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Why you dont need to double-clutch

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Old 03-30-2006, 08:45 PM
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Excellent technical overview of how a manual transmission works. Deserves a sticky in the Tech Garage.
Old 03-30-2006, 09:03 PM
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Originally Posted by djseto
So, in a sense you would be saving your synchos by double
clutching it, but that would eliminate their entire purpose of existance,
destroying their spirit and will to live....
Won't somebody think of the synchros!?!?!
Old 03-30-2006, 09:08 PM
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Originally Posted by msrecant
Excellent technical overview of how a manual transmission works. Deserves a sticky in the Tech Garage.
Not a Mazda transmission, they don't follow the standard rules.
Old 03-30-2006, 09:19 PM
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Originally Posted by alnielsen
Not a Mazda transmission, they don't follow the standard rules.
???
Old 03-30-2006, 09:24 PM
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Originally Posted by alnielsen
Not a Mazda transmission, they don't follow the standard rules.
Don't understand where you are coming from.

I think Mazda transmissions are the smoothest shifting pieces I have ever experienced.

Nice clutch feel short throw from the factory never miss a gear or even gnacsh a dog tooth.

You want crappy shifting try a early 914.
Old 03-30-2006, 10:20 PM
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You're both well-intentioned but miss the whole reason to double clutch...

nobody double clutches or heel and toes to save the transmission -you do it so you can use the brakes on all four wheels - instead of the transmission that drives the rear wheels, in an RX-8 - to transfer weight from the rear of the car to the front during cornering. I always knew, from the age of 12 when I learned how to drive a 4-speed Datsun 510 sitting in my Dad's lap, that modern manual transmisions were all sycnromesh, at least in the forward gears, that the real reason to double clutch and/or heel and toe was to make gear changes without affecting the chassis dynamics of the car. It allows you to only shift the weight of the car by accelerationg with the throttle or braking. Nothing else.

It's also a fun way to go down thru the gears.
Old 03-30-2006, 10:22 PM
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Isn't this a Fuji transmission?
Old 03-30-2006, 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted by 8_is_enuf
Isn't this a Fuji transmission?
It's an AISIN 6 speed box. Very similar to that of an S2000.

Never ever had an issue with Japanese made transmissions. I think they are much better than most over-rated European made tranny. Just my opinion.

Fuji... is the name behind Subarus.
Old 03-31-2006, 12:38 AM
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The idea is to rev match the engine to the rear wheels when going into a lower gear.

do this experment:

at 50 mph, go from 5th gear to second gear with out double clutching.
notice how the rear wheels squeeled and partialy locked up.

now dot go from 5th gear to 2nd gear double clutching( which you rev the engine while the clutch is out and the gearbox is in neutral)
notice no wheel lockup.

If you are doing 125mph on the long straight at Sebring and you go into 3rd with out using the "double clutch" technique ( short term for Heal toe double clutch downshift" you will wind up spinning into the wall since you lost traction in the rear.

The syncros are intended primarly for upshifting and so an untrained driver can downshift on the street. Double clutching is not necessary for street aplications, however it is good practice for when you take your RX-8 to the track.

Mario Andretti doesn't double clutch. But he drives a "crash box" that doesn't have syncros to get in the way. He is still rev matching, and that is the most important part of downshifting, particulary at speed.

Bob Bonduraunt and Skip Barber both have excelent courses on this subject as well as, Late Apexing, weight transfer, trail braking, and the sort. My opinion is one of the best mods and longest lasting mods you can do to your car is take on of these courses. It has saved me from many accidents since I have much more control of any car I drive.


John
Old 03-31-2006, 04:55 AM
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Originally Posted by John Corbitt
The idea is to rev match the engine to the rear wheels when going into a lower gear.

do this experment:

at 50 mph, go from 5th gear to second gear with out double clutching.
notice how the rear wheels squeeled and partialy locked up.

now dot go from 5th gear to 2nd gear double clutching( which you rev the engine while the clutch is out and the gearbox is in neutral)
notice no wheel lockup.

John
Your expiriment is pretty pointless, as i doubt anyone here is arguing that some sort of rev matching is needed on downshifts, just as you said. You can do the same thing with just rev matching (clutch in) and the wheels wouldn't squeel. I think this topic is moreso about rev-matching vs double clutching if anything.
Old 03-31-2006, 05:06 AM
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If a driver can rev-match upshift and downshift very well, I don't see why he or she has to double-clutch since a good rev-match doesn't produce unnecessary weight shift.
Old 03-31-2006, 06:01 AM
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Originally Posted by cjkim
Your expiriment is pretty pointless, as i doubt anyone here is arguing that some sort of rev matching is needed on downshifts, just as you said. You can do the same thing with just rev matching (clutch in) and the wheels wouldn't squeel. I think this topic is moreso about rev-matching vs double clutching if anything.
Agreed. Rev matching != double clutching. You don't need to double clutch to rev match.
Old 03-31-2006, 06:24 AM
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Agreed. Rev matching != double clutching. You don't need to double clutch to rev match.
Thank you. Two different things.
Old 03-31-2006, 06:52 AM
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Rev matching is the pourpose o double clutching. By not double clutching and "rev matching" you have rev mached the input shaft to the output shaft. you still havn't rev mached the rest of the transmision. double clutching gets the gears and center shaft matched to the output shaft. On a gearbox with syncros, double clutching makes for a smother shift, which is key for the track. A good rule I learned at Bob Bonduraunt, is,
" In order to speed things up on the outside you have to slow things up on the inside."
This principal works well on more then just racing.

