Who here downshifts?

[ForOffRoadDriving]

im guilty of down shifting too, ive been doing it ever since i was a little kid on my dirt bike.

 

[Airmaster]

Alright i have an update, I practiced my double clutching for the first time today and I think it helps!

I'll give an example, I'm in 4th getting ready to slow down. Push in the clutch, bring it to nuetral, let go of clutch, tip the throttle, push in clutch, bring it to 3rd. The stick just slides into the gear like butter, like it was meant to go right there. Kinda have to be fast though, or you might as well just idle to a stop.

I'll say it's kind of fun and it does make driving smoother. I've already sensed it and I've just started, I'm still sloppy but it seems like the habit is taking.

Now to learn how to heel toe!

BTW, how the hell do you downshift without using clutch?

 

[heptofite]

i don't double clutch when i downshift because i don't use the clutch at all unless I'm stopping or starting or I'm in town.

 

[Boggin]

well i took the b2 for a ride tonight just because i thought of this thread, and since i had no brakes anyways i was downshifting. first time i done it and i caught on to it after a while and its actually pretty good. espically when you have no brakes

 

[Toms01PSD]

Many years ago I did in the old cars...but the newer cars and trucks you don't need to. I would not advise it either. There is no need to down shift unless you just like the sound the motor makes (like on my vintage bikes).

 

[CHKNFKR]

well i took the b2 for a ride tonight just because i thought of this thread, and since i had no brakes anyways i was downshifting. first time i done it and i caught on to it after a while and its actually pretty good. espically when you have no brakes

I blew a caliper seal out of town two years ago, continued to drive about 40 miles to the parts store and another 20 to my grandfathers garage. a 300 I-6 makes a very good brake.

 

[GoodOld85BlueBalls]

An old trucker's saying is that you should never go downhill faster than you go up, which means that if you don't want your brakes to overheat you had better downshift. If you dump the clutch on a downshift you are going to tear it up. You need to be smooth, matching RPM to what you are doing. All the old truckers got it right, and took care of their trucks long before things were as beefed up as they are today. I have driven most of my life in the Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming, I was taught-same gear up or down the pass. Most people just ride their brakes going down hill, we call them Flatlanders. Just watch them, they never were taught how to drive. Automatic transmissions are the ruin of the brain dead driving public. If you didn't learn to drive on a stick, you probably don't know how to drive. Period.

 

[Toms01PSD]

If you didn't learn to drive on a stick, you probably don't know how to drive. Period.

It was easier for me to drive a 10-speed Volvo coming from an automatic than it was for other people who only drove 5-speeds all the time. Given I have driven 5-speeds before, I didn't drive one daily and I didn't own one.

 

[heptofite]

It was easier for me to drive a 10-speed Volvo coming from an automatic than it was for other people who only drove 5-speeds all the time. Given I have driven 5-speeds before, I didn't drive one daily and I didn't own one.

well, if you're driving a volvo....

 

[pontiacfieroguy]

Automatic transmissions are the ruin of the brain dead driving public. If you didn't learn to drive on a stick, you probably don't know how to drive. Period.

i disagree. i learned how to drive in an automatic because my dad didnt trust me to drive his truck (84 f150 5.0 4spd with super low granny first) because i wasnt able to do it perfectly my first try because i let it die. and i turned out fine. ive owned 3 or 4 stickshifts now and im much much more comfortable in a stick than an automatic. just because somebody didnt learn on a stick first doesnt mean that they cant learn and be just as proficent later as somebody who did. in fact id say we are better drivers because we learned all the rest of driving without the added diffuculty of learning to be smooth with a clutch

 

[Toms01PSD]

well, if you're driving a volvo....

Don't understand what's wrong with Volvo's? One of the nicer trucks to drive IMO.

 

[Boggin]

i liike volvos i must say, but i grew up in a western star so that would be my preference lol

 

[BlackBII]

I very rarely use my brakes, usually only to come to a complete stop from about 15-20mph.

I always downshift to slow down. Habit I guess... from old career paths...

All this non sense about double clutching...it's not required on a modern synchronized transmission, like what our RBV's have.

 

[CHKNFKR]

All this non sense about double clutching...it's not required on a modern synchronized transmission, like what our RBV's have.

while it's not necessary it does prolong the life of the synchros

 

[GoodOld85BlueBalls]

i disagree. i learned how to drive in an automatic because my dad didnt trust me to drive his truck (84 f150 5.0 4spd with super low granny first) because i wasnt able to do it perfectly my first try because i let it die. and i turned out fine. ive owned 3 or 4 stickshifts now and im much much more comfortable in a stick than an automatic. just because somebody didnt learn on a stick first doesnt mean that they cant learn and be just as proficent later as somebody who did. in fact id say we are better drivers because we learned all the rest of driving without the added diffuculty of learning to be smooth with a clutch

Well......... Your an RBV owner! Your a HUGE step above the normal brain dead automatic driving public! LOL!