74goldtarga

When downshifting on track from 6th or 5th to 3rd I am in the habit of just downshifting directly to 3rd without shifting 6-5-4-3 for example. I rev match to 3rd with a heel-toe blip obviously. I understand historically that with relatively weak brakes using the engine braking would help brake life in an endurance race for example. Some people insist that downshifting sequentially is the only way to do it but why? My car seems to be perfectly happy going from 6th directly to 3rd but is it important to the tranny to do it sequentially, does it put less wear on the gears or synchros? It's just a lot more to do under heavy braking and I wouldn't want to add that if there isn't a good reason. A stupid question to be sure but I want to do it properly, thanks.

winders

It is easier on the transmission if you go from 6th to 3rd. Rev matching does not help transmission life....double de-clutching would. Do whatever you are most comfortable with...I do it both ways depending on the situation.

85Gold

I go from 5th to 2nd at turn 7 Sebring. I figure one shift instead of 3 is less chance for a money shift.

Peter

Veloce Raptor

I don't believe there is a right or wrong answer to this. In fact, there are top level pros to do it both ways. The only reason I personally go through each gear is so that, if there is a sudden emergency or something else, I know exactly what gear I am in at that point if I need to accelerate out of there suddenly. But that is purely personal preference and nothing more

Frank 993 C4S

^^^ This. It's really personal preference.

winders

You mean like where I said this:

ProCoach

I have a dog box (no synchros). I go though every gear to keep track (not a sequential).

You DO in fact have to match revs even more carefully when skipping gears to avoid drive axle mismatch. One way to do that is to do it LATE in the zone.

As VR and winders say, the best execution trumps a specific methodology. That’s supported by the data.

roadie13

When you say that you're going through every gear, do you mean just blipping and rowing the gear lever through the positions, or do you mean letting the clutch out for each intermediate gear (like you would do on a motorcycle)?

ProCoach

No. I don't need to blip and just row, machine gun fast, through each gear near the end of the braking zone.

I don't use the clutch up or down, once I get rolling out of the false grid or pits. Screws me up when someone asks me to drive their street car!

roadie13

Hehe, sounds good!
What would be best practice in a street car driven on track then?

ProCoach

You know, in the beginning, when I was instructing for Skip Barber Racing School, the one thingwe taught after the car control exercises (skid pad/autocross/threshold braking/lane change and threshold braking) was double declutch downshifting, the idea of releasing the clutch between downshifts to speed the lay shaft back up and not “lose” the gears going down.

I haven’t seen that taught at SBRS since about fifteen years ago. What I have seen taught, and what I would recommend, is a blip between each downshift if you’re going through every gear OR a blip before clutch release of the FINAL end gear in the downshift progression, if you’re skipping gears.

Number one priority: maintain high and even brake pressure

Number two priority: blip to match as closely as possible engine revs with drive wheel speed on each or one downshift upon clutch release. This keeps the platform stable.

Veloce Raptor

Another data point: when I drive street-based cars with manual transmissions on track, I blip & release the clutch briefly with each gear. Again, that way, if something happens & I need to stop the multiple downshifts in the middle for some reason, I am good to go in whatever gear I happen to be in. I also do this with 996 Cups.

KevinGross

If you can go 6th to 3rd in a single downshift without grinding gear teeth or overly stressing (leaning on) the synchros, the transmission won't care. For my own driving, I find that my (low-powered) car doesn't slow so quickly that I lack time to go through the gears. Over this past weekend at Thompson, I break at about the 4 marker on the front straight, plenty of time to go from 4th to 3rd to 2nd and avoid misjudging the revs, which are bloody hard to hear in my fancy new helmet. Of course double-clutch, that's a given.

Hella-Buggin'

I don't see how you have the time to go down through more than one gear. If I'm pulling in fourth until the brake zone and then need to be in second wouldn't i just be sacrificing speed earlier to go to third first?
Maybe I'm just too slow LOL. I barely have time to Clutch in, change, blip release clutch start turn in.

stownsen914

Personally I blip for single gear downshifts. I skip gears for multi downshifts and double clutch. Double clutching is great, I do it on the street all the time on my dd, but find I don't have time on track at least for single gear downshifts.

I drive older Porsches so "semi synchronized" and one with a Hewland dogbox (unsynchronized). I shift them more or less the same way. Definitely a different experience than modern Porsches.