# Car bouncing in reverse!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-bouncing-in-reverse/154308>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 11, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-bouncing-in-reverse/154308 "2003-02-11T06:15:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Fuel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuel)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-bouncing-in-reverse/154308/21 "2003-02-12T21:27:45Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Corbomite \*  
> \*\*_Originally posted by Corbomite  
> Some racers can shift without using the clutch_
> 
> At certain ideal RPM’s you can push/pull the shifter to go out of gear, hit the gas to bring the RPM’s up to the ideal RPM of the next higher gear and jam the shifter to bring the car back into gear. There’s little room for error and you have to be almost perfect or damage will ensue.
> 
> A safer way to see this is shifting into neutral without the clutch. Say you’re pulling up to a red light in third gear. As you’re slowing down (and the engine RPM is dropping), put some _gentle_ pressure on the shifter. At a certain RPM the shifter will slide and the car will drop into neutral. \*\*

o, i am completely aware of this. my bro and i call it “matching the RPM’s”. but you said “racer”. i thought you were saying someone could switch gears without the clutch _while racing_, which is impossible.

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-bouncing-in-reverse/154308/22 "2003-02-12T21:32:33Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by ntucker \*  
> \*\ ***asknott** : would this same phenomenon occur in a front-wheel-drive car taking off in first? I used to get this if I really romped on it in my VTEC del Sol (especially while turning right, since the weight was shifted more toward the left-front wheel than the right-front, causing the right-front to spin and hop). It really did feel like I was delivering a beating to the drivetrain. \*\*

Wheel hop in a front wheel drive car is simpler. There’s a shorter path from transaxle to wheel. There’s just a pair of CV (constant velocity) joints on each side of the transaxle. The pair near the transaxle lets the wheel bounce up and down. The pair near the wheels allows for steering. When your unweighted right-front wheel was going through its bite-slip cycle, it probably put a strain on the CV joints. Frankly, though, I’m not as well versed on front wheel drive, and I’m not sure what might get hurt.

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