Yeah you're right I don't really the need to downshift. I drive a lot around 2-3am so the only thing that stops me are traffic lights and I just go straight to Neutral. Perhaps I will keep my revs higher for the sake of the clutch in traffic driving. Thanks
That's how I usually drive in busier traffic myself.

Spacing you from the car in front of you is the key. When going less than 5 MPH in stop and go traffic you will never have to use 2nd gear. Use the engine idle RPMs and a touch to gas to shift into 1st, fully let off the clutch and you will find the engine will cause the car to brake to about 5 MPH. Only give a little more gas if necessary and if you need to stop push in the clutch and barely push the brake pedal because you will already be creeping to a stop.

Use reverse just like 1st gear. You might find once you have the clutch fully engaged (up) in reverse you will be going too fast. Never keep the clutch half way engaged if you are on the gas pedal too. You can use a small combination of the clutch and gas pedals to start moving backwards, push the clutch down and the car will stop right way. Keep repeating and use of the clutch and gas to start/stop the car to your advantage.

I usually keep my RPMs between 2000 and 2500. I find anything less than 2000 usually puts strain on the engine and transmission if I need to accelerate faster (might have to down shift if you feel too much vibration). If you keep the RPMs a little higher around 2500, you will never have to downshift to accelerate or pass a car. I think at 40-45 MPH I am at the perfect RPMs in 4th gear. If I wanted to go a little faster I would have to shift into 5th gear as long as the RPMs are around 2250 once in 5th.

Manual transmissions are not made to use each gear every time you drive. When moving slowly, it is almost better to stay in 2nd or 3rd to keep pedal braking at a minimum because a slow speed in 4th may not be ideal.

I find it funny when people shift just to "go through the motions" to get up to speed into 4th or 5th gear when they should really only be in 3rd or 4th. Let the RPMs wind out, ONLY shift at 2500-3000 RPMS because that is when you need to go into the next gear (on a flat road).

This is how I drive my G.

TRAFFIC
Driving in slow traffic, when you are just inching up little by little, i let out the clutch going into first normally, never letting it sit halfway out, but ill go halfway only to get it engaged enough to scoot up a bit, and then put the clutch back in. It is best to just sit in noot until the car infront of you moves enough for you to fully engage 1st though. Don't sit in 1st w/ clutch in for long time, just rest in noot.

REVERSE
For reverse, you let out the clutch out normally but go back in as soon as it engages enough to pull out, if you let reverse fully engage, be careful cuz the idle speed is fast for just backing up. Engaging is about halfway for me. I only fully engage reverse to go up a hill when i need extra power to go, or need to back up a lot, but always have my foot over the brake cuz of the high idle speed.

CRUISING (driving like a grandma)
I usually shift at 2600-3000rpm and never go below 1500rpm. So when accelerating lightly, I stay between 2000-3000rpms. When I am cruising, and not accelerating, I do 35 in 5th, at 40 in 5th, 45+ in 6th. When cruising you should be around 1500rpms, and you will probably save gas too. REMEMBER, if your cruising at 1500, and need to accelerate, downshift and acel, don't try pressing the gas at 1500 rpm to speed up or you'll mess something up!

BTW, never rest your foot on the clutch. The lightest pressure sends electric
signals to hydraulics to clutch.

That's how I do it.

Me too.... the car has plenty of torque to loaf around at low RPM's the way the final drive is geared and you get great fuel economy from it at the same time.

Our engines actually get peak fuel economy at between 1500 and 1800 RPM's as long as you're going at a constant speed on a flat road. If you're going up any kind of grade, you'll want to spin a little higher RPM's than that.. particularly if you're in 5th or 6th gear.

Just try to avoid regularly bogging the motor down for extended time periods due to using too high of a cruising gear, and you should be fine.

oops i guess i should have phrased my question better about reversing. I usually engage the clutch halfway with a little gas to get it rolling then push the clutch back in and let it roll with a little brake control. So I guess Im doing it alright.

But I have another question about downshifting. Whats the proper way to do it when your in 5th and want to go into 4th to accelerate with more power? When I do it the car usually lugs but if I go through the motions slowly (rev matching) then im a lot smoother. How do you know where to rev match the rpms to? I usually have to calculate it in my head a bit.

Really? You should be at a high 3rd or low 4th at 35 mph (depending on traffic), 4th gear ONLY at 40 mph, low 5th gear at 45, and 6th gear should only be used on the highway in a 65 mph zone.

No need to downshift to speed up if you are in the correct gear.

-NEVER ride the clutch.

-Release the clutch once its fully engaged. This can be quick or relatively slow depending on the speed at which you are traveling.

-Cruising at 2k is fine. I usually cruise around 1600 at the city (6th gear, 40-45 mph).

-Avoid holding the clutch down for a long period of time. The proper way is to throw it in to neutral. Holding the clutch down rather than keeping a car in neutral might wear the throw-out bearing more than necessary.