Hi all, I got my M/T Fit sport about 3 weeks ago. So far, I've put about 900kms on it. Being my first M/T car, I've been pretty cautious. No crazy redline shifting, not much down shifting yet.

As I've become more comfortable with the M/T, I'm beginning to double clutch when downshifting. Usually from 4th-3rd, sometimes from 4th-2nd. For me, 4th-2nd is problematic. Hence I have a couple of questions for those experienced Fit drivers out there.

- What's the redline speed of 2nd gear?
- How fast do you drop the clutch when downshifting? I tend to do it quite fast right now with mixed results
- If done properly, does double clutching cause less wear and tear? Or is letting the sychronizers do their job better for the car?

Thanks!

 

This subject seems to come up every once in a wile.

Double clutching is not needed, does nothning but mabe wear the clutch like you said.

Rev matching is a good idea though, give the throtle a little "blip" to keep the reves up a little befor you let off the clutch.

 

You only need to double clutch if your trans does not have good syncros, in which case you might have to double clutch just to get it in gear. Like cdnrs said though, rev matching is a good idea, both for wear and tear on mechanical parts, and for smoothness of operation.

 

Not only will double clutching wear out your clutch, but it will give you'll eventually mess up your synchros when your car gets more miles.

 

why would you guys say double clutching wears out your clutch and synchros? the whole point of double clutching is to put less stress on your tranny.
double clutching is a very nice skill to have, i envy the ones that can do it well. It's a skill that im still trying to perffect along with heel and toe. i wouldn't double clutch during everyday driving, it's just a nice skill to have

 

I agree it`s a nice skill to have, however it is as you pointed out also fairly useless in everyday driving since the synchros usually do the job better. The only time I would consider using double clutching is if my synchros get worn out. Since that usually only happens when the tranny is very old and in need of maintainanace anyway it is highly unlikely any1 would ever need to use this technique in everyday driving. As far as heal&toe thing goes, that`s an entirely different story but this is only useful for professional sport drivers.

 

i learned to heel-toe rev match from day one with my WRX, then transitioned into learning double-clutching, but only rev matching was a daily practice.

in racing applications double clutching is the preferred method, let me explain:

your flywheel spins freely when the clutch pedal is pushed in, allowing it to slow down the longer you hold the clutch in.

when you depress the clutch, take yourself out of gear, and release the clutch, you allow the flywheel to speed back up to the engines RPMs. by then blipping the gas, matching the revs, THEN depressing the clutch, moving into new gear, and releasing the clutch, you have:

1. smoothly transitioned into a lower, more power ready gear
2. taken the syncros out of use, which (in theory) prolongs the life of the synchros.

here is an example of one of the best double-clutchers out there. mind you he is in a dog-boxed subaru, so there are no synchros.

http://videos.streetfire.net/hottest...db3f41d4d1.htm

i was NEVER able to double clutch as fast as he, so don't start out this fast.

 

if you double clutch it lowers the strain on the syncros and will extend the life of ur transmission

however like all things you can do more harm then good if you're a dumbass about it

the guys who are saying the syncros do a "better job" dont know what they're talking about, the syncros are still there when you double clutch as oppose to just rev matching (single clutch) and the better u do ur job the less the syncros have to do which means the less wear they'll have

trying to do this perfectly is a bit like splitting hairs since modern syncros are designed to last longer then most other parts of the car and transmission itself, thats not to say you shouldn't do it, as long as it doesnt affect your driving in anyway (i know when first learned ddclutching and heel toe i was so concentrated on performing the technique right that i didnt pay as much attention to road conditions which almost lead to a crash)

as for the redline speeds in 2nd and wutever gear, check the fit owners manual as they should have them listed out, i believe they give a somewhat conservative value as to not encourage people abusing their vehicles

also note if you have after market rims or tires this will change teh final gear ratio which will change the max speed at each gear, if this is the case grab the gear ratio info and ur measurements and start calculating

 

Double clutching and heel-toeing are something that I do in everyday driving. Like most ppl said, they will put less stress on the tranny, but heel-toeing can sometimes put a lot of work on the clutch. The way I normally drive is:

To downshift for a corner while maintaining speed, or just coming to a complete stop, I'd heel-toe since I'm braking at the same time as downshifting.

To slow for a light but not to a complete stop, I would just double clutch to a lower gear to help bring the speed down without touching the brake.

 

proper heel toe and double clutching will not strain anything on the driveline, the whole point of both these techniques is to make input and output speeds syncronized by rev matching the engine, by NOT heel toeing (or single clutch downshift with rev match, or likewise with double clutching) you're forcing the clutch to pull the engine to it's new rpm, this not only strains the clutch but the engine itself and the gears in the transmission

single clutch downshifting with rev matching and/or heel toe lessens the strain or if you're really good completely eliminates the strain on the clutch and engine by pre reving the engine to it's new rpm, double clutching rev matches the gears within the transmission themselves lowering the strain on the aformentioned parts AND the internal gears and syncros