To gear down, or not to gear down, that is the question

I do, but I have read not to. I like the sound and have never had any clutch / gear problems so why not? also when driving hard it gets you to a proper gear for making a swift exit from the stop / slow down.
BT

 

Sometimes a little bit of both.

 

+1

Just match your revs (RPM's) to your speed making the transition smooth, thus keeping the strain off your tranny. There shouldn't be any sudden shocks or jerks while doing this. Heel and toe works good here.

 

Where do you want your wear & tear?

$5,000 transmission or $160 brake pads.

The choice is yours

 

You read my mind

 

I will blip the throttle and downshift mostly for the noise (!), but I don't use the engine to slow the car. That's what the brakes are for.

 

Geez,
Drive your damm car! all of this paranoia about driving Ferraris is nuts!, oooohhhhh! don't put too many miles on your car, it will hurt your resale, don't downshift, don't do this, don't do that.........Why own it if your not going to drive it the way it's meant to be driven.. If you want a museum piece buy a painting and hang it on the wall, if you want an investment, buy stock and go for a different kind of ride. If you want a garage queen, buy a vintage collector show car and never ever drive it .
If you're so worried about wear and tear on your transmission or anything else on your Ferrari get a Nissan with an automatic transmission and enjoy your commute to the grocery store.

 

+1 As the old saying goes:

........................every man dies, but not every man lives.....

 

my personal opinion would be to shift into neutral and use the brakes if coming to a stop.

Heel toe into lower gear if slowing down.

 

I do a bit of the both. I don't think it is safe coasting to the stop in neutral - if you need to accelerate to avoid something it will take precious time to get back into gear.

Let say's I am headed to the stop sign in fourth gear, normally what I would do is slow down while remaining in fourth. I check to see if there is a chance that the light will turn green before I come to a complete stop - if so, I shift into second or third and let it coast. If it looks there is no chance of a green appearing, I come to a stop in fourth and go into neutral at the last minute.

But occasionally I like to gear down a few times to get the hang of it.

 

I usually don't go all the way down to 1st or even 2nd unless i'm downshifting into a turn. Sometimes from 4th to 3rd.

 

Don't get me wrong - I'll be the first one to say "DRIVE!" I drove across the USA!!! But when I want to stop I use the brakes.

 

Modern race cars and driving techniques use the brakes to slow or stop. Older racing technique when brakes were not as good, used the engine to help brake the car.

Use the brakes! That's what they are there for. Save the synchro's for when you need to down shift for a turn.

 

No, I don't downshift to slow down in normal driving. And I disengage (clutch in) when coming to a light.

 

+1

Never saw the need to add extra wear and tear to the gears, synchros, and clutch. I mean, it's not like we're trying to land on an aircraft carrrier where you need to be at full throttle in case you miss the arresting wire and have to abort.

 

I'll downshift to be appropriate with my speed. I tend to come to lights slow, hoping I won't have to fully stop and then just accelerate from the gear I'm in. I am especially petty about sitting fully stopped if my rotors are hot from hard braking. Anything to save my rotors!

Brian

 

Right on brother!!

 

GGGGGGGGGGGGREAT POST

I'd hate to wear out that engine, that's why I get the bus... WHAT?????????

Don't just drive it, rip it, get some paint chips - I mean it's a prancing horse, not a dressage event.

I used to get so pi**ed in London seeing so many drive high performance cars into the Inv banks, who had no idea what heel and toe was let alone the nuts & skill to do left foot braking and leave the clutch alone...(but THAT may not be such a god idea)

 

Man is this going to take some gettin' used to. I've been riding motorcycles and driving cars with manual transmissions for 40 years and my attitude has always been.."don't need no stinkin' brakes..I got a clutch and I can downshift." (Maybe not totally but you get the idea.) Still seems to work just fine on my Vette and my S2000 but sounds like when I finally find and get into a F355 I'm going to have to learn about this rev matching thing. $5000 transmission vs. $160 brake pads? Are you kidding? Hope this old dog can learn a new trick.

 

Usually from 5th to 4th or 4th to 3rd, but rarely down to 2nd or 1st.

 

Go to racing and/or driving school, and they'll tell ya' (over and over and over, till you're sick of hearing it): gear down for the turns so that you are in the proper gear so that you are in the powerband and can settle the car in the turn (if you're at the limit... I hope not on the street, though) and so that you are ready to accelerat out of the turn. When coming to a stop, there is no point in gearing down except to hear the sound.

John

 

......

 

I vote for the brake pads.

 

There's a man who stayed at the Holiday Inn Expess