Zen and the art of changing gear.

Zen and the art of changing gear.

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R_U_LOCAL

Original Poster:

2,676 posts

207 months

Tuesday 27th February 2007
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I regularly get friends asking me to take them out for a few hours driver training, so they can improve their skills and tell their mates they've been taught "by a proper Police Instructor".

If I get a full day with someone, I can give them a little taster of most aspects of advanced driving. A sort of Chinese buffet, starting with the basics of smooth car control, moving on to improving observations and planning, and then, if I've got some confidence with their ability, doing some higher speed cornering and overtaking. There's no way I could get anywhere near teaching someone everything they'd learn on a full course, but they get a small sample of most aspects, and I've never had anyone who doesn't think they've improved at the end.

Occasionally though, time will be limited, and someone will ask me to take them out "just for an hour or so" and teach them something.

So I always teach them something with which they'll feel a difference immediately, and which they'll go away and practice. It's also something that their regular passengers will notice immediately (a number of wives have already thanked me ) and it's something they can show off to their mates if they are so inclined.

I teach them to change gear.

"Teach them to change gear Reg? Don't be daft - everyone knows how to change ruddy gear. Except for the Americans and they're too fat to use a proper gearstick."

Well, most people do know how to change gear in a manual car, and some people know how to change gear smoothly, but I can teach people to change gear so smoothly they can out-smooth Sean Connery (before he lost his hair and starred in Highlander).

It's a well established fact that you should operate a cars controls smoothly, but why? What difference does it make? To be honest, it doesn't make a great deal of difference at lower speeds - my mum is rougher with the gearstick than Big Daddy used to be with Kendo Nagasaki, but she only trundles round at town speeds, so it's never caused her a problem. The point at which smooth car control does start to matter is when the speed increases. When a car is travelling at high speed, the potential weight transfer either under heavy braking, hard acceleration, or high-G cornering is very high, and it's this transfer of weight across the car which can seriously unsettle it if it's not done smoothly. Changing gear is one way of transferring the vehicles weight backwards and forwards, and so, if you can do it as smoothly as possible, the weight balance of the car moves around in a more stable manner, and your progress will be safer. Plus, your passengers will appreciate it too.

So, what's the secret? Well, it's not one thing, but, as with most things in driving, it's a series of actions which must be coordinated and timed to perfection in order to get it right. I've seen grown men - some of them high ranking Police and Army officers, congratulating themselves, and feeling chuffed to pieces at getting one gearchange correct. Remember, these are people who make life-or-death decisions, and they were impressed enough with their own improvement in a basic driving skill, to say "let's do it again" with a big grin on their faces.

In true driving school style, I'll split the subject into two sections. Predictably enough, they are...

1. Changing up through the box.

2. Changing down through the box.

But before I move on to the more advanced sections 1 and 2, lets start with how you move the gearstick.

Most people simply change from the gear that they are in, to the gear they want to be in. But in reality, it's slightly more complex. What you're doing is taking the car out of the gear it's in, putting it into neutral, taking it out of neutral and then putting it into the next gear. I know they sound the same, but there's a very subtle difference, and if you can get into the habit of pausing for about 1/2 a second whilst in the neutral phase, you will give yourself enough time to operate the most important pedal for smooth gearchanges - the accelerator.

Oh, and a quick note on holding the gearstick. Police driving schools teach the "thumb up and thumb down" method and I quite like it, as it encourages you to place sideways pressure in the correct direction, and helps to avoid selecting the wrong gear. Basically, hold the gearstick with the palm of your hand, and if you're selecting first or second, point your thumb down. If you're selecting third, fourth or fifth (or sixth!), point your thumb upwards. If you place the pressure on the gearstick with your palm, you'll always move the gearstick in the right direction.

Most gearboxes are sprung so that the stick "rests" in neutral between third and fourth gears, so sideways pressure is only ever needed when selecting first, second and fifth (and sixth) gears. Changes to third and fourth just involve a movement either straight forward, or straight back from the neutral plane.

Right - back to 1 and 2.

