how do i downshift in a manual car?
hello,
so i just got a tdi golf volkswagen (which is absolutely beautiful). but its stick shift and i am pretty new to that… how do you downshift?
i know everybody has their own ways.
how do you downshift when your taking a sharp turn, a slightly turn, a full stop?
can you go from 4th gear to 2nd gear? if not, how would the best way be?
do you first hit the clutch or the break? idk just explain everything you know about it i guess:)
thank you!
Chuck
Posted 3 months ago
you need to press the clutch and in order to downshift but you should be going the proper speed or a safety mechanism in the transmission will not let you downshift into too low of a gear. In other words, you won’t be able to downshift into 1st gear if your going 50 mph. You should always press in the clutch first to stop a manual vehicle so the brakes aren’t fighting the engine.
Gary
Posted 3 months ago
It’s a long detailed answer so hope you can print out. If been driving stick shift since 16 and now 69 have 2004 Corvette stick. Well lets get started. You downshift as traffic dictates if from high speed downshift one gear at a time you will slow down that way using engine as brake, Obviously you’re not using higher gears in traffic.like in town.
When you’re coming to a corner downshift before you get to corner if need to use brake but before corner let clutch out and drive around corner that way you always have control then up shift once around corner. A slight turn use your judgment slow down some and drive around When coming to a stop again you can combine shifting down and using brake at same time, if traffic stops go to first if just slowed down stay in second if engine has enough power and doesn’t lug down.
You can go from 4 to 2 if you’re not going too fast except if emergency and you need to slow down fast,brake on clutch out . You can slow car by braking while driving. If you’re stopping push both clutch and brake at same time and shift to first as you are coming to stop. hope this is enough info, just takes practice,and if more reguired e-mail me.
geno_yaj23
Posted 3 months ago
None of the answers above have mentioned the need to “Rev Match” when downshifting.
To Rev Match, you step on the clutch and then step on the gas to bring the engine RPM up with the RPM of the gear so that the car doesn’t jump/jerk when you go into a lower gear. It also saves some wear on your synchros. Then when the rpms are close/right on (you have to know your car a bit to do this flawlessly, but don’t worry as long as you get the rpms close then you should shift smoothly) shift into the next lower gear.
Many people don’t Rev Match mostly because they simply don’t know about it, but it’s a great skill and habit to learn.
When downshifting around a sharp turn, just down shift before you go into the turn.
There’s also the racing method called the “Heel-Toe” method which is probably one of the hardest skills to learn with a manual. To do this you step onto the brake with the toe portion of your right foot, then step onto the clutch with your left, and then pivot your right foot so that you hit the gas with your heel and then you downshift.
This method is not needed at all for normal or even spirited driving, but it’s something really cool to learn. And very useful if you want to track race.
For a slight turn, unless you really need to downshift, just stay in gear.
For a full stop, you can do a few different ways.
You can just put the car into neutral and coast to the stop (while stepping on the brakes of course)
You can downshift until you stop (it’s fun but is a lot of work for no reason. Some argue that it saves brake life…well you may save brake life but you wear out the clutch and synchros, both which cost a lot more to replace than brake pads)
If you know that you are going to be moving before you come to a complete stop, just slow down and then downshift into 2nd gear unless you’re moving under 5mph.
Staying in gear while going to a stop where you might have to move before you fully stop saves you bogging down while starting up again if you’re in a high gear and saves you the extra of having to start from a dead stop or having to rev match at a low speed.
Whether or not you can go from 4th gear to 2nd gear depends on your car and how high your rpm is when you downshift. So if you’re redlined in 4th gear, then no, you can’t go into 2nd unless you’re planning on doing the “Money Shift” which is called that because after you do it, it’s going to cost money to repair the transmission that you just messed up.
If you are able to go into 2nd from 4th, use the “Rev Match” to match up revs for a smooth transition then downshift.
You can really hit either the clutch or brake first depending on what you’re doing and how you like to do it. Whichever one take priority, but I always like to brake first before downshifting to ease as much off the synchros before I downshift because the lower the rpms the smoother the shift will be.
If you’re coming to a stop, you can clutch then brake or brake then clutch. Stepping on the clutch will basically put the car into neutral because the gears are disengaged and you’ll be coasting.
If you step on the brake first, then just remember to step on the clutch before your car comes to a complete stop to avoid stalling.
Happy Shifting!
Forrest K
Posted 3 months ago
manual transmissions are awsome u just need to know how to control one. when shifting down its like counting backwards, u cant skip a gear to go to the next (like going from 4th to 2nd), your engine must be going the proper speed (rpm’s) in order to cooperate with the transssmision. when shifting up it is recommended to shift about 3000-3500 rpms for best gas milage. when shifting down the engine needs to go slow enough so it does not grind the gears, and thats always bad. i’d say shift down about 1,000 – 1500ish but no more. every car is diffrent so get to know yours. when about to shift down ride the brakes untill the engine hits about 2000 rpms and push in the clutch and continue to ride the brakes until 1000-1500 rpms. take the shifter down the next gear.let off the clutch easily and keep the engine at desired rpms and speed.
