Zen and the art of changing gear.

[R_U_LOCAL]

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.

[R_U_LOCAL]

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.

[R_U_LOCAL]

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.

[R_U_LOCAL]

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.

[R_U_LOCAL]

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.

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.

[R_U_LOCAL]

Zad said:

I have to make people aware of a "yes but" here.

On many modern cars (by which I mean mainly everyday road cars rather than premium models) the engine management system will already attempt to hold the revs up whilst changing gear. It uses data from the road speed sensor and clutch sense switch to modulate the idle control valve or drive-by-wire butterfly valve motor to keep the throttle open. So don't be surprised if, when you try, the engine revs go way up when you only wanted 1500rpm more or so. It has caught me out in the past, and I thought it was just my judgement that had somehow deteriorated. It also gives the impression that the engine has a huge flywheel mass.

I have to say, this is something I wasn't aware of.

And another reason why a TVR is probably my ideal car.

*Reg is not a big fan of driver aids*

[R_U_LOCAL]

AGAR said:

Can you explain synchronised shifting (is this the same as clutchless gear changing) in any more detail. Does the above mean that you pull out of gear without use of the clutch, then when in neutral use the accelerator to match the engine speed to your next chosen gear - when engine speed is correctly matched, then slide into gear without use of clutch again?

Or have i got that completley wrong?

Cheers

I suppose by "synchronised shifting", we mean driving as though the gearbox doesn't have synchromesh, and so the synchronisation of road speed to engine speed for a chosen gear is done by the driver operating the throttle. It can be with or without the clutch, and refers specifically to the operation of the throttle when changing gear.

[R_U_LOCAL]

AGAR said:

I understand now. However I assume most cars these days ofcourse have synchromesh - so what is the advantage of clutchless gear changes in cars that already have synchromesh, over using your clutch? From my (basic driving abilty/knowledge of advanced driving techniques) point of view, it would take far longer to change gear without the use of a clutch - i assume perfection of the technique must reverse this idea?

There isn't an advantage. I have used clutchless changing in the past as a teaching aid to help students learn how to time their gearchanges and match engine revs properly, but it's no more than an interesting excersise these days. It could come in useful if you ever have a clutch failure of course - much better to be able to limp home rather than wait hours for an expensive recovery truck, but in everyday driving, you're much better using the clutch for changing gear.

[R_U_LOCAL]

No real problem - slip it into neutral before you roll to a stop, turn off the engine, select first, set off again on the starter motor as you would if you were doing a stall-retrieve in a 4X4 and you're away!

You do look a bit of a tit kangarooing away from the lights, but needs must when the devil pisses in your kettle.

[R_U_LOCAL]

benbeck1984 said:

in my first car I went through a lot of clutches and my dad came out with me one day and said it was because of the way i changed gear, like you've said, easing the accelorator in as i lift the clutch. It feels smoother to me, but does it annihilate my clutch?

Not at all - quite the opposite, in fact. I've been driving 20 years, and I do an average of 15,000 miles a year in my own cars and I've never - once - had to replace a clutch in any of them. Granted, for the first few years of driving, that was probably more down to luck than good judgement, but if you match engine revs to road speed, then you're minimising clutch slip during a gearchange, and consequently keeping clutch wear to a minimum.

If you combine the technique with using as little clutch-slip as possible when setting off, and religiously using the handbrake when you're stopped on an incline, then your clutch will love you.

Sitting on the clutch when stationary is one of my all time pet hates. I physically cringe when I see people doing it next to me in traffic.

[R_U_LOCAL]

There's a bit too much emphasis on the thumb aspect of how you hold the gearstick. In reality, it's more about where your palm is.

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



Thumb down (1st and 2nd)...



I don't really see much problem with it - maybe it's not been explained properly.

[R_U_LOCAL]

NiallOswald said:

Reg - what about down-changes under braking? I would say I'm pretty good at matching the revs when changing up whilst accelerating, or when changing down to accelerate (usually accompanied by cursing at my car's lack of power), but when braking if I need to change down I just have to gently use the clutch.

What's the trick? Should downchanges be separated from the braking (works fine heading towards a roundabout for example), and what of heel-and-toe downchanges?

Thanks,

Niall

For road driving, heel/toe gearchanges aren't necessary. My preferred method is to get the speed right for the bend under braking, and then leave enough time to select a gear before turning the wheel. This keeps the car balanced under braking, avoids you getting cluttered up with the cars controls, and leaves you only two simple operations left when you're cornering - turning the wheel and pressing the accelerator.

