Downshifting?

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

gas is cheaper than new pads. so let those pads last a little longer

[808BMW]

Revmatched clutchless downshifts all day baby.

I just replaced my pads last week for the first time in 4 years... and they still had life left.
(Consider I live on an island, and your either going uphill/downhill all the time, that's pretty damn good)

If there is wear and tear on my clutch, that has also been untouched in 4 years, and while its hopping on its last legs, its been there for a long time.

Your supposed to be in gear at all times while moving.

Agreed. We may not care in our light e30's with good brakes, but I prefer to be in control of the situation at all times.

[bmwm3n528]

Used to rev match 'til 3rd, now match to fourth and I'm through.

Pads are cheaper than Transmissions.

[MikeE30325i]

Oh, I gues I do that all the time then. Hooray for me.

yeah its so you dont get that crazy extreme slow down period. it kinda eases it into the lower gear

[MikeE30325i]

Downshifting and letting your RPMs slow you down puts your engine into a "braking" mode, where you arent using more gas, its actually overly efficient when "braking." If you dont match the rev's, you are putting added stress on your clutch and it will wear out. If you dont downshift correctly, you will pay for it in repairs, so just use your good ole brakes until you know what you are doing :) I downshift and rev match 75% of the time, as to anticipate idiots and lights turning green.

thanks man. i dont downshift yet, but i might start to do it.

[motorprestige]

Downshift by rev matching all the time.

as well as heel toe'd.

[motorprestige]

eh.. Depends on lazy I feel when I'm driving. Sometimes I downshift sometime I coast it and downshift.. Rev matching seems like such a waste unless you're on the track giving hell otherwise it's too much to worry about when I'm driving through town.

Too much to worry about? I do it out of instinct, automatic reaction.

[YAN-3]

I always do rev matched downshifts, no exceptions.

yes especially in the M3. the sounds the s14 provides are just too good to pass up

[Simon S]

I always do rev matched downshifts, no exceptions.

quite. once smoothy in gear, one can 'engine brake' w/out resulting/causing undue wear on clutch via throttle control - hence extending brake component wear/life.

downshifter

<3

.

[trashcop 80s 80s]

5th to neutral. Sit there in neutral, light goes green, put it in first, go.

[Simon S]

am I to understand correctly that it is considered ‘healthy’ on valvetrain for it to undergo ‘back-pressure’(?) caused from deceleration due to cut-off amounts of throttle? [at periodic intervals]

.

[Beej '86 325es]

I found it interesting when I was in Europe how they slow down. Much more cars over there are sticks, and I noticed after driving 2000 km on vacation that they hit the brakes MUCH less than the typical American, because they just let the engine slow them down.

[e30 gangsta]

I heel toe almost every gear. If not ill rev match always. Clutchless rev matches to me sound like they have to do some kind of damage to the driveline.

[Stu]

Each time you don't match revs properly on a downshift, the straps on the pressure plate take the load, and stretch. Vice versa for too much revs for the selected gear. If it happens enough with a lot of loading, the straps can snap.

[markseven]

No

A.
The increaset compresion does not help the engine, but that's small potatoes.

B.
The clutch generally likes engaging in one direction. When you downshift, it works against it's normal direction.

C.
All motor mounts, tranny mounts are designed to effectively handle torque in one direction. Again, downshifting fucks them up.

D. Differential gear R&P toe and hill contact is reversed when downshifting.... blah, blah, blah...


Need I go on?

I use the brakes to slow/stop the car, although evasive action may require engine braking. I Downshift and r3v match to accelerate out of corners.

I don't understand why anyone would r3v match a down shift while coming to a stop - doesn't that defeat the purpose? :)

Unless you are running straight-cut gears, your tranny and dif (pretty much the entire drivetrain) are designed to transmit torque in one direction. Just my $.02 :D