Aseras

2nd always grinds if you redline first. it's inevitable.

dmc27

?? I've never had 2nd grind, redline or not. Over the first month I had quite a few 1-2 shifts that weren't smooth, but the few grinds have all been 4th gear.

BunnyGirl

I've also had some shifting that wasn't smooth, usually when I first start out driving and am wearing different shoes than I did the last time I drove. I usually need to move the seat slightly and then it's fine. I have never grinded them, though.

I just used to stall all the time on takeoff the first week or two trying to get used to the timing with the clutch.

RazzyBRX-8

Oh man...I was almost in tears I was laughing so hard.


I've had 2nd gear grind a few times and my girlfriend say "What was that?!" and me, cringing, say back to her "BAD!"
It's funny you don't even think to explain things to yourself, you just automatically know that what you did was bad.

alfy28

today on my way to work i pulled up next to a 350z at the light, we both rev our engines to let each other know its all sytems go when the light turns green. The turns green we both take off realy hard, he started to pull away from me, since there was no twisties i said screw this im throwing my gear into reverse to show him that i shift into reverse faster then him at speeds of 65. My engine flys out of my car and attacks a a quart of oil that was on the side of the road, then ended up taking off with it and ran into the woods near by. my engines hasnt returned home yet. If any one seen a runaway engine please contact me at 1800 its friday

dmc27

^ Stop drinking now, and take a nap.

saturn

Haha, yeah it was great. And the cone wasn't like 1 ft away or something. It was at least 6-7 ft away and this guy very slowly rolled into it while everyone in line was watching. It was great.

zeblien

Ok, why do i need to brake when shifting? I thought i just release the gas, press the clutch, shift the gear, press gas and depress the clutch.

What am i missing about heel+toe?

alfy28

pretty much it helps you on turns reason for heal and toe. when you go into a turn and want still have power coming out of the apex you do a heal and toe so you can rev match and brake at the same time before you get into the turn it self . rev matching i guess you know by that so ill just leave it at that

saturn

Hell toe is where you use your toe to brake going into a turn and your heel to blip the throttle a bit (while the clutch is in) to keep your rpm's up. This helps when pwning n00bs.

nu2rx8

Never mind the joke post that you quoted... just know that "heel & toe" is used to match revs on the come down. (i.e. ball of the foot presses on the brake(toe), side of the foot rocks on the gas(heel). You must try as the quick reving Renesis makes it sweeeeeeet!!!

RotrDoc

I don't think that post by Mortal Moxie was a joke, just really confusing. I do agree with his point about getting the stick. This car cries out for a MT.

alfy28

lol will do dmc

BlueEyes

I have to say, you have no idea what you're talking about. What you have described is not the typical heel toe performance drivers know and love. Though, I guess you would be using your heel and toe in your case.

Heel-toe is a technique used during downshifts under braking. You use your toe to brake, clutch in, and with either the side of your foot, or your heel, you blip the throttle to bring the engine speed up to wheel speed, then clutch out. This gives a smooth downshift and makes cool sounds.

It doesn't wear out brakes, your heel is not hovering over the brake, and you don't accidentally hit the brakes.

Raptor2k

rofl

zeblien

LOL, so there is my real question, the need to matching RPMs. I understand why, so the grinding noise doesnt occure. (do you just know what RPM's your car needs to be at for a proper shift? or is it in the manual (for down shifing i guess)). eak... I guess I will just do the basics on the manual right now... What i am conserned about is stalling going 60 on the freeway... what do i do? Can you start the car in neutral while is going? then rev it up and ingage it????

Raptor2k

lol, you can't stall your car at 60mph.

Rev matching takes practice, learn how that works first by getting to know your car. A common example is if you're cruising at about 70 mph in 6th gear and want to gun it down into 3rd gear, you'll know that 70mph in 3rd gear is around 7000 rpms. So clutch in, press the pedal to get up into that rpm range and try to be accurate, and shift into 3rd while doing so. Let out the clutch like you normally would and you're good to go. The reason for doing this obviously is that you want more acceleration that 3500 rpms won't give you, and since all the power in the RX-8 is around 6000-9000 rpms, you'll be doing it often, assuming you want to enjoy your car. The reason for the 'rev match' using the gas pedal to get your rpms is so that you don't get that 'jerk' movement in your car, don't damage the transmission and possibly lose control of your car.


Once you've got rev matching down, then heel and toe will make more sense.

zeblien

LOl thats good! I was 15 when I last drove a standard, and it was one time only on a small 1990 explorer. Isnt this method preferd over pressing the break if you have a stop a long ways up?

And thats for all your help! I defenantly feel beter about geting a proper version of this car.

Raptor2k

^that's engine breaking, when you downshift to slow down. But I think when you're engine breaking you don't rev match, but you let the clutch out slowly instead so that the speed and RPMs start to drop.

Imp

They were talking about:

1) http://www.zoomzoomlive.com
2) http://www.revitupracing.com (used to be Mazda Rev It Up)

--kC

zeblien

So that means that the purpose of rev matching is only needed in quick down shifting.. Ah I understand now! But if i want to slowly downshift all i need to do is let the clutch out slowly... and i remember doing that! Woot.

dmc27

For the most part - just rev matching is fine, and heel toe is not really necessary. I've done it probably twice in the 7000 miles I've put on mine. It is more of a performance technique for racing, so on the street it "shouldn't" be necessary - i.e. if there are no other cars on the road and you're flying in and out of turns/ramps, it's fun. If there's traffic around (which is most of the time) you "shouldn't" be driving in a manner that makes heel toe useful.

If you do get an 8 - rpm in 3rd gear is exactly equal to your speed. Rev matching from 6 to 5 is mostly unnecessary b/c 5th redline is so high. 6 to 4 takes a quick tap on the accelerator; and 6-3 rpm=speed. Practice, practice, practice. Thankfully, practicing is FUN!!! Engine breaking should be done w/rev matching, too. If you have that advance time to break, downshift w/rev match and let the gear slow you down. Unless you're on the gas it will slow down, so there's no sense feathering the clutch and causing more wear. (Just make sure you turn off the cruise control )

And overall, you still can suffer some mishaps. As evidenced by Captain not so Amazing's thread here. Just take a look at the join dates of the members posting here.

j/k cap't

Raptor2k

How do you engine break if you're rev matching? You don't slow down, you might drop 1 mph every 5 seconds.

dmc27

I'm suggesting it's best to not feather the clutch any more than necessary, based on Zeb's question -

"Isnt this method preferd over pressing the break if you have a stop a long ways up?"

To clarify - No. This method is usually not preferable. Use the breaks. That's what they are for and they're cheaper to replace than the clutch. (I am assuming since I've never replaced either on this car - and never heard of someone paying more for breaks than a clutch. )

^You're probably right, since it techinically is not "engine breaking". Just letting the engine wind down and slow the vehicle.

SOVINE

that is some funny ****... or if he drifted into the crowd going 2 mph, and everyone just kinda moved out of his way real slowly with the "what an idiot" look on their face.