Are you supposed to downshift into first gear?

for me it cant really shift into first unless i am going 5 mph

and does 1st gear have any synchros? the other day the gear was half-in and i released the clutch and the shifter bounced back and forth

 

I would recommend against down-shifting into first gear as a general rule. I can't think of a time it would be necessary to do so, and it could damage your transmission.

 

The only time I would put my car into first is when I'm coming to a close stop. Other than that, its not really necessary while rolling.

 

First gear has a very beefy synchro in most cars because it is easy to chip teeth when engaging first gear while rolling if you just ham-fist it in. This is why first gear is hard to push into while rolling.

In order to have a much smoother shift into first gear, employ double clutching. A standard heel-toe downshift will not suffice - the problem lies in the beefy synchro trying to synchronize the dog and the gear RPM, not synchronizing engine RPM with wheel rolling speed.

To shift to first gear while rolling:

Move the stick to neutral.

Release the clutch.

Use the throttle to raise the engine RPM to a suitable RPM for the speed that you are rolling. For instance if your car normally does 3k RPM at 15 MPH in first, raise the RPM to 3k for 15 MPH when preparing to select first.

Clutch in and select first gear gently, but promptly. It should snick right in with no resistance if you rev-matched properly.

If the RPM has fallen while engaging first gear, blip the throttle again so the engine doesn't get dragged up to the road speed.

Smoothly let off the clutch to make sure you don't whack the drivetrain if you messed up your rev matching.

Viola. A smooth downchange.

P.S., it is better for your drivetrain to rev a little more than you have to, rather than not revving enough.

 

Never downshift into 1st gear when you are going fast, or else you will damage your transmission very fast...

 

well the highest i have ever shifted down into first was like around 20mph ...just never more than 37mph for obvious reasons

 

normally no. you dont downshift into 1st unless you going walking speed. the syncro in 1st gear simply cant not do the job spinning up the clutch in moving faster than 5 mph. the blocker pin would block the gear from going in unless the gears are meshed. however if you really wanna throw in 1st, you can double clutch to spin up the clutch (input shaft), then the gear can mesh and you just slide in 1st gear. if you do that be very careful letting out the clutch because the engine braking is very strong and you will get a big kick unless you rev the engine up to match the RPM.

 

If you get decently good at it you can do it with one blip more or less perfectly every time.



A properly done double clutch downshift should not put any more strain on the gear than simply letting off the throttle while in said gear.

 

Step 1 : put shifter in neutral position.

Step 2 : depress brake pedal until vehicle has stopped and the shifter can now be comfortably put into 1st.

Step 3 : enjoy the fact that you aren't putting unnecessary strain on your transmission.