blau

I read in a previous post. When you are stop and want to go. You should put it in 5th then into 1st. Because this will wear a little of the synco in 5th instead on 1st. The reason for 5th is because 5th synco is not as essential.

My question is since we have a 6 speed. Shouldn't we put it in 6th. Because 6th is less essential then 5th?

blau

P.S. when you have to stop going up hill. What is the best way to start going in a dead stop?

X2Board

You should always put the car in neutral and take your foot off the clutch when at a stop. If you are new to driving a stick and nervous about hills, you can use the e-brakes to hold the car in place as you take up the clutch, release it quickly as you feel the clutch engage.

X2

luv2ride

blau,

I had an old 911 that when stopped I had to go in 2nd than 1st or I'd get a crunch sound. Not good. Although with the 993 I've never had to do that. x2 is right about and the hill e-brake trick..

901aero

In the older Porsches (1960s early 70s) you were best to pull in the clutch and then a split second later engage first or reverse. If you got a grind you probably needed to adjust the clutch cable. The 993 with it's hydraulic clutch is essentially non adjustable and engagement should be smooth. If not bigger problems are more than likely on the horizon (synchros). I wouldn't worry about catching 5th gear before engaging first in the 993. I truley believe these transaxles are near bullet proof. I once asked Jack Refenning (Sp?) who prepared 911s for Sebring and Daytona what he did to make a Porsche transaxle "race ready" and his response-- "we add an oil cooler".

blau

So you put it in neutral when stop. But the question is when to you put it in 5th (or 6th) before shifting to 1st then engage the clutch? Putting it in 5th or 6th first to save the synco of 1st gear.

ca993twin

Blau,

I generally engage 5th before 1st when I'm ready to start after being in nuetral. Is this necessary? I dunno... I'm a really old fart and grew up on gearboxes and synchros that weren't nearly as good as the modern Porsche boxes. But I don't think it hurts anything, and I "feel" better thinking I'm taking good care of my car. BTW, I use 5th because my other cars are 5 speeds, and ... my hand just always goes in that direction.

I also always double clutch my down shifts... so what does that tell you about me?

2ndof2

Stupid question: what exactly is "double-clutching"?

ca993twin

Its like "heel-n-toe" except that as you downshift, you pause in neutral, and let the clutch out, match the revs with the throttle, then clutch in and complete the downshift. It sounds harder and slower than it is... your feet are almost a blur, and the pause in neutral is momentary.

So what does it accomplish? Probably very little on a modern gearbox... but once again I'm an old geezer with some old habits. Double clutching will match the gears about to be selected to nearly exact revs, and the synchros are really not used at all. Thus... the synchros can last longer/almost forever. This is the technique to be used on gearboxes that had no synchromesh (hell... synchromesh is a fad and for wussies ). It still makes me feel good for the way it helps the gearbox last.

A good driver can drive a stick shift car very gently, and not use the clutch at all.... a handy trick when your clutch cable snapped (like my old 1974 911). I used my starter motor to get the car moving from stop, and didn't need the clutch after that... for upshifts or downshifts. I fixed it after a couple of weeks.

mborkow

best to practice this method on a car about which you do not care at all.

993Dave

Double clutching is one of those pat-your-head-rub-your-tummy things for me. I just can't get the hang of it, at least not on the street in synchromesh cars that don't require it.

You're showing your age, I'm showing you mine.

coltj

Steve,

Do you double-clutch going from say 5th to 4th? Since it's a big difference in rpms I just blip the throttle to match revs. I do double-clutch from say 3rd to 2nd. Yeah, consider me an old fart too; I had a 67 Alfa GT Jr.

Jack of Hearts

My first sports car was a 1962 MGB. First gear was very very low AND completely unsynchronized. If you didn't double clutch there was no way to go back to first while the car was moving. It just made a terrible grinding sound.

For the 993, I still doubleclutch going back to first if I am moving faster than a crawl.

And from a dead stop sometimes, the (80k worn) synchros block out first. So I slide it in fifth or third and then go back to first.

Thaddeus

I only doubleclutch when going from 2d to first if I am going faster than 5 mph.

It's possible to match engine speed to transmission speed without doubleclutching. A good clutch/shift technique should feel seamless, smoother than an automatic. If you can achieve that, your transmission and clutch will last and last.

ca993twin

Thaddeus,

If you don't double clutch, but merely match revs on your downshifts, then your synchromesh is doing the work of matching the gear speeds. Is this a bad thing? Probably no biggie... but its truely not the same as a proper double-clutched downshift in terms of synchro wear.

I have a 1997 Mustang Cobra that I've owned since new. It now has 106,000 miles on it. I recently took it to a well known Mustang high performance shop for a "checkout" in preparation for putting the car up for sale. He asked me if it was a new transmission. Nope... just well cared for. He was amazed. Did double-clutching help? Who knows? But it didn't hurt!

Thaddeus

Do you doubleclutch when upshifting?