After my 5AT got totalled, i got a 6MT in late july...its my first manual car. I have totally gotten the hang of the clutch and such.
I was wondering if people would post any tips and tricks they do while driving....(ie rev-matching, heel-toe) and explain exactly what these things are....

Thanks a lot guys

Mitch
2004 G35C 6MT
DG/G
Prem.Aero.Nav
Clear Corners

 

Rev matching isn't really necessary anymore since we have synchos that rev match... but to save your clutch, when I downshift... I make it a habit to blip the RPM's to around where the gear you're going to will be. If done right, the car won't jerk, and you practically can't even tell you downshifted at all...

Heel/Toe driving is extremely useful Autocrossing or having complete control of your car in and out of a turn. It's not really Heel/Toe.. more like... "left foot on the right side of the brake" and "twist or turn the right side of your foot and 'blip' the gas to rev match" Smooth transition and your car is in the powerband out of the turn ready to bolt!! I'm still perfecting my heel/toe... but with practice, driving will even be more enjoyable. That IS the reason why we get a 6MT... to have complete control of the car!! [img]/w3timages/icons/laugh.gif[/img] Now if that darn "slip" button won't keep going ON all the time... [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]


6MT DG Coupe | Prem | NAV | Aero | XM | Z-tube | Clears | Aluminum Pedals | UT Y-Pipe | 40%Huper | Graphite RH J5 Pro 19"

 

congrats on the mt decision!
one word of advise, no shifting from 3rd into 5th directly, had to replace 3 this month(transmissions) do to that, noisy and grinding

 

yeah heel toe is hard, and not neccesary for the average person, but I can only imagine how fun it would be for someone that's actually good at it.

As for the slip button, c'mon babiephat, that shouldn't be coming on if you press the vdc button... what are you doing that it still comes on?? haha

and I've never understood skipping gears in upshifting. People say it saves gas, but I don't know if I buy that. Going from 2500 in 3rd to 2000 in 4rd, and then 2500 in 4th to 2000 in 5th is probably going to take less gas than going from 3200 or so in 3rd to 2000 in 5th.

I'm surprised it actually hurt your tranny too.

---
2004 TB/W 6mtC. Sunroof only.
Bel Vector 985
Grounding Kit
Splash Guards
Custom Carputer
Custom FG Sub
Infinity KapPerf6.1, Ref 6002si, 5760 6-ch AMP.
30% Huper

 

ive been shifting from 3rd to 5th for 30k now ... and my tranny is fine. There is no reason why you cant make a 3 to 5 shift.

As for Rev Matching, I never downshift without doing it. It makes the shift faster and smoother and there is min. clutch wear. As opposed to slipping the clutch for a downshift.

Little Tip on the downshifts, since there the most fun at speed
Dont downshift to second if your over 55 or so since 2nd will be around 6k
3rd gear downshifts will be fine anywhere under 77mph or so.

Dont be affraid of skippping gears on a downshift. Its perfectly fine to be cruising at 60 in 6th and popping it into 3rd to pass another car. The key is that you rev match it correctly.

When your rev matching its ok to overshoot the revs a lil since the engine will pull it down right away and the shift will be smooth. If you under rev the car your going to cause a clunk and un needed wear on the clutch.

The best thing to do is practice practice practice. After a while you'll be familar with the cars shiftpoint and how hard you can push it.

Start practicing on easy Downshifts 6->5 5->4 and so on...
A small blip will be fine since the gear ratios are so close together. After you have perfected those shifts I would say you start working on progessivly more difficult shifts, Like a 6-4 are 80mph or so

I prob. confused you a lil more since im all the place in this post, feel free to PM me with any questions.



*ANTI G-Squad Member*

 

Well said xlac...

It just takes practice... I used to drive open stretches of road downshift/rev match with the blip the gas to practice. You'll get to the point where it's 2nd nature and not even notice that you're doing it. It'll be a force of habit... [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img] Kinda like whenever I get in an AT and stomp down on the non-existant clutch to start the car... [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]


6MT DG Coupe | Prem | NAV | Aero | XM | Z-tube | Clears | Aluminum Pedals | UT Y-Pipe | 40%Huper | Graphite RH J5 Pro 19"

 

Me and the Non Existing Clutch get along well Its funny cause all stick drivers can reltate to that damn clutch that dont exist in a AT.


*ANTI G-Squad Member*

 

why do you do that anyways? your not saving gas because your just bogging the motor, anyways at my dealership well only warranty that complaint once, then its considered abuse.

 

I skip gears all the time depending on the approaching incline/decline/turn. Any I regularly skip 5th when shifting up, I just get lazy and as long as you match up the revs right it can't hurt the car in anyway.

 

its abuse to skip gears... give me a break.

*ANTI G-Squad Member*

 

"why do you do that anyways? your not saving gas because your just bogging the motor..."

Abuse from rev matching....??! What?! You're saving wear and tear on your clutch if anything!! ...not to mention that you have complete control of you car. If you're talking about just slowing down...just slam on the Brembos. That IS the reason why I got the 6MT...to have fun with it. If I want to have a no fuss, drive around town, not worry about "driving" the car by controller the gears/rpms when "I" want... I would've gotten an AT.

But stick is just too fun... I'm not worried about wasting gas... I consider it a cost of enjoying the car to the fullest. If you like the slight lag, neck jerk/whiplash from downshifting, want to wait for the synchros to match up,... then just let the clutch out... [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img] That's all good too... but for me, I want to learn driving techniques... and this IS what this thread is about, right? Not saving gas and abuse from "rev matching?"... =p


6MT DG Coupe | Prem | NAV | Aero | XM | Z-tube | Clears | Aluminum Pedals | UT Y-Pipe | 40%Huper | Graphite RH J5 Pro 19"

 

Heel-toe is a great technique to know for track use. If you want to learn it, do a search on goole or something. There are plenty of sites that explain it well.

As far as skip shifting, someone is going to have to explain why it would be a problem in the G or any car for that matter. I can't think of one reason there would be any damage to the transmission as a result. In fact GM uses skip shift on their Corvettes and i believe maybe on the Camaro and Firebirds of late as well. Which is one reason the gas mileage is so good for such a powerful motor. While I generally do not skip shift going up the gears, I do plenty when downshifting. I did so in my last 2 cars too. I heel-toe almost everytime I stop. I've never had a tranny problem.

 

"When your rev matching its ok to overshoot the revs a lil since the engine will pull it down right away and the shift will be smooth. If you under rev the car your going to cause a clunk and un needed wear on the clutch."

Over-revving or under-revving will both cause driveline shock if you release the clutch too fast. You can still chirp the tires by under-revving and dropping the clutch. It does it trying to slow-down the car though. And you can very easily damage the transmission under-revving a rev match as much as you could by over-revving one.

 

Ive your clutch work is smooth you will have no problem over revving the downshift a lil... By the time the begining of the clutch touchs the flywheel it will begin to quickly slow it down to the correct speed.


If you Let go of the clutch and you over or underrev it.It will shake the driveline.

*ANTI G-Squad Member*

 

Congrats on your 6MT. My 6MT coupe is also my very first manual car. After 1.5 years, I'm still loving the manual. I've gotten to where I can rev match real quick to downshift so that I don't really have to brake too much. It also sounds sweet when you rev match then downshift to blow by someone. I tried doing the heel-toe thing a few times, but it's damn difficult. I also crashed once, because my foot slipped off the brake pedal. I'll leave the heel toe to the experts.