Super_SS

well depends on ur mph ur goin...usually our diffrence between gears are maybe 700-1000rpm diffrence...so thats how much u want to blip the throttle so it matchs the speed of the lower gear

D4u2s0t

watch where they go to when you upshift. i know if i downshift from 3rd to 2nd, anywhere over 3,000 rpms i have to get the rpm's up 1,000.

it's probably going to take a while to get used to, but after a while you don't even think about it anymore, just kinda happens.

alleycat58

It's nearly impossible to do it 100% correct in the Cobalt. My racing instructor has been a professional driver for 25+ years and he won't let me do it until we get the pedals adjusted. He said pedal position is horrible in the Cobalt. I can't even reach the gas unless I slam down on the brake, but I have little feet, so that exacerbates the problem.

Actually, sometimes putting a car into neutral is MORE wear than gradually downshifting as you slow. I know more people that have screwed up a car by popping it into N to slow down only to have to speed up either because a light changed or because someone pulled out in front of them so then they had to jam it into a gear (a lot of times the wrong one, because without the sound of the engine RPMs it's much more difficult to pick the right gear on a whim). Actually had a good friend scatter the tranny on his parents' BMW that way.

The safest, least destructive way to drive is rev match + downshift. Period.

Here is how I was taught:

• Don't drive with the radio on until you get the hang of things. The most valuable feedback you're going to get comes from the sound of your engine.
• Take a glance at your tach while driving (DO NOT DO THIS IN TRAFFIC) - watch how far the revs fall between shifts. This will start to give you a rough idea how far you'll have to blip it to match where the RPMs would be in the lower gear.
• Next, really LISTEN to the motor. You should have some idea what the RPM jumps are between gears.....but when you're trying to do this in the real world you can't be looking at the tach while barreling toward stopped traffic. Listen to the tone of the motor when you shift. Now instead of matching a number, you can match a sound. Which is a LOT easier and faster.
• The easiest way to learn is to start in the higher gears. If you're out on a back road with no traffic, practice 5th to 4th. There's really not much difference in RPM and it's very easy to put the clutch in, give it a light blip, shift, clutch out. You'll start to get a good feel for it. If you're doing it right, like D4 said, it should feel no different than an automatic. You'll know it when you hit a perfect downshift. There will be no bogging, no jerking, no nothing, just extremely smooth.
• Once you're really getting a feel for the top gears, you can start into the lower gears. Go 4th to 3rd a few times. The hardest downshift you'll ever make will be 3rd to 2nd. The lower the gear, the harder it becomes to downshift.
• Don't EVER downshift into first in an SS/SC. There are VERY rare occasions where you might be rolling at 1 or 2 mph and get away with it, but for the most part 2nd is the lowest you should downshift. 1st to a stop is unnecessary.

The only other thing I saw in your post that you should get out of the habit of is leaving the car in gear at a light. I know, sounds counter intuitive because everything else tells you proper driving procedure says leave the car in gear as long as possible right? Come to a stop, put it in N, keep your foot on the brake. The reason is - you're stopped. You're not going to need that gear to get out of the way in a hurry. HOWEVER, if you get tagged from behind and you're in gear, it's not all that easy to keep your foot on the clutch and if you stall it, you're going to bounce forward, possibly hitting the car in front of you. When you're in N, the car isn't going to travel far at all - there isn't anything trying to pull it along. I got hit about a month ago at a stop light, had a good 3/4 of a car length in front of me, got slammed from behind and only moved about 1/4 of a car. You get hit like that it throws you around good, I have no doubt had I left it in gear, my foot would have come up off the clutch and I would have stalled it, and I would have moved a heckuva lot farther up, maybe tagged the truck in front of me. That was one thing our driver's ed teacher pounded into our heads about having a manual - always in N at a stop light.

redlineblueline

some one went to a fancy high school with drivers ed

alleycat58

OMG you didn't have driver's ed? That sucks!!!!!!

I had an awesome teacher - he was a truck driver. So we learned more in that class than I ever needed to know about driving, LOL.

Omega_5

.... yup...
To do a proper heel toe in the Cobalt is pretty hard. As I mentioned earlier, side stepping is a neat little technique I've used in similar small cars, as well as the Cobalt.

To Scythe;
If your a noob to standards, I highly suggest to not down shift at all. Your just going to break something, whether it be a gear or the clutch.
When your comfortable with a standard, start to down shift at low revs at high gears, then get into blipping. You'll eventually get the feel for it.

redlineblueline

nope but we did have a cosmotology class so all the girls knew how to do nails, bleach hair, and put weaves in

alleycat58

Hence my suggestion to start in the upper gears. I was terrified to learn it, and I'm 100% self-taught as far as driving in the real world. My driver's ed teacher covered a little bit, but we never actually practiced on a manual. I have 2 friends who had manuals longer than I did, so they were my source of information. That was the same advice they gave me, start 5th to 4th, get comfortable, then 4th to 3rd, just gradually work through them. Best advice I got from anyone, it really made it a lot less intimidating (and safer on the car )

Given the types of drivers I see around here I'm surprised that wasn't integrated into driver's ed.

D4u2s0t

alley had a GREAT post. i can guarantee you that the people that think that downshifting is bad are the people that don't know how to rev match. they probably tried to downshift, either didn't blip the throttle or slammed it way too hard, let out the clutch, got a violent jerk, and said "Damn, guess that's bad i'm never doing that again".

my brother just the other day asked why i hit the gas when i downshift. i showed him, i shifted from 3rd to 2nd with no throttle at about 40 and after the car stopped feeling like it was going to break i said "that's why. so you don't do that"

Scythe_Snake

thanks Alley. You've been extremely helpful. When I get home and get back to driving, I will definitely be trying this. It seems like it will take a while to get used to this though, and I just REALLY don't wanna break anything.