That's not to say I'm dismissing heel/toe changing out of hand - it's a very useful track and competition technique, which allows a driver to match engine revs whilst braking and changing gear at the same time. It allows a driver to leave the braking later, removes the need to leave a pause for the gearchange and allows the driver to assist their braking with some engine braking.

There are several ways that drivers perform heel/toe. My preferred way is to press the brakes with the ball of my right foot and roll the right side of my foot onto the accelerator. Drivers with smaller feet than me can lift their heel off the floor, press the brake with their toes/ball of the foot, and twist their ankle up to the right so that they can press the accelerator with their heel. I'm sure someone else will be along with another method soon too, but just use whatever's right for you.

It does take some practice, and I don't recommend trying it for the first time when you're braking heavily for a corner. I can't say I'm an expert at the technique, but I'm getting better over time.

As I said before though, it's not my preferred technique for the road, as that's not an environment where you're looking for the ultimate in corner entry/exit speeds. Much better to seperate things out a bit, give yourself the time to get your speed and gear right seperately on the approach, and then accelerate through the bend.

[R_U_LOCAL]

waremark said:

R_U_LOCAL said:

As I said before though [about heel and toe], it's not my preferred technique for the road, as that's not an environment where you're looking for the ultimate in corner entry/exit speeds. Much better to seperate things out a bit, give yourself the time to get your speed and gear right seperately on the approach, and then accelerate through the bend.

I agree with not using heel and toe as a matter of routine on the road. However, ..

Would you agree with overlapping brakes and gearchange in situations such as slowing for a downhill bend or corner, where the speed will build up if you release the brakes before changing gear? If so, don't you think use of heel and toe, providing it has been properly practised in a safe situation, is the safest, smoothest, and most sympathetic way to do this?

Yes it probably is. If you're driving to the Roadcraft system, there are actually very few situations when a brake/gear overlap is correct, but on a steep decent where you're turning into a junction, or which incorperates a tight bend, and releasing the brakes would allow the car to pick up speed again, then an overlap is ok. If you're competent, then I see no reason why you shouldn't accompany that with a heel/toe change to match engine speed to roa speed.

[R_U_LOCAL]

zevans said:

R_U_LOCAL said:

Sitting on the clutch when stationary is one of my all time pet hates. I physically cringe when I see people doing it next to me in traffic.

In queues I agree. However some advanced drivers advocate staying on the clutch at T-junctions to allow a smoother getaway and also to avoid needing a COMPLETE stop.

On most modern hydraulic cars it's really not a significant issue for the mechanicals (although if you have some sort of organic six-puck monster then it might be an issue for your left cruciates )

Now what's your view on skipping gears? I frequently use full beans in 2nd up to 60 and then straight into 4th or 5th, but then my gears are somewhat closer than average, I guess.

Conversely it is possible to use the brakes so hard from the top of 4th than 3rd becomes a waste of time when approaching the hairpin, but I don't do that too often on the public road, only on the track.

Maybe I should re-phrase "sitting on the clutch" with "riding the clutch" i.e. using the clutch and engine revs to hold the car stationary on an incline rather than the handbrake.

*Cringes*

Skipping gears isn't a problem, and it's even advocated by roadcraft - you can "engage a chosen gear without going through an intermediate gear first" (or something similar - where did I put my copy?). It's more common when going down through the box, but there's no problem with using it when changing up either, as long as it's appropriate.

[R_U_LOCAL]

Phisp said:

Decided to give this a go on the way to work this morning. Not as easy as it sounds

One thing I had forgotten is that the throttle position to hold a certain rpm is significantly less when the clutch is depressed than when in gear (blazingly obvious when you think about it for a few ms).

I found that a significantly shallower throttle position was needed to prevent the revs rising at all. I was almost completely releasing pressure on the accelerator to allow engine revs to drop when the clutch was depressed while upshifting. This also, obviously, meant that the throttle position needed increasing as the clutch was engaged to make for a smooth gear change.

I assume the increase of the throttle position is to allow for the loading to the engine that will occur as the clutch plates are brought together. I would imagine the ideal would be to maintain engine speed until the plates are fully engaged and then to increase rpm when accelerating.

It sounds like you're trying to alter the engine revs after you've pressed the clutch.

Instead, when changing up, start releasing the pressure on the accelerator to a point wher the acceleration has momentarily stopped. Then press the clutch and alow the revs to drop to the correct point for the next gear.