In explaining how to change up through the 'box, I'm going to assume that you'll move the gearstick correctly, as described above - most importantly, including that essential pause in the neutral phase.

The most important aspect of changing up correctly is what you do with the accelerator pedal. A lot of drivers will press the clutch and completely release the accelerator pedal whilst they change gear. They will then release the clutch prior to re-applying the accelerator. This technique will usually result in the car jerking forward when the clutch is released because the engine speed doesn't match the road speed for that gear. This jerk is more pronounced in lower gears than it is in higher gears.

The way to avoid this jerk is to release pressure on the accelerator before and during the gearchange, but not to release it completely. I'll talk you through it.

Lets assume we're about to change up from 2nd to 3rd in an average car, at about 40MPH. In this imaginary average car, the engine will be doing 5000RPM at 40MPH in 2nd gear, and 3000RPM at the same speed in 3rd.

Before you start to change gear, ease off the accelerator slightly so the rate of acceleration slows. Then press the clutch and change gear as described previously. Whilst you're changing gear, ease the accelerator back until the revs have dropped from 5000 to 3000, and then hold the revs there whilst you release the clutch. Once you've released it, squeeze the accelerator, and continue accelerating. Allowing the revs to drop correctly will remove that jerkiness from the up-change, and you'll notice the difference immediately.

Changing down is very similar, but the process involves raising, rather than lowering the revs. Racing and competition drivers "blip" the throttle on down-changes to match engine speed to road speed, but I'm talking about road driving, which is slightly different. A blip is only suited to very fast gearchanges, which aren't necessary on the road, so in advanced road driving, the revs are raised during the downchange, and not blipped.

As you're changing gear, squeeze the accelerator gently to raise the revs from 3000 to 5000, release the clutch, and then continue accelerating.

It's taken me ages to explain something which can be done in around a second, and it's far easier to teach by demonstration and then trial and error, than it is to write it out, but I think that's my best explanation.

Have a go tomorrow when you get a chance. Don't just change from 2nd to 3rd - I always get students to drive along a straight piece of road at 50MPH, and change randomly through the 'box, without losing road speed. the gearchange will always be heard, but the point is that it shouldn't be felt.

Then, when you've practiced for a bit, see if anyone notices.

brap_brap

753 posts

208 months

Wednesday 28th February 2007
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I've got some bad shift habits I'm sure, and I'd certainly like to improve where I can. Now that I own a TVR I'll starting using the clutch more. I have a question however.

If you can shift smoothly using nothing but throttle and your ear, does synchronised shifting
actually cause any damage provided you're not forcing it into gear and it goes smoothly, gently and silently? I've been doing it for years and have yet to kill a standard trasmission.

R_U_LOCAL

Original Poster:

2,676 posts

207 months

Wednesday 28th February 2007
quotequote all
brap_brap said:

I've got some bad shift habits I'm sure, and I'd certainly like to improve where I can. Now that I own a TVR I'll starting using the clutch more. I have a question however.

If you can shift smoothly using nothing but throttle and your ear, does synchronised shifting
actually cause any damage provided you're not forcing it into gear and it goes smoothly, gently and silently? I've been doing it for years and have yet to kill a standard trasmission.


If you can do it smoothly then no, it won't cause any damage. I've used clutchless gearchanging as an excersise for students to show when they're matching road speed to engine speed correctly.

I've also covered some fairly extensive mileage in a 1922 3 litre Bentley, in which it was recommended that you change up without the clutch, and in which I found that downchanges were also easier sans clutch, providing you got the revs exactly right. Of course, this car had no synchromesh, but you can use the same technique with modern cars.

If you combine your technique with use of the clutch, then I'm sure you'll be able to change almost seamlessly in your TVR.

testarossa

1,050 posts

220 months

Wednesday 28th February 2007
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R U Local

I blip the throttle when changing down, but when changing up I release the accelerator completely, the revs usually drop to the right level themselves, but if I do hold the revs, it sounds like I'm riding the clutch, is this just me or will I be hurting the car?

