more questions about driving trans

when you're about to approach a corner (e.g. red lights), how do you handle the situation? Do you downshift before the turn or during? Do you make the turn w/ 2nd gear or 1st?

Please describe w/ more details I wanna know if I'm doing it the right way.

 

If at a red light, I usually come to a complete stop (my dad's pet pev while I was learning how to drive was stopping at red lights even if no traffic is coming before making a turn) so I will be in first and shift about half through the corner, unless I am tryiing to take the corner hard, in which I hold out first longer.

If at a roll, I typically drop to second to slow the car before the turn and acclerate out of the corner, just how I do it and it seems easier for the car to handle. I would not be in first at this point, cause if at a roll, it is a bitch to get into first and it not worth the effort in my opinion.

Hope this helps, and remember there is more than one way to drive, in fact I bet someone will post after me telling you they do it completly different.

 

if at a red or a stop, i do just that, but if not heel toe and double clutch all the way baby

 

At a red light I always start in first, even if I did not come to a complete stop. I think if you can comfortably be in second gear making a right on red turn you need to slow your *** down.

Of course, a real turn you can heel-toe downshift. Which is difficult to do right so you may not want to try it. But basically you downshift under braking into as low a gear as possible so you can accelerate out of the turn as quickly as possible. Its heel and toe because you need to use one foot to modulate the throttle/brake and one to modulate the clutch (so you can rev match on the downshift). There are lots of good primers on the Internet with pictures and everything.

Oh and double clutching is not necessary in our cars. Dats what the synchros are for.

 

Another note:

Maximum performance in a turn is to apply full brake before entering (with downshifting to maintain gear), brake and turn, and then accelerate through the apex.

So if you wanted to be Schumacher or Andretti or something you would brake before the turn.

 

uh... my bum

 

Tidus....your question has been addressed in a few different ways here.....but here is my two cents.

Personally.....I have always downshifted into the gear for the appropriate speed at which I was traveling through the corner BEFORE entering it....this way your car is always under power going through the corner and you are not needing to shift IN the corner....

as for which gear that is? well it depends on the speed at which you are taking the corner....and whether or not that corner is at a light or not....

my point being....in normal IN TOWN TRAFFIC, IF you are not coming to a stop, as in the light is green, then just slowing down and getting into 2nd is what I do.....or if there is traffic and you have to slow down to like 10 mph...then I will get back down into 1st.....

of course anytime you come to a complete stop at an intersection....you downshift into 1st and then go.

Do all these explanations answer the question?

 

of course if we are talking TURNS....and not an intersection...well that is another subject all together....on the road into where I live...off the main road....there are two HARD 90's....with about 300 feet between them....then about a quarter mile then a nice "S" curve....

the two 90's....if the road is clear and you can see well around the corners as there are no trees or obstructions....I don't get below 3rd as the first one I will take at 40 MPH, its a right hander so its a bit tighter....the second one isn't quite as tight as its a lefthander and the radius of the turn is larger than the first and I can negotiate it at 50 mph...so never get below 3rd gear there either....and the "S" curve...well that sucker is 5th all the way as I have flown thru it at 80 mph and havn't gotten the tires to squeel yet.

:{D oh the fun of the twisties!!!!!!

 

as soon as the grass gets mowed there and the visability is a tad better....I might...lol its one of the few places around our area where you can really toss it into a corner and not worry about whats coming the other way....

that first 90 is pretty much maxed out at 40...its not real smoothe and its not a NORMAL 90...its a really hard 90. the second one is a normal 90.....

 

What I think about my gears:

1st gear: Just for launching the car from a full stop.
2nd gear: Universal Gear for normal slow driving
3rd gear: High Speed Launcher /slow driving saver
4th gear: High End Fast response
5th gear: Cruise / Gas saver

So I use most 2nd gear