nt

Sporty or stupid, you should always double clutch! Never single clutch like a whacked out crack-smokin' mother driving an SUV! Single is for wimps and will break your gearbox, no question.

Do as they do in gambling. Go double or nothing. Double clutch or none at all. A little speed shifting is good for the arms and always entertaining to other drivers and passengers. Don't worry 'bout the grinding and resistance you encounter, it'll go away after time.

I also recommend changing gears as often as possible. Sometimes if you push hard enough you can skip gears. Like 2nd to 4th or downshifting from 4th to 1st at high speed (that one is fun!).

Just remember to pick up the remains of your gearbox when it falls out and breaks into a thousand useless pieces.

Better yet, try triple and quadruple clutching. Really good for the thigh muscles and a good mnetal challenge . I've gotten up to octeple clutching (8) before the fire started and someone bashed into the back of me and my girlfriend slapped me in the ribs.

Mario

Double clutching, while amusing, seems to be a throwback to the days when you didn't have full synchros in your tranny... and you HAD to double clutch.

I prefer to match revs between downshifts, as this decreases clutch wear and is easier on your driveline on the street. On the track, it prevents weight shift, which can upset the car.

Rich

P.S. I don't know why "Ian" felt the need to be such a prick.

I don't think I could give out such, ehem, valuable (sarchasm) advice without laughing hysterically. But, it could be someone in my office (owner of one Z3) trying to have a little bit of fun at my expense. How do I find the IP address of the sender? Is it not on the page anymore?

--Ian. (slightly peeved but amused)

I tried it, and having to do the wait thing seems to slow down the process. Why not just match revs?

1996 a4 2.8 qm

...but after I just kept doing it, they get to be pretty fast. The thing that makes em fast for me is I use the outside of my foot to blip the gas, while the inside of my foot is on the brake (if I'm braking, otherwise I just blip the gas normally)...much easier than "heel-toe" for me (I realize the pedals in the A4 are not perfect for heel toe, especially if you have a size 9 foot....). Now double-clutching is part of my regular driving habits...so those synchros should last forever.... ;-)

-Ash
98.5 1.8TQMS

nt

am I getting this right?

press clutch pedal
shift to neutral
let off clutch pedal
blip throttle
press clutch
shift to correct gear
let off (release) clutch pedal
--
how can this be faster than:
press clutch
blip throttle
shift
release clutch
--
aren't u spending to much time in neutral???

I am ditching in 4 years

I had 280,000 KM on my laser/talon, and the synchro's were NOT the problem when I had the
tranny rebuilt.
1996 a4 2.8 qm 12v

I shift like this:

upshift:
push in clutch
move shifter to gear
press gas while releasing clutch

Downshift:
let off gas
push in clutch
move shifter to gear
synch revs
release clutch

Or if someone in front of me is going to slow or I want to coast, I just leave it in the gear I will want in the future and just coast with the clutch held in. Is this bad for my car?

-Jenner
'99.5 1.8T QMS Silver/Onyx/Spoiler<ul><li><a href="http://users.neca.com/jenner/audi/">My A4 site</a></li></ul>

there was a prior post. Doing this will
put more wear on throw-out bearing (whatever that is )

I used to do this on my laser/talon, and
sur 'nuff, the throw-out bearing went in the
tranny, so i dunno.

Now i shift to neutral at stop lights and release clutch.

On the shifting, that's what I do.
I don't understand the double clutch thang, or
its value.

randall

Granted, todays cars have synchros that with an average driver will last very very very long. But I find that double clutching also makes the shift INTO the gear itself easier, since you have basically done the work the synchro was going to do...When I said double clutching was fast, I didn't mean that it was faster than regular downshift with rev-matching...but I find that it's still pretty fast (as in it doesn't take me more than 1 second to execute the downshift....).

BTW, I'm not saying I'm an expert at shifting, I've been driving manual for only about a year now...so you guys have got the experience factor over me for sure....but I'll tell you one thing...going down in gears is very smooth and easy (read that as no resistance) when I properly execute a downshift...

Ever try going into first just before you get to a stop sign? You have to push pretty hard against the shifter cuz you're forcing the synchro to speed up the layshaft so that it matches the revs of the gear (1st in this case), well if you double clutch properly, it just pops in nicely....

I guess the next meet will be a good time to share the different heel-toe and double clutching techniques....

Oh and for a great description on shifting etc, check this URL out:

http://home.earthlink.net/~rponiarski/shifting.htm

and

http://driversedge.com/dblcltch.htm

-Ash 98.5 1.8TQMS

is when your synchros are slow, like when it is new and tight, or cold, or maybe worn. On releasing the clutch at lights it no longer matters on most cars, the release bearing is always in contact with the clutch anyway. In the bad old days the bearing was very light and did release from the clutch, and was designed to be intermittant duty. Now most of them seem to outlast the rest of the clutch.

nt