The answer I gave you is the reason Bob Bonduraunt gave me and why that was the second thing we learned on the track. (The first was late apexing.)
Old 03-31-2006, 07:04 AM
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Djseto.

Your avitar is a bike. double clutching a bike or a car with a sequential gearbox is imposible.
When at the threshold, rev matching is not a bad idea.

As a side note going from 5th to 2nd real fast without double clutching can break the syncro. A friend of mine did that in my FC RX-7. He went from 2nd to 5th instead of 3rd by mistake. From that point on, untill I rebuilt the gearbox, I had to double clutch upshift to go into 5th. This technique is the same for Trackter trailers, since they do not have syncros and the high mass of their gears.

John

Last edited by John Corbitt; 03-31-2006 at 07:08 AM.
Old 03-31-2006, 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by John Corbitt

using the "double clutch" technique ( short term for Heal toe double clutch downshift" you will wind up spinning into the wall since you lost traction in the rear...........

John
moreover, the heal and toe technique has nothing to do whether you just rev-match or double clutch. Its simply a techique you use to brake and blip the throttle at the same time. Do can either double-clutch or not with heal and toe.

Last edited by Smoker; 03-31-2006 at 09:03 AM.
Old 03-31-2006, 11:53 AM
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I did not say you double cluched your bike. but since you ride I could understand why you think double clutching is not necessary. I wish the 8 had a sequential gearbox. It was origeonly going to have a sequential gearbox.

Smoker.

People use the term "double clutch" to refer to heal to double clutch downshifting. The purpose for "heal toe" is to rev match while double clutching, single clutching, or crash boxing, on the strait so you are in the proper gear for the exit of the turn. The only time you double clutch downshift on the track is when you are "heal toing" or "bliping" the throttle, which realy is using the side of the foot. We also know you should aviod shifting in a turn as the resulting weight transfer can result in a spin.

John

p.s. That looks like you are having a blast in your avitar. I am in Athens GA on an overnight right now and just stopped in the bike shop here looking at the GSXR 1000. My wife would kill me if I came home with one. I miss my 750.

Last edited by John Corbitt; 03-31-2006 at 11:57 AM.
Old 03-31-2006, 12:39 PM
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I am not an expert, but my understanding is as follows (using http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission5.htm as a terminology reference):

Rev Matching: After engaging the clutch and selecting the new gear one adjusts the engine RPM a so that, when the clutch is re-engaged, the flywheel RPM (driven by the engine) will closely match the clutch disk RPM (driven by the driveshaft through the transmission gears). This is done to avoid a dramatic and uncomfortable acceleration or deceleration of the drive train and rear wheels due to the sudden engine loading on the transmission's input shaft.

Double Clutching: After engaging the clutch and placing the transmission in neutral, a momentary engagement of the clutch (and engine reving if downshifting) with the intention of causing the transmission gears to spin at roughly the same RPM as the driveshaft, allowing you to then smoothly engage the driveshaft collar on the desired transmission gear without grinding. This is required for transmissions without synchronizers. This is not needed on transmissions with synchronizers as it is the synchronizer's job to smoothly accelerate/decelerate the desired transmission gear to driveshaft speed prior to driveshaft collar engagement.

Heel and toe: A single-foot brake/accelerator pedal technique, done when braking and down shifting at the same time, to allow the driver to blip the throttle to Rev Match (see above) the engine while continuing to exert force on the brake pedal. See http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/how...2/article.html for more detail.


[Edit: Actually, I believe I was wrong with the double-clutch comment "unless you shift at exactly the right RPM for the two gears you are transiting". If you don't have synchronizers you always need to double clutch.]

Last edited by msrecant; 03-31-2006 at 01:46 PM.
Old 03-31-2006, 11:24 PM
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Maybe your synchro is acting up once in a while therefore if you opt for double-declutching, it shifts again.
Old 04-01-2006, 01:10 AM
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yeah, but double clutching is fun............)) Besides its so intinctive in me that I dont even think about it anymore when downshifting.---shift to nuetral, blip the accelerator just enough to match revs, and slam it into gear...............
Old 04-01-2006, 06:16 AM
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Originally Posted by Cool-Blue-Dad
Alright, I'll throw a question in here -

First - I'll clarify that I simply mean double-clutching because the stubborn beast refuses to go into gear. I'm not talking about heal-and-toe or downshifting for cornering. I'm simply talking about trying to upshift one gear because it's time.

I'm not a grade-a shifter, but I consider myself more than sufficient. Every manual transmission vehicle I've ever owned has simply refused to go into a gear once or twice for no apparent reason (not rev'ing high, not down-shifting, not much of a stretch for rev-matching). Happened most often on the 1976 Honda Civic in which my dad taught me to drive. He taught me to double-clutch it to get it into gear and occasionally I've done that on other Hondas, Toyotas, Subarus and once or twice in the 6 months I've owned my RX-8.

According to the technical explanation above ,the synchros are *supposed* to mean double-clutching is *never* necessary, but in practice I've found it's *occasionally* necessary. Why would that be?
My 5th gear syncro was cracked and in order to get into the gear, without grinding the gear, I had to use the double clutch technique you had to use.

Quite posibly your situation, your clutch was not disengaging completely, or the gearbox was cold. I have had that happen to me before.

John


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