R_U_LOCAL

Original Poster:

2,676 posts

207 months

Wednesday 28th February 2007
quotequote all
testarossa said:
R U Local

I blip the throttle when changing down, but when changing up I release the accelerator completely, the revs usually drop to the right level themselves, but if I do hold the revs, it sounds like I'm riding the clutch, is this just me or will I be hurting the car?


You shouldn't be holding the revs, you should be just letting them drop to the right point before releasing the clutch. If you're holding the revs, then the clutch will be taking some punishment, as the road speed will be higher than the engine speed for those revs, and the clutch will have to take up that difference in speed.

A colleague of mine taught it by getting students to curl and un-curl their toes inside their right shoe.

Your technique of holding the revs can work quite nicely on down-changes though. As you go down a gear, just hold the accelerator pedal exactly where it is. Pressing the clutch releases the engine from the effort of moving the car, and generally raises the revs just enough to make for a smooth downchange.

I do appreciate, however, that there are huge differences between different cars. A tuned 4-cylinder engine with a lightweight flywheel and clutch, for instance, can be much more responsive to the throttle, and will lose RPMs much more quickly than a large capacity V8 with a heavy clutch and driveline.

The basic technique is still the same though - it just needs tweaking for different cars.

testarossa

1,050 posts

220 months

Wednesday 28th February 2007
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Thank you

TheKeyboardDemon

713 posts

206 months

Wednesday 28th February 2007
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Excellent, it looks like the only bits I need help with are step 1 and 2.

Thanks for that, I'm sure I'll find it really helpful.

WhoseGeneration

4,090 posts

206 months

Wednesday 28th February 2007
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Ah, the benefits of, all those decades ago, having started out on motorcycles.
Matching engine speed to road speed during gearchanging became second nature.

mph999

2,714 posts

219 months

Wednesday 28th February 2007
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Excellent post ...

I will just add that indeed cars differ, mine (mini) is quite slow to lose revs, so to chage up I can release the accelerator completly, change gear and clutch up just as the revs match.

Martin

Don

28,377 posts

283 months

Thursday 1st March 2007
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Good post. I teach my associates by getting them to change from third to fourth then fourth to third without changing road speed on a long, long straight I know.

Some find the blip method easier than the sustained revs method...but most find it t'other way...

BliarOut

72,857 posts

238 months

Thursday 1st March 2007
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Nice article, but I seem to use those techniques instinctively. Do you think riding a bike first encourages more mechanical sympathy?

Don

28,377 posts

283 months

Thursday 1st March 2007
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BliarOut said:
Nice article, but I seem to use those techniques instinctively. Do you think riding a bike first encourages more mechanical sympathy?


Might well do. Were you taught to rev match with the throttle when you learned to ride? Or perhaps its just fear of destabilising the rear wheel - consequences of which are significantly more dire on a bike?

BliarOut

72,857 posts

238 months

Thursday 1st March 2007
quotequote all
Don said:
BliarOut said:
Nice article, but I seem to use those techniques instinctively. Do you think riding a bike first encourages more mechanical sympathy?


Might well do. Were you taught to rev match with the throttle when you learned to ride? Or perhaps its just fear of destabilising the rear wheel - consequences of which are significantly more dire on a bike?

I've always blipped on the down change since I was about thirteen. Once you've slid across a wet field on your arse a few times you learn how to avoid locking up the back wheel There's a lot to be said for cutting your teeth on wet grass IMO.

whatever

2,174 posts

269 months

Friday 2nd March 2007
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Thanks, RUL, another great post.

Changing through the box is something I've grown to enjoy whilst owning the cerb. The speed of the throttle response, both to build up revs and lose them, is quite something, meaning that even a leisurely change from (say) 3rd to 4th will see the revs drop back to idling if done in "mondeo-style" (i.e. foot off gas and rely on the poor throttle reponse to drop the revs by just the right amount).

Over time I've gravitated towards something like the feathering of the throttle approach you describe, although sometimes doing a blip instead.

Down-changes are "always" done h+t, with a blip just before the clutch is released on the lower gear. I just like the sound of it


Also: "post kudos" increased by using an analagy includng Big Daddy & Kendo Nagasaki. thumbup Grapple fans!

whatever

2,174 posts

269 months

Friday 2nd March 2007
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Don said:
I teach my associates by getting them to change from third to fourth then fourth to third without changing road speed on a long, long straight I know.

