ya i downshift as your supposed to do and as far as the neutral coasting, here in alberta if you are caught doing that on your road exam that is an instant failure as it happened to a buddy of mine when he went and did his and he was in the habit of that. lets just say he doesn't coast anymore lol.

 

heel-toe it and rev match into your engine braking. Problem solved. No clutch wear beyond normal, more control in every situation, and hey you will even benefit from it in any type of racing. It really amazes me how many people don't know how to drive. If you are going through neighborhoods and lots of lights and ****, just dropping into neutral from third is no big deal, but when i see people exiting the freeway in 5th and just hear all the rpm's drop and stay down until they are off....wow.

 

that's completely untrue. it puts zero extra wear on your clutch if you know how to drive. whoever told you that doesn't knwo what they're talking about. if you downshift properly, and had the radio up (so you don't hear the engine) passengers shouldn't really be able to tell you downshifted.

cobalt is a bitch to heel toe in because of the placement of the pedals. the gas pedal is so much lower, and just at a weird angle. the people that are serious into racing that NEED to heel and toe (half the site probably doesnt' know what heel toe is) probably adjust the pedals a little bit. but i agree about the putting it in neutral.

no offence to anyone, but if you think it's a good idea to just drop the car in neutral, you don't know how to drive a manual tranny.

the people that put it into neutral are probably the ones that complain about how much the clutch in this car sucks

i'm kinda surprised, but at the same time NOT surprised at how half the people that voted don't know how to drive their car.

 

I atleast rev match downshift, if not full on heel-toe. Heel-toe isn't difficult in the Cobalt, it just takes some practice, and some flexable shoes.

 

yea, i can't get it, and don't do that kind of racing, so i don't even bother. my foot doesn't bend like that i'm sure with practice i could get it, but i don't need to so don't bother. when i try to do it i either press the brake too much, or don't blip the throttle enough.

 

Yes it does put wear on the car, everytime you engage the clutch it is wear on the clutch, then downshifting like that is forcing the car to rev up, the strain of the motor is put on the clutch. I don't care if it's done perfectly it still puts wear on the drivetrain whereas neutral doesn't. You can't tell me putting a car neutral is just as much wear as downshifting to a stop.

 

what are you talkng about? if you're driving an automatic car, do you put it in neutral? and is leaving it in gear bad? no. what's the difference? on one car the car pushes the "clutch" for you, in another you have to "manually" push the clutch. same concept though. there's no extra wear involved if you know how to downshift.

sorry guys, but i'll say it again. if you don't know how to downshift, or choose not to because putting it in neutral is "better", you don't know how to drive. end of story.

i'm not trying to knock people, but it's not the right way. learn how to drive your car. this is a car enthusiast site, and half the people don't know how to or choose not to downshift their car. i just don't get it i guess.

 

OOOHHH touchey... Guess I hit a nerve. I can downshift no problem, this is my third manual. You can slow down in an automatic cause they are designed to slip when you let of it.

 

not touchy. it's just a big shock how many people don't know how to properly drive a manual. doesn't matter how many manuals you have had, you're still doing it wrong.

 

No, im not. I just don't need to hear my car rev up and look cool when I slow down.
If the way you were doing it was correct, don't you think automatics would downshift until you stopped? You are causing unecessary wear on the drivetrain by doing that.

 

ok, keep thinking that. i see there's no convincing the people here, so do it your way.

 

Keep saying that when you screw up and drop the tranny or end your clutch early

but to each his own.

 

i try to downshift as often as possible or i just leave the clutch pedal pushed in 1st or 2nd in traffic

 

do a quick google search with these terms (downshift or put in neutral) and read what comes up. you'll find pages and pages telling you that putting it in neutral is wrong. learn about a car, transmission, shifting, and how rev-matching plays into it all. everyone has to learn at some point, so i won't say anything else. once you learn about how it all works you'll have a different opinion.

 

and on the big truck thing...the jake brake[engine retarder] just opens the valves before the engine get to TDC and then the cam forces the valves open at there normal time so you are getting twice the valve opening and closing

 

if it was done your way, automatics would just drop directly to idle any time you are not accelerating, that is not the way it works. There are MANY reasons to downshift when decelerating, like i said from ~30+ mph typically. If you know how to drive you will cause near zero extra wear on your drivetrain by down shifting, this is why i brought up heel toe. Generally my rule is, if im in third im downshifting to second when slowing down if i have enough time. Never downshift into first though, very pointless.

 

Downshift for sure. Just dont do it when u racing like my buddy did... went from 3rd to 2nd.. lol. (he drives a mustang.. enough said.. lol)

later

 

yep. it only puts strain if you don't do it right. that's the whole point of rev matching, to take the stress off the tranny. if you just downshift and dump the clutch, yea, that's bad and puts a lof of stress on the engine and tranny. but if you downshift, and it's smooth, people in the car won't know you downshifted and there's not any stress being added.

 

Neutral. Cluch more expensive than a new set of pads plus why put more unnecesary wear on the throwout bearing

 

again, you're not putting stress on anything IF YOU DO IT RIGHT.

 

wow who brought this thread back

 

Guys I have a question. As most of ya knwo I got my new ss/sc,its my first stick car, and I want to make sure I am treating her right.

I voted neutral, because when coming to a stop I press in the clutch (the car is usually still in a gear though, but the clutch disconnects everything so its still neutral) and slow to a stop, then immediately put it into first and keep my foot on the brake and clutch. Is this correct?

I down shift sometimes, but i always worry about ******* something up. The feeling of the pause then brake makes me feel funny and I feel that I am ******* something up, and I really don't wanna do my baby that way, nor do I want to put anyone in danger.

So I should (say I am in 4th), start down shifting from 4th and while I am shifting, give it a little bit of gas to 'rev match' it while down shifting and braking? Or keep doing what I am doing?

 

rev match... Clutch in, blip throttle/change gear, clutch out...

 

Well, yes it is correct in theory... on a road test anyway. Reasoning for that is that you're ready to go again if something unexpected happens.

HOWEVER, in reality, if you don't plan on moving again within the next 5 seconds, you should sit in neutral with the clutch out to save wear.

Yes, you always want to blip the throttle with the clutch in to the around the same revs you would be at if you were in the lower gear you are going into.

 

Hmm, okay. Thanks guys, I will practice then when I get home and start driving. I am just scared I will not rev match it correctly. Is tehre a way to tell where I should rev it up to..or is it just feel>?