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hello,
so i just got a tdi golf volkswagen (which is absolutely beautiful). but its stick shift and i am pretty new to that… how do you downshift?
i know everybody has their own ways.
how do you downshift when your taking a sharp turn, a slightly turn, a full stop?
can you go from 4th gear to 2nd gear? if not, how would the best way be?
do you first hit the clutch or the break? idk just explain everything you know about it i guess:)
thank you!
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Chuck
Posted 3 months ago
you need to press the clutch and in order to downshift but you should be going the proper speed or a safety mechanism in the transmission will not let you downshift into too low of a gear. In other words, you won’t be able to downshift into 1st gear if your going 50 mph. You should always press in the clutch first to stop a manual vehicle so the brakes aren’t fighting the engine.
Gary
Posted 3 months ago
It’s a long detailed answer so hope you can print out. If been driving stick shift since 16 and now 69 have 2004 Corvette stick. Well lets get started. You downshift as traffic dictates if from high speed downshift one gear at a time you will slow down that way using engine as brake, Obviously you’re not using higher gears in traffic.like in town.
When you’re coming to a corner downshift before you get to corner if need to use brake but before corner let clutch out and drive around corner that way you always have control then up shift once around corner. A slight turn use your judgment slow down some and drive around When coming to a stop again you can combine shifting down and using brake at same time, if traffic stops go to first if just slowed down stay in second if engine has enough power and doesn’t lug down.
You can go from 4 to 2 if you’re not going too fast except if emergency and you need to slow down fast,brake on clutch out . You can slow car by braking while driving. If you’re stopping push both clutch and brake at same time and shift to first as you are coming to stop. hope this is enough info, just takes practice,and if more reguired e-mail me.
geno_yaj23
Posted 3 months ago
None of the answers above have mentioned the need to “Rev Match” when downshifting.
To Rev Match, you step on the clutch and then step on the gas to bring the engine RPM up with the RPM of the gear so that the car doesn’t jump/jerk when you go into a lower gear. It also saves some wear on your synchros. Then when the rpms are close/right on (you have to know your car a bit to do this flawlessly, but don’t worry as long as you get the rpms close then you should shift smoothly) shift into the next lower gear.
Many people don’t Rev Match mostly because they simply don’t know about it, but it’s a great skill and habit to learn.
When downshifting around a sharp turn, just down shift before you go into the turn.
There’s also the racing method called the “Heel-Toe” method which is probably one of the hardest skills to learn with a manual. To do this you step onto the brake with the toe portion of your right foot, then step onto the clutch with your left, and then pivot your right foot so that you hit the gas with your heel and then you downshift.
This method is not needed at all for normal or even spirited driving, but it’s something really cool to learn. And very useful if you want to track race.
For a slight turn, unless you really need to downshift, just stay in gear.
For a full stop, you can do a few different ways.
You can just put the car into neutral and coast to the stop (while stepping on the brakes of course)
You can downshift until you stop (it’s fun but is a lot of work for no reason. Some argue that it saves brake life…well you may save brake life but you wear out the clutch and synchros, both which cost a lot more to replace than brake pads)
If you know that you are going to be moving before you come to a complete stop, just slow down and then downshift into 2nd gear unless you’re moving under 5mph.
Staying in gear while going to a stop where you might have to move before you fully stop saves you bogging down while starting up again if you’re in a high gear and saves you the extra of having to start from a dead stop or having to rev match at a low speed.
Whether or not you can go from 4th gear to 2nd gear depends on your car and how high your rpm is when you downshift. So if you’re redlined in 4th gear, then no, you can’t go into 2nd unless you’re planning on doing the “Money Shift” which is called that because after you do it, it’s going to cost money to repair the transmission that you just messed up.
If you are able to go into 2nd from 4th, use the “Rev Match” to match up revs for a smooth transition then downshift.
You can really hit either the clutch or brake first depending on what you’re doing and how you like to do it. Whichever one take priority, but I always like to brake first before downshifting to ease as much off the synchros before I downshift because the lower the rpms the smoother the shift will be.
If you’re coming to a stop, you can clutch then brake or brake then clutch. Stepping on the clutch will basically put the car into neutral because the gears are disengaged and you’ll be coasting.
If you step on the brake first, then just remember to step on the clutch before your car comes to a complete stop to avoid stalling.
Happy Shifting!
Forrest K
Posted 3 months ago
manual transmissions are awsome u just need to know how to control one. when shifting down its like counting backwards, u cant skip a gear to go to the next (like going from 4th to 2nd), your engine must be going the proper speed (rpm’s) in order to cooperate with the transssmision. when shifting up it is recommended to shift about 3000-3500 rpms for best gas milage. when shifting down the engine needs to go slow enough so it does not grind the gears, and thats always bad. i’d say shift down about 1,000 – 1500ish but no more. every car is diffrent so get to know yours. when about to shift down ride the brakes untill the engine hits about 2000 rpms and push in the clutch and continue to ride the brakes until 1000-1500 rpms. take the shifter down the next gear.let off the clutch easily and keep the engine at desired rpms and speed.
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Michael Guy
Posted 3 months ago
push in clutch and downshift. thats it