As you correctly identify, it's then better to bring up the clutch whilst the engine speed matches the road speed before pressing the accelerator, otherwise all your hard work in matching the revs will have been wasted.

It sounds laborious and time-consuming, but with practice it's just as quick as any other normal single-clutch gearchange.

[R_U_LOCAL]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I think I acknowledged that fact in the original post...

RUL said:

(Yes, I know it's a semi auto, but you get the idea)

Have you anything more to add?

[R_U_LOCAL]

RobM77 said:

R_U_LOCAL said:

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.

Could you elaborate on this please? I presume we're both agreed that the revs need to be matched on a downchange, to prevent any unnecessary and destabilising braking force being imparted on the driven wheels, which is unsafe for obvious reasons. Are we talking heel and toe here, or something different? Plus, why is blipping only suited to fast gearchanges? Surely this only applies to racing engines where the lightened flywheel causes a rapid drop off of revs. On most road engines, a blip to slightly above the required revs will see those revs sustained for long enough to make a very slow gearchange indeed. In my Elise and my Caterham (both of which have standard engines with standard flywheels), one can change down a gear almost in slow motion with just a quick blip to the throttle. In cars with less responsive engines (say, a Vectra or a Mondeo), this is even more true - the revs stay up for ages after a blip. With this in mind, doesn't a quick blip make more sense as it takes one's attention away for less long - that flick of the heel is totally automatic for me and I do it without thinking - does a prolonged rev raising effort become automatic? I'm not sure it would.

Edited by RobM77 on Friday 10th August 10:58

I'll do my best!

First of all, I'm not talking about heel and toe gearchanges. I'm a big believer (for road driving, anyway), that braking and gearchanging should be separated. Of course, H+T is a better track technique, allowing the driver to make smooth gearchanges whilst threshold braking, and allowing them to improve turn-in to the corner by keeping the brakes applied until just after turn-in. On the road, however, this isn't necessary. You shouldn't be threshold braking or cornering to the cars limits or looking to eke a few extra tenths of a second from your car. On the road, even if you're driving quickly, you should be keeping plenty in reserve. So, for road driving, I recommend getting the speed right for a corner or other hazard first, but then leaving enough time after coming off the brakes, to allow a nice smooth gearchange before turning into the bend or negotiating the hazard.

It's not an easy method to master at first, I agree, but the benefits are obvious. First of all, you'll be keeping both hands on the wheel whilst braking. Secondly, it ensures - and this is particularly important for good cornering - that everything else is sorted before you enter the corner, so that all you've got left to do is turn the wheel and accelerate.

Thirdly - and this is the most relevant advantage when it comes to gearchanging - it means that your right foot is free to press the accelerator only during the gearchange, which simplifies the process and allows you more scope to be accurate with the gearchange.

On to blipping the throttle. A blip is a quick, momentary press of the accelerator which results in the revs rising and falling quite quickly. Now, I don't want to get too "Open University" over this, but I've drawn a couple of graphs to help me explain.

Imagine in this case, that you're changing down from, say, fourth to third. The engine speed in fourth is 3000 RPM and the engine speed in third will be 4000 RPM. Your objective during the gearchange is to bring the clutch up at, or as close to 4000 RPM as you can, in order to smooth out the change. The first graph shows a throttle blip, where the revs rise and then fall quite quickly...



As you can see, the engine is at 4000 RPM twice during the blip, at 1 and 2. However, the time that the engine is at 4000 RPM is only momentary, and if you release the clutch at the wrong time, you're going to catch the engine at the wrong revs.

Here's the graph showing a sustained-rev gearchange...



As you can see, the engine is held at 4000 RPM, which allows you to time your clutch release much more easily and accurately - the time available for releasing the clutch at 3 is much longer.

Does a sustained-rev gearchange become automatic? Most definitely, yes, and it can be performed very quickly and efficiently too - with practise. Think back to when you learned to H+T. I'm sure it didn't come naturally at first and that you had to concentrate and make mistakes until you got it right. The same is true with my method. Practise will make it become as automatic as any other aspect of your driving.

[R_U_LOCAL]

Rochester TVR said:

R U Local,
I have just read your opening post and I will be putting your words into practice when I next take the sag out for a spin.
My question however is this; Given this scenario what do you do?
Travelling at 60mph on a NSL road and approaching a roundabout. You need to change from 5th to 2nd.
How can you match revs for smooth downchanges when you also need to brake at the same time?
One foot need to be on the clutch, the other on the throttle, but you also need to brake...???
I can change down smoothly when not needing to brake at the same time.
Any advice welcome. (Sorry if this have all ready been covered)

No problem.