Would that be the "long, long" straight, or the "long, long, long, long is-it-ever-going-to-end AArgh! there's-loads-of-bends" straight ?

AL666

2,679 posts

217 months

Wednesday 7th March 2007
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Thanks for the great post(s) Reg, I was just wondering if whilst changing gears smoothly, the revs should be raised/lowered whilst the gearstick is in the neutral position, when the clutch is down, or if it can be done in either gear when the clutch is down?

Cheers,



AL.

R_U_LOCAL

Original Poster:

2,676 posts

207 months

Wednesday 7th March 2007
quotequote all
AL666 said:
Thanks for the great post(s) Reg, I was just wondering if whilst changing gears smoothly, the revs should be raised/lowered whilst the gearstick is in the neutral position, when the clutch is down, or if it can be done in either gear when the clutch is down?

Cheers,



AL.


The revs should be matched whilst you're changing gear. There isn't really one exact point where you should do it (although this isn't the case with non-synchro gearboxes, where the revs should be matched when they're in neutral as part of the double de-clutching, but you'd only find those in very old cars or some competition cars, so it's not very relevant).

All the actions involved in the gearchange should seamlessly flow into each other. This isn't easy when you're practising at first, as you need to think about each action separately, but with practise, it should all come together nicely.

AL666

2,679 posts

217 months

Wednesday 7th March 2007
quotequote all
OK, that's the way I've been doing it, it's just that in your original post you said to extend the time in neutral between taking it out of one gear and putting it into another, which made me wonder if it was for a reason, but I probably mid-read it :P

ETA: it was this bit that caused me to think that was what you meant, "if you can get into the habit of pausing for about 1/2 a second whilst in the neutral phase, you will give yourself enough time to operate the most important pedal for smooth gearchanges - the accelerator."


Thanks for clearing it up though.

Edited by AL666 on Wednesday 7th March 20:46

Lord Grover

33,531 posts

211 months

Thursday 8th March 2007
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R_U_LOCAL said:
Oh, and a quick note on holding the gearstick. Police driving schools teach the "thumb up and thumb down" method and I quite like it, as it encourages you to place sideways pressure in the correct direction, and helps to avoid selecting the wrong gear. Basically, hold the gearstick with the palm of your hand, and if you're selecting first or second, point your thumb down. If you're selecting third, fourth or fifth (or sixth!), point your thumb upwards. If you place the pressure on the gearstick with your palm, you'll always move the gearstick in the right direction.

It's probably only a minor point, but I don't quite get this... with the palm of my left hand on the gear knob, my thumb's horizontal, 'pointing' forward. Clearly I'm missing something here or you're suggesting I need some surgery to enable a double-jointed thumb. confused

R_U_LOCAL

Original Poster:

2,676 posts

207 months

Thursday 8th March 2007
quotequote all
Lord Grover said:
R_U_LOCAL said:
Oh, and a quick note on holding the gearstick. Police driving schools teach the "thumb up and thumb down" method and I quite like it, as it encourages you to place sideways pressure in the correct direction, and helps to avoid selecting the wrong gear. Basically, hold the gearstick with the palm of your hand, and if you're selecting first or second, point your thumb down. If you're selecting third, fourth or fifth (or sixth!), point your thumb upwards. If you place the pressure on the gearstick with your palm, you'll always move the gearstick in the right direction.

It's probably only a minor point, but I don't quite get this... with the palm of my left hand on the gear knob, my thumb's horizontal, 'pointing' forward. Clearly I'm missing something here or you're suggesting I need some surgery to enable a double-jointed thumb. confused


This is one of those things which can be demonstrated in 10 seconds, but is very difficult to describe, so here's a couple of pictures I've just taken, to demonstrate (Yes, I know it's a semi auto, but you get the idea)

Thumb down, for 1st and 2nd...



Thumb up, for 3rd, 4th and 5th (and 6th)...



I'm now somewhat concerned as to how fat my hand looks in that second picture.