For you car people

Beamer12

Active member
I learned how to drive stick probably 7 months ago. I have recently been playing with the idea of rev matching while downshifting. I have gotten very mixed responses on this topic. I drive a newer subaru impreza so im not doing any hard driving with it. Is rev matching really necessary with newer syncros to save the clutch?
 
rev matching is for pulling into car shows so you can impress all the other car nerds.
other than that, yeah, smoother ride, thats about it.
 
^^ as stated.. and if you've got a loud muffler you want it to sound smooth, not jumpy.
 
I do it pretty often in my '95 suby legacy, but that's because in some situations it's way too noticeable when I downshift. It's an old car with a lot of miles, but rev shifting makes it decently smooth.

I've driven newer standards before and I'll rev match out of habit, but it's not completely necessary. I'd say do it, it's fun to get to know the car a bit more.
 
No. Rev matching is not heel and toe shifting.

Heel and toe shifting is a technique for downshifting and braking into a corner, while matching revs in the next gear for smoother acceleration out of the corner.

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This old video shows it done in a RHD Acura NSX while showing the track, and where on the track it is done.
 
you basically just defined rev matching as heel toe. unless you're coasting to every stop you make you have to heel toe to rev match. but i'm sure you know that from racing your moms pt cruiser around town.
 
double clutching was used on vehicles that had unsynchronized gearboxes...has nothing to do with vehicles now. you had to clutch in to put it in neutral then again to put it in the desired gear. i see a lot of people interchange flat foot shifting and double clutching.

 
yeah as hey.dad ^ said, double clutching is a term used by kids that watched fast and the furious and just picked up the term. Its real use was with real old cars.

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rev-matching actually is almost pointless, when you push in the clutch to blip the throttle, you are letting the car coast, which you will pick up/stay the same speed. VS. heel-toe where you are on the brakes while you blip the throttle.

I'm guilty of doing both, but really i like to laugh at civics that pull in rev-matching and stuff like they are on a circut hahahaha like get real man we are on the street there is no need to drive like your in an F1 race
 
do you mean like when you decelerate into a stop sign? because if you are downshifting through gears for that, stop it. just coast.

if you mean downshifting into a corner or to pass or anything like that, then yes, rev matching makes it smoother. and is generally better for the car.
 
is the OP saying how he should just pop up the revs to match the tranny when he downshifts?
Heel and toe shouldnt be used for 90 deg turns like most cities. you coast around those, then you can slowly acc away. if you dump your clutch onto a high reving engine during that turn... u might fuck up big time. there is little room for error, especally downtown. or you can downshift before the turn, but then you are slow enough to not really need the whole heel toe unelss you want a smooth shift. its a race car technique to keep the car racing smooth and not lose its traction when the weight lurches the car. (i hope im right... ive been driving stick for a few months now... so im no expert. correct me if im wrong)
 
Like most things, you will eventually do it if you keep driving a lot. It is just another way to make things go smoother. Even if you had no idea what it was, one day after many times of the car slowing down and jerking forward when downshifting or entering a gear while moving, you would just give it some gas to avoid the sudden slow down and rev-up. Don't worry about details and just drive.
 
rev matching and heel toe are completely different- with matching your revs its is when your coasting and not on the brakes yet- heel toe is for hard driving and is a completely different movement and concept-

what else would you like to learn?
 
You should always choose your gear before you turn (ie downshift). And yeah heel and toe is just for racing, kinda cool to know but pretty useless 99% of the time when driving normally.
 
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