[3itm]

for the people that have manual when you turn on a street corner or wherever do you downshift or go to neutral then shift into proper gear? what do you guys do?

 

[ebhcr]

Either heel-toe downshift, or rev-match.

 

[Oricle]

downshift to the proper gear before the turn, that way you have control with the throttle and brake to balance the car through the corner.

 

[TGLefty]

Well after spinning my 3 and doing a 180 going ass backwards over a ditch and into the blackberry vines, narowly landing betweel a power pole and a large rock...I decided to get my shifting done in a straight line, as the 3 is very tail happy under the brakes. I like to accelerate throught the turn...Driving the FWD caught me out...after drivein RWD until now...I now know the FWD is much easier to drive through the turn, my RWD I like to trail brake...I drive hard with my 3, but I only push it while Auto-xing

 

[john_in_the_lbc]

like Oricle said, entering a turn is a combination of downshifting and braking, even if it's only one downshift. You should eventually, if not already, know what speed and gear you can enter a turn in certain situations. As you're approaching the turn, you should be in the correct gear to negotiate the turn, and you should be letting out the clutch at the same time your getting off the brakes and on the gas.
You should not be in neutral during a turn, as that leave you no option to correct with power if needed. A FWD car pulls itsef thru the turn, that's the fun part.

 

[freddyboi]

[quote author=ebhcr link=topic=71414.msg1255782#msg1255782 date=1173333742]
Either heel-toe downshift, or rev-match.
[/quote]


its pretty difficult to heel toe downshift in the 3. Normally I would revmatch and get it into second before the turn and then accelerate out of the turn. (the gear would depend on the speed and the angle of the turn)

 

[thebeansoldier]

[quote author=3ITM link=topic=71414.msg1255760#msg1255760 date=1173333204]
for the people that have manual when you turn on a street corner or wherever do you downshift or go to neutral then shift into proper gear? what do you guys do?
[/quote]

don't get into the habit of shifting during the turn. Best to do it before. If you're concerned about the hard engine braking throwing you off, then learn to adjust.

 

[ViperDom]

"accelerate through the apex"

in order to do this you must be in gear going through the turn.

most of the time, you should get your shifting & braking done in a straight line



..wow, this is the first thread ive been on that everyone agres on something. Good question OP., alot of ameture stick drivers dont get this. I remember when my buddy got his srt-4, we were on a backroad and he took it out of gear around a turn. I was like what the fuck are you doing?!?

 

[rpn453]

It's usually:
1. Brake a little in gear, if necessary, depending on speed.
2. Quick double-clutch downshift into appropriate gear (usually 2nd) for accelerating out of turn.
3. Brake a little more if necessary.
4. Make turn.

The car should never be in neutral unless you're stopped or about to be!

 

[azazel1024]

If I am driving it at the limit I downshift before the turn. If I am comfortably within the adhesion limits sometimes I down shift within the turn. Of course if the turn is long enough I will also upshift in the turn if run out of gear.
-Matt

 

[3itm]

thanks alot for the info. i heard downshifting is bad for the engine? but i do it and no problem so far. not like all the time only if i have to turn or if im on the highway and have to stop really quick

 

[balsone]

you heard wrong.

 

[red_genisis]

its bad for the tranny if u dont know what u're doin

 

[thebeansoldier]

[quote author=3ITM link=topic=71414.msg1257712#msg1257712 date=1173417704]
thanks alot for the info. i heard downshifting is bad for the engine? but i do it and no problem so far. not like all the time only if i have to turn or if im on the highway and have to stop really quick
[/quote]

Normal downshifting like 5-4 or 3-2 isn't bad if you can rev-match properly. If you haven't perfected the timing yet, you'll get a jerk. Learn it. Don't worry about the drop in gas from rev-matching. If you can do it really well, you can downshift as smoothly as an ATX.

It's when you do the "money shift", like 5-2 or 6-3 while you're on the highway. THAT is really bad for the engine especially if you don't clutch in immediately right after you realized what you did...

 

[3itm]

thanks bean, red, and balsone. i understand now. he bean is that your s2k? i bet thats fun as hell down shifting that hearing the vtec?

 

[thebeansoldier]

np.

as for the s2k, it's pretty cool though I seldom hit vtec (onramps and the occasional spirited acceleration). What's a lot of fun for me with this car is heel-toe downshifting before a turn. That I can't get enough of

 

[Nphlyt]

Yes, it seems everyone agrees........ Also find out when they are doing the next Mazda Rev-it-up event, they will show you a thing or two about cornering, and teach you about the 100% rule. I also recommend taking a motorcycle training class.

Get all of your braking and shifting done before the corner if you are giving her the spurs. You need 100% of your traction for cornering, if you are braking then come of that traction is taken away from cornering, and a slight mistake can land you in some serious trouble (or blackberry vines).

In regards to downshifting, there is nothing wrong with it as long as you do it right (and in the right gear), as was said. If all hell is breaking loose in front of you you will thank whoever taught you proper downshifting to get that car to stop quickly and safely. You should always be in some gear anyway, which means no coasting to a stop in neutral, you may have to change your mind in a hurry, and unless you have been driving that car for years you will need to figure out which gear you should be in to get out of whatever you have gotten into.