Astroman

Let's say you're in 5th gear on the back straight at Road Atlanta and need to haul it down to 2nd gear for Turn 10a. What do you do and WHY? (And yes, I already know that many of you have never used your 5th gear).

1) Shift straight from 5th to 2nd skipping the other gates?
2) Move the shifter through each gate leaving the clutch depressed?
3) Downshift through each gear releasing the clutch each time?

Which of the above choices is best for car control/speed and engine/clutch/transmission wear??

I currently shift through each gate but leave the clutch depressed until I make it all the way down to 2nd. I blip the throttle (heel/toe) at each "shift" just out of habit (I can't not do it).

Thanks-

Gary R.

Jack, never been to Road Atlanta but with a 915 I don't shift through the gears (unless I have cars in front of me and yes I know you have a G50). I would brake to the point where I was at the upper end of 2nd gear range (speed/rev wise), rev accordingly, drop her into second and go.

Circuit Motorsports

Me, I need to do 3 so I feel comfortable about what gear I'm in. I never get good results when I skip gears going down.

Gary R.

Joe - Maybe I could learn something if I could watch your Smart Cam VIDEO!!!

sig_a

Use brakes to slow down to midway (4500 rpm?) in torque and power curve of second gear, then slide it back.

LDadrenaline

I go through each gear, letting the clutch out. Not sure why you would go through each gear keeping the clutch depressed and revving. kind of a waste if you are keeping the clutch down. I personally don't feel comfortable skipping gears.... isn't worth it if you **** up.

Gary R.

My thought is I want to A. Slow down smoothly. B. Stop slowing down and then accelerate as quickly and smoothly as possible. All that shifting sounds cool but does me no good unless (and i'm sure I am) missing something. I look at it like this - my 915 antique gearbox charges me X amount of dollars for every shift, therefore I avoid hitting the cash register keys...

MPD47

+1, I hit every gear on the way down.

TRAKCAR

Same here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3hutjAiqi8

Gary R.

Must be why i'm not winning............. or the rumor that I suck is true!

Circuit Motorsports

Not going to learn much about racing/driving from teh one I'm uploading right now. Raw file so you can see the real life results.

RedlineMan

Personal Preference;

The answer is whichever gets the job done without screwing up. On the one hand, all those shifts are extra wear and tear, and as Gary said, you'd theoretically like to avoid that. On the other hand, skipping gears can offer a higher likelihood of getting screwed up. For me, the 5th-to-3rd shift is not that hard, so I would wait and do one... if I ever used 5th gear. Going front-to-front (5th-to-1st) or back-to-back (4th-to-2nd) is far more problematic.

paradisenb

Hi Jack. Nice meeting you this weekend.

First off, I think you would do better taking 10a-b combo in 3rd.

I go from 5th to 3rd. Sometimes I don't get into fifth but I'm at the top of redline. Haven't really decided which is best for me and my equipment.

I like to drop into 4th then down to 3rd all in one move. I think it shifts easier.

bobt993

If you need to go all the way down to 2nd. 5th to 2nd is a safe shift because your really can't miss it, just take your time to avoid early release.

AlpharettaRK

What other Randy said - use 3rd in 10a-b.
I'm 5th to 3rd, there's hardly time for 2 downshifts in the brake zone there.
Cheers
This Randy