# 2 is hard on the clutch i d say..

depends on the style of your driving..

on the track.. heel N toe for sure.

 

Yeah, I learned the blip throttle thing from riding motorcycles and it stuck. On a bike, a downshift could overweight the front tire causing unstability... particularly in turns. You would want the blip to keep it smooth. I would assume, to an extent, the same is true with a car... by matching revs you are rewarded with a more ballanced feel plus you're prob saving your clutch and gears from a little bit of undue stress. On the other hand... my parents have driven the other way their entire lives with no real reliability issues or added repair expenses on their vehicles. And I'll wager that an extreem majority of manual transmission drivers drive without the blip.

I'd say, do what you like. Alot of passionate drivers like myself catagorize driving as an art form. Hitting that turn just right. Powering out of an apex. Getting a nice 'holeshot' at a traffic light. I think the blip throttle is just another one of those. I'm stickin with it.

 

If you are driving a 2 wheel drive car and braking at the limit you must blip the throttle or the back end or front end can step out sometimes dramatically.

With an AWD car this is not a big problem.

Blipping the throttle to match the engine speed is easier on the tranny and clutch so it is a good practice.

Only importaing thing to remember is to do this before you turn in not while you are turning.

If you are not braking or turnining at the limit of your traction then ignore all of the above.

 

obviously most people when driving dont revmatch when they're downshifting, and this is probably OK for most nonextreme use. But downshifting without revmatching does put more wear on the synchros, which must account for the difference in engine speed and gear speed. Revmatching is a good habit becuase it not only reduces wear on the synchros but makes of course for smoother downshifts. In aggressive driving this also prevents upsetting the car going thru turns, etc, but probably none of us are driving at that extreme level anyway. If you are, I hope you're on a track when you're doing it.

 

I've got a 2000 Frontier Desert Runner V6 5 spd now (getting a 04/05 WRX in a year and a half or so). I always blip the throttle on a downshift. Its much smoother and less drag on the clutch and transmission. Its fairly easy since that 3.3L V6 is so throttle responsive. How is the WRX? Does it take time for revs to spool up, making the throttle blip a little slow?


Also, on upshifting, do some of you let the engine speed fall to match the next gear before letting out on the clutch? I know this is horrible for fast driving, but what about for clutch/transmission life? I don't generally do this in my truck - too much of a hassle and takes too long.


I also find that in some cars, upshifting is a little different. In my truck, shifting is smoothest if I apply throttle while letting off on the clutch. However, in other cars I've driven (Honda Civic to name one), doing this causes the car to lurch forward, and it is smoother instead to just let off on the clutch and not to touch the throttle until it is engaged.

 

Blipping the throttle is done before you downshift (shift from a higher gear to a lower one in a manual transmission...3rd to 2nd for example).

Lets say you're going 45 mph in 3rd at 3000 rpm and you want to downshift into second gear. At 45 mph in 2nd gear, lets say the engine speed would be 4000 rpm.

The speed can be the same, but the gear selection affects the speed of the engine. If you downshift, you are going into a gear with a higher engine speed. Blipping the throttle is when you bring the engine speed up to the speed required to smoothly engage the lower gear.

So at 45mph in 3rd at 3000 rpm, you would push the clutch in, 'blip' the throttle to make the engine speed around 4000 rpm and shift into second. Now when you release the clutch, the engine speed will match the gear for the current vehicle speed.

It probably sounds confusing, but try it out. Its much easier done than said. :-P Downshift without touching the throttle, and downshift with the throttle. You'll notice a big difference.