From: Mark J. Blair (ke6myk_mvlist@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Oct 21 2003 - 11:23:41 PDT
Marc Strangfeld wrote:
> Often I'll double clutch when
> downshifting going uphill. I feel I can shift quicker
> this way and then the engine RPMs are were they need
> to be when the clutch is engaged. I've been told
> double clutching a synchro tranny is bad. Is it?
I usually double-clutch my downshifts on my little civvy sports car, too. It's
how I learned to do it on big trucks, and I also find that it helps me get the
RPMs right for a smoothe downshift. Maybe I wouldn't do that if I learned to
drive stick-shift on a regular car, but that's the rhythm that's programmed
into my legs and arms now. I figure that the worst result would be more clutch
wear, and less synchro wear, and I figure that clutch linings are easier to
replace than synchros. Am I off base here?
Regarding up-shifting your truck without using the clutch, my opinion is that
doing so would wear the clutch lining less, and potentially wear the synchros
more if you don't match speeds well, since the synchros would be fighting
against the engine instead of just slowing the input shaft down. I'd think
that it should be OK to do if you do it well, and pause in neutral long enough
to match the engine speed. If you don't, well, how long do you think it would
take for you to drive the truck enough to wear out the clutch lining through
regular up-shifting using the clutch? If you're not driving the truck every
day for work, I think it would take you a very, very long time to do that.
Hey, I'm not an experienced truck driver yet.
-- Mark J. Blair, NF6X <ke6myk@sbcglobal.net> PGP 2.6.2 public key available from http://www.keyserver.net/ Web page: http://www.qsl.net/ke6myk/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat May 07 2005 - 20:25:03 PDT