33mph in 6th gear???? jeeebus that's some grandpa-driving. 33mph for me is about halfway thru 2nd.

my current speed determines how far i downshift when passing. if i'm behind someone on a 2-lane highway (usually ~60mph), i rev-match down to 3rd. if i'm going 70mph or more, i shift down to 4th and rev-match.

 

Still somewhat related on topic:
Got a question for you guys who race side by side with a friend, if you're cruising along at the same speed, are you in the lowest gear before you hit it off or downshift and rev match? I'm assuming the former?

 

So if it's that harmful to drive in a gear that's "too high" at lower rpm, why does it say it right in the owner's manual?

 

i totally agree (although i keep mine around 2k). i even found their recommended shift points for quicker accelerated runs just as cooky. btw: i somehow missed your earlier post on shift points... sorry about that.

edit: here's their quick acceleration numbers...

Gear change MPH (km/h)
1st to 2nd 15 (24)
2nd to 3rd 25 (40)
3rd to 4th 40 (64)
4th to 5th 45 (72)
5th to 6th 50 (80)

 

That isn't entirely accurate. Its called 'dragging the clutch' and anytime that the clutch is in contact with the flywheel, and they are not turning at the same rate, you will induce wear on the clutch.

My wife drags the clutch when she downshifts and it drives me nuts. I tell her to either rev match, or just don't downshift. Because of mostly conservative driving, and downshifting with rev matching, I didn't have to change the brake pads on my old Z-24 until 80k or so, and my brother, who now owns the car, has 142k on the original clutch. And to those who may argue that too much engine braking can lead to premature wear on the rings, all I can say is that the oil consumption on the car is only slightly less then when it was brand new in 1997.

Of course, YMMV (no pun intended). That car has a tremendous amount of highway miles on it (its on its 4th set of tires) and I tended to slow down early, since I did a lot of engine braking. Plus its had nothing but synth in the motor and gearbox since just after the break in period ended.

Also: Rev matching or not rev matching will have almost no effect on the synchros. What really hurts the synchros is using the wrong type of gear lube in the gearbox, or moving the shifter faster than the synchros can work...and its been my experience that in the G you pretty much have slam it through the gears (up or down) to to cause excess wear on the synchros. A slight (.5 second) pause in neutral is all you need to have both a quick shift, and minimize wear on the synchros.

So the lesson for the day, is that when done properly, downshifting with rev matching can save wear and tear on both the clutch and the brakes. When not done correctly, can induce extra wear in the clutch. When in doubt, don't downshift and use the brakes instead. Brake pads are soooo much cheaper than a clutch.

 

Oh, agreed. I've seen it too. I've even done it: before I learned to rev match, when I was first learning stick, I either dragged it or chunked it.

But here is what I'm saying: If you downshift, without rev matching you can do it two ways: You can let the clutch out slowly, which will cause it to drag and cause premature wear *or* you can let it out quickly (what I call 'chunking' because of the sound the gearbox usually makes when you do this), which will rapidly bring the engine speed up to match the road speed for the selected gear, but will cause you and your passenger's heads to bob forward and will add an additional 'shock' to the drivetrain.

Of course the effects in either case depend on how fast you are going with respect to what gear you are selecting (i.e. downshifting from 3rd to 2nd at 25mph is going to be less severe than downshifting from 6th to 4th at 60mph) and how quickly the clutch comes out. My previous statement listed draaaaging it out, as well as just 'dropping' it, but obviously there is a lot of gray area between. Done correctly, and with relatively minor gear change, (i.e. from 3rd to 2nd around a side street turn), you're going to minimize both the wear on the clutch, and the head bob.

I avoid the entire issue by almost always rev matching. No wear on the clutch (I let it out very quickly) and no head bob (I've gotten good at matching engine speed to road speed).

I also heel-toe brake when I can. I'm by no means an expert, but I've impressed my friends with my ability to brake, steer, and shift (at the same time) in city traffic, all without dragging the clutch or making their heads bob. Sometimes I really eat it though and either chunk shift really badly, or have my foot slip off the brake. That last one is a great way to get my buddies to soil their shorts.