I use a systematic approach for roundabouts, seperating the braking and gearchange. So, in your scenario, I'd brake down to 20mph, come off the brakes, and then block change directly into 2nd gear. You could heel-and-toe down through the 'box (part of your right foot braking and part of it operating the throttle), but I find this unecessary on the road.

Rochester TVR said:

Robatr0n said:

Maybe I had read your post slightly incorrectly, but if I was travelling towards a roundabout at 60mph and wanted to get into second gear I would simply shave off enough speed first by using the brakes, then I would rev match and pop it into 2nd gear at a much more friendly rate of revs but only after I have used the brakes.

Yes thats I what usually do to get the smoothest progress, although it does seem to be the one situation where you have to decide which to do; either brake first and rev match into 2nd at a slower speed, or downchange rev match to let the engine slow you down to a reasonable speed then brake (although I imagine the speed here will be higher than in the first instance)

Using advanced driving techniques is it taught to brakes between downchanges? so you can downchange matching the revs and brakes 'almost' at the same time?

Or is it taught to blip the throttle using your heel while still covering the brakes?

Edited by Rochester TVR on Friday 10th August 14:25

I prefer to block-change down the 'box on the road, rather than change down sequentially. Again, sequential downchanges are a preferred option for some on the track, but on the road, I find a single gearchange down to your chosen gear means less fuss, less messing about and less scope for getting things wrong.

[R_U_LOCAL]

Rochester TVR said:

Thanks RUL.

I do try to change down through the box whenever possible, because I feel I am in more control of the engine and weight dristribuation, plus it also saves wear on the brake pads by letting the engine do some of the braking.

Out of curiousity though, do you know how a racing driver would change down the box while needing to brake at the same time?

I guess they would downchange using clutchless gearchanges by matching the revs and left-foot braking at the same time?

Thanks
Lee

Edited by Rochester TVR on Friday 10th August 14:52

There's an old adage in advanced driving which says that it's cheaper to replace your brake pads than your clutch, so if you're changing down sequentially to slow down for mechanically sympathetic reasons, you're probably going arse-about-face. Much better to lose speed through the brakes (it's whet they're designed for, after all) than through engine-braking. Then, once you've lost the speed through braking, just leave yourself enough time for the gearchange.

You could also cause yourself some problems if you get your timing wrong, as by using engine-braking in your TVR, you're only braking the rear wheels, which is a bit like using your handbrake to slow down - you could probably get it right 9 times out of 10, but I wouldn't like to be there for the 10th time!

As for racing drivers, as I mentioned before, in a 3 pedal racing car, the preferred method is to brake hard, and at the same time, use the right side of their rigt foot to blip the throttle.

Have a look at this in-car video of Senna driving an NSX at Suzuka...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8-zbfdPfRg

Edited by R_U_LOCAL on Friday 10th August 15:11

[R_U_LOCAL]

ST2 said:

Mr. Local,

How far from the roundabout would you change into 2nd gear? And would you change into it as a matter of course or would you hold back the gearchange until you have made the decision to go? I do find waiting for vision before decision often difficult and sometimes miss oppurtunities to go that could have been taken had the gear been engaged. RAs with limmited vision are a particularly problem-even slowing to a crawl then taking the gear close to the give way and then a vehicle appears at 12 o'clock from behind bushes on the centre of the RA if then stops to give way to it my vehicle is in lane 1, a prone position and difficult to start off from.

I have read Von,s post on RAs and taking his advice of braking to 30feet before the give way line find I am slowing to early.

I have also read Von's post on brake/gear seperation and again find braking to an "artic's" length also to be too early. I note that for several situations- and i fully understand his reasoning because they happen to me-that he resorts to BGOL. Do you always seperate? And do you always wait until the brake pedal is up before pressing the clutch, or partial overlap by declutching while coming of the brakes and the raising the revs as you come off the clutch?

Another oft-used asvanced driving term comes in here. "Planning to stop but looking to go".

I don't like to be too prescriptive about distances etc - I like to have a more flexible approach.

The speed at which you enter a roundabout is dependent on the three "Vs".

The Vehicles on the roundabout
The View on approach and *ahem*
The curVe of the roundabout

So, I'll be planning to stop at the give way markings, but looking for an opportuinity to go. My speed will be dependant on the vehicles, the view and the curve and only once I've got my speed correct and there is a gap to go, will I come off the brakes, select the gear and accelerate onto the roundabout.