Also, what about on a hill? I actually learned to just keep my foot on the clutch on a hill while keeping it in first. Do I put it in neutral on a hill too?

That is the exact reason I was scared to downshift, because my friend does it in his tc, and it gives me the worst feeling ever, and I don't wanna break my balt. I guess I am just nervous to try it is all. Its my rev matching cherry.

D4u2s0t

that's probably why the majority of people here don't downshift. because they either don't know what rev-matching is, or don't know how to do it. just start out slowly, and as your confidence builds try doing it a little faster.

redlineblueline

dont do this if your foot slips off or something big trouble...though i dont know if on the ss/sc if you can get it into 1st above 20 something MPH i know on the IRL you cant

light'bolt

Wow, at what speeds are these people downshifting at to get that kind of a jerk. When coming to a stop its not really necessary to down shift cause your gonna place it in neutral anyway once you've stopped. If the light turns green on your way just shift to appropiate gear, rev match if necessary and continue.

I figure just skip those extra shifts when coming to a stop,.....just call me lazy.

D4u2s0t

if you donwshift at almost any speed INCORRECTLY it will be a violent jerk. higher the speed of course the more violent it gets.

alleycat58

Probably not a bad idea on a hill, cause gravity is going to inhibit momentum. I don't, just because I was always told keeping it in gear is bad, but I could also see the benefits to it on a hill, especially while learning - it's one less thing to think about.

The WEIRDEST feeling you'll get is when you start to get real good and smooth, you'll go down to shift gears and realize you're already in gear. At first you have so much to think about, then as you go along you just DO it. Once you've caught yourself doing that you know you've got it mastered. I did that coming home from a friend's house 2 weeks after I got the car - headed down the highway to my house - 40mph speed limit. I started from a light, remembered the 1-2 shift, realized I'd already hit 40mph and thought "****! I need to shift!" Looked down and I was in 4th. I was like WOAH....that's weird.

He means when he's stopped.

redlineblueline

oh well if your stopped its all good in the hood

Scythe_Snake

I will admit it, I am a bit frightened by it. I just REALLY don't wanna hurt this car. I've been wanting it for so long and have worked so hard for it. I don't want to **** it up.

That probably will feel weird, I just wanna learn how to drive correctly is all. I will make sure to practice it.

But yeah. the car stays steady on a hill, i just have to keep the clutch at a certain point and keep it steady. A little to far downa nd it moves forward VERY slightly, then I know to depress it slightly.

So what I should work on:

-When stopped, put it into neutral

-Downshifting (rev matching)

???

D4u2s0t

i'm thinking about doing a video how to for proper driving, especially downshifting/rev matching since so many people don't seem to know how to do it

Scythe_Snake

I would actually greatly appreciate it. Please do it! Make a special one for me!

light'bolt

I guess the key word is INCORRECTLY, I still stand by my first assesment......down shifting when coming to a stop is not really necessary, may not be the correct way to come to a stop or legal in some areas,.... but ya can't argue it's the easiest way.

alleycat58

Bad, bad, bad, bad, HORRIBLE. That's awful for the clutch. It's OK to leave it in gear but that clutch has to be TO THE FLOOR. Do not EVER use the clutch to "balance" a car on a hill. One of the worst things you could ever do. Break that habit before all others.

I know you're probably terrified of "drifting" but if you keep using the clutch to hold a hill you're going to be one of these people who posts "10k on the car and I need a new clutch."

Really really really bad. Learn to start on a hill from a dead stop, clutch in all the way. You're going to roll back, but not as far as you think.

Kaisoboy

Ok...Basically I know where my shift points are on this car

1st is roughly about 40 km, 2nd is 60km, 3rd is 80 km. so when I go to down shift and say I am cruzing in 4th and coming up to a light/trafic i take my foot off the accelerator and let it coast down with the help of light pressure from my brakes. Once I reach just below 80 km/hr I shift from 4th to 3rd. no need to rev match. I then let it coast down to just below 60 km in 3rd and shift down to second, again no need to shift match as once you release the clutch the car will basically rev match on its own. Once the km/hr gets to around 20 to 30 km/hr I just take it out of gear and use the brake to slowly come to a stop. Ido that because the car does not like to go into first above 20 km/hr.

Now this may not work for everyone but it works for me as I know my own car.

all it takes is practice and you will figure it out

cheers

Scythe_Snake

****....I think I am going to **** the **** out of this car. I can't launch all that quickly still...I will roll back into another car I just know it. people in Illinois don't give you any room....I guess I do need to learn how to drive correctly.

I think I got more than I bargained for, perhaps the ss/sc is too much for me to handle.

D4u2s0t

that's the un-technical term for "burning your clutch". not good. you need to hit the throttle or you're going to burn the clutch up

Kaisoboy

Trust me I have been driving for almost 22 years. Yes I do use the clutch. I do not just shift it without the clutch engaged if that is what you are refering to. Well now that I think about it I suppose I do rev match to an extent.

I have been driving like that with stick for years and I supose that like previous posters have said, you just get so used to doing it you just don't recall all the steps you do to gain the end results. Half the time when I get to my destinating I don't even remember shifting.

cheers