you dont use clutch wouldnt you be able to switch really fast and get better times?

Shifting without the clutch is slower. You have to wait until the engine revs drop down before you can slide it into gear.

I sometimes shift without the clutch if I'm being lazy, or if traffic is starting to slow down, speed up, slow down again...when I have to constantly shift between 2nd and 3rd.

It's not that hard, just takes practice.
 
I never really tried in the MSP, but I could do it like nothin' in my Civic. My synchros were so shot that I figured I'd try it and it was pretty easy. I gave it up when I put the new tranny in though.
 
since im turbo, im not practicing that much anymore.

I only do it when revs are very low, like 3k to 2k shifts, nice and slow. 1st gear to 2nd gear and 4th to 5th are the more difficult to do: 1st to 2nd because of the ratio change and 4th to 5th because the gear is far and ratio between is short, so you have to do it faster than the other gears.
 
igdrasil said:
since im turbo, im not practicing that much anymore.

I only do it when revs are very low, like 3k to 2k shifts, nice and slow. 1st gear to 2nd gear and 4th to 5th are the more difficult to do: 1st to 2nd because of the ratio change and 4th to 5th because the gear is far and ratio between is short, so you have to do it faster than the other gears.

yup hes absolutely right. first to second is the one I practiced on and just used the tach and speedo to get a feel for it and then could do it without them.
 
Who cares if the tranny is weak? Even if it is, if you do this right, there's NO wear on the synchros, NO wear on the clutch (obviously since you're not using it)...

Yeah, if you do it wrong you could break something...but if you know what you're doing, then go right ahead.
 
what ever you do.....NEVER JUST TRY TO pull IT IN GEAR!!!! if you try it.... just drive it around and try and match you engine rpm's with what your tranny is spinning. it's easy to pull it out of gear, but getting back into gear is a different story. just feel your way into gear, by this i mean pull it from one gear to neutral and then give it a little pull back and feel it into the next gear. do it slow at first and then try to do it faster and faster over time.:D do all of this while trying to rev match as much as you can!;)
 
1FASTMP5 said:
what ever you do.....NEVER JUST TRY TO pull IT IN GEAR!!!! if you try it.... just drive it around and try and match you engine rpm's with what your tranny is spinning. it's easy to pull it out of gear, but getting back into gear is a different story. just feel your way into gear, by this i mean pull it from one gear to neutral and then give it a little pull back and feel it into the next gear. do it slow at first and then try to do it faster and faster over time.:D do all of this while trying to rev match as much as you can!;)

The only gear I have a problem slipping in without the clutch is 4th. Well, I also don't shift into 1st with no clutch (duhhh).

Other than that, I can go 1-2, 2-3, 4-5 with no clutch....5-3, 4-3, 3-2 also with no clutch (it's a bit tougher to downshift without the clutch).

Of course I've also been rev-matching all the time even when using the clutch (which is most of the time...don't think I go around shifting with no clutch all the time...I mostly do it to impress friends), so I know exactly when to slip it in gear.
 
cbcbd said:
It's called powershifting. It's not recommended at all.

But yeah, learn your rev matching first (what rpm and what speed in which gear).

powershifting is when u dont let off the gas...

...and it is all about timing... i do it in my 5 all the time i find it very easy and its not at all hard to get it in gear...
 
I do this all the time. its not bad for your transmission. infact its easier on the clutch.

its called "floating the gears"

I learned to do this when I learned to drive a semi-truck. and I now have my CDL. You are "supposed" to dubble clutch them, but literally over half the truck drivers on the road float them.

btw: I'm not a truck driver, I just do every once in a while to fill in
 

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