Fishey

Left foot braking is the only way to manage lag without an anti-lag system. However, the amount of stress that can put onto the braking system is pretty significant.

lee101315

I never claimed it to be the fastest way around the track. Someone in the thread said it was impossible, which is not.

333pg333

Well you can try. Left foot brake and right foot clutch. That would be a feat. (couldn't resist haha). I'm talking about if you're late/trail braking and downshifting, unless you have worked out how to take the clutch out of the equation, then you have to depress that with your left foot. Now unless you've figured out a way of heel and toeing with the clutch and the brake, I can't see how you can lfb and downshift simultaneously??
I also think that your instincts will take over very quickly. You run what you brung. In other words it is pretty self regulating. You figure out pretty quickly how to drive these cars well enough. Sure instruction can be of benefit, but it sounds like you've done a bit of driving in the n/a BMW yes? so you know your way around the track.
As far as mods go. Definitely LSD and the S2 cw&p is a great mod for our cars for this sort of stuff. IMHO.

lee101315

Well, I'll do my best to explain it. Even novices here know that you can take a manual transmission out of gear without the clutch by lightly tugging on the gearshift after blipping the throttle. That part is easy.

Some intermediates learn to upshift without the clutch on their own also. Lets assume you are in 3rd gear at about 4K rpm. After quickly releasing the throttle and giving the gearshift a gentle tug, the car is now in neutral . If you wait for the revs to drop about 400 or 600 rpm, you can quickly get into 4th gear w/o the clutch. Its a very short window. Its done quickly. If you arent fast enough, you blow it and you grind.. You will have to depress the clutch to get it into gear now. Also, if you find yourself pressing the gear shift against the gear, waiting for the input/output shaft to match speed, you are wearing the syncromesh on the transmission. Its a brief pause in neutral, and into gear quickly, not forcing anything. This is quite useful when the clutch hydrualics fail and you need to drive home.

Downshifting is backwards of upshifting. If you are in 4th at 2000rpm, you get the car out of gear with the throttle, match the rpms by raising the engine to about 2400rpm, and it will go right into 3rd. Skipping from 4th to 2nd will require about 2500 rpm of an increase.

This being explained, there is no reason you cant downshift and brake at the same time without the clutch. You use the gas pedal (instead of the clutch) to downshift (and release the gas when the gear is engaged, you are braking now). This will increase wear on the transmission dramatically if not done right, and I dont recommend it. There are not too many practical uses for this in our cars, its usually done in FWD cars.

Yes, I've spent some time with NA Bmws, E21s, E30s, and lastly an E36. I miss the instant response of those cars...

Has anyone who has installed an S2 ring and pinion complained? My car is a daily driver...

Does boost still build in the lower gears as quickly?

docwyte

You just need to roll onto the gas alot sooner than you think. Depending on what sort of corner it is and what gear/rpm you're in, you may have to floor it as soon as you finish braking. Turn 4 at Pueblo was like that in my 951S. Brake, floor it, turn in, by the time I hit the apex, the turbo was spooled.