Bippy, if need be, you can drive the Big Yellow Pill (my '78 Blazer). This sounds about how I do it, and it’s both smooth for me and my passengers, and I have yet to replace the clutch.
The manufacturer’s manual will often give recommended speeds for shifting
This sounds correct to me.
I would shift down to 3rd at about 20-25mph from 4th, to 2nd at about 10mph from 3rd, and only shift down to 1st at a stop or almost stopped roll. That would be at very low revs for the gear I’m changing down from(about 1000 to 1500).
Shifting up would occur at much higher speeds for each gear (when revs get high enough to sound unhappy) unless I was back in UK in the snow happily not a problem in Silicon Valley :).
5th gear is overdrive in my car so I would shift down from 5th to 4th at arround 55-60 mph if trafic speed was likely to change rapidly and I might need the better acceleration of fourth gear.
That is driving a light reasonably engined car a VW Golf with 2 liter V4.
I am sure this is far from optimising available acceleration whilst slowing down, and doesn’t keep the engine in its optimum revs band.
I should also have added that I was told never shift down unless you’re approaching a hill, or you’re intending to accelerate. If coming down from 70 to a standstill, stay in 5th. The logic was explained to me that when braking, it’s far more useful to have both hands on the wheel to deal with unexpected situations (e.g. ice - it’s always good to be in the habit of driving to deal with such situations).
I’ve never quite understood the difference between Method B and double-clutching actually is. As I drive now, I’ve always used Method B although I somewhat unconsciously will double-clutch when slowing down gradually, e.g. going down a long hill or coming off a high-speed section of freeway.
I’m sure I’m wrong, but just to explain what I’m imagining goes on in my car – once I push in the clutch pedal the engine & drivetrain are disengaged. If I pull out of gear, rev the engine & change gears all while holding down the clutch pedal, what’s different between releasing the pedal in between?
Thinking more it’s pretty much only when going into a very slow area (like a car park or heavy crawling trafic) that I would shift down to third or second. Otherwise stick to 4th or 5th if on a free flowing 50+mph area. Except when 4th won’t cut it for acceleration or due to a hill.
I was also pretty much taught to go from 70 to 0 in fifth using brake and clutch when revs are too low, then change to 1st after the stop. Though if there is an intermediate point at which speed is constant then changing to the appropriate gear then. Like coming off a motorway keeping in fifth as I slow down until a constant speed area is reached at which time I’d change to 4th (or lower if appropriate).
There are three different sections of your car’s powertrain. Each section is capable of spinning independently of the others. The first is your engine and flywheel, the second is your clutch and the input shaft of your transmission, and the third are all the actual gears in your transmission, and the driveshaft, axles and wheels.
When the clutch is disengaged (the pedal is on the floor), sections one and two are disconnected. When the shifter is in neutral, sections two and three are disconnected.
With the clutch engaged and the shifter in some gear, all three of these have be moving at the proper speeds relative to each other. Section one and two move at the same speed, and then section three moves at a speed governed by the gear ratio.
When you shift gears, section three stays at a constant speed (since the car’s velocity / wheel speed does not change), but section two needs to change to a different speed in order for the gear to engage without grinding. And then, section one needs to match speeds with section two.
We already know, from this thread, how to match the speeds of section one and two. You either blip the throttle or let the clutch do the work. In modern cars, tiny micro-clutches called synchronizers take care of ensuring that sections two and three are moving at the right speed relative to each other as you’re moving the shifter. You can usually feel this happening through the shifter itself.
On cars without synchronizers, you have to manually spin up section two by re-engaging the clutch in mid-shift and revving the engine, then disengaging the clutch again, moving the shifter from neutral into the correct gear, and finally re-engaging the clutch. As Kevbo, if you’re very precise, you can leave the clutch engaged while you’re moving the shifter into gear, since sections one and two are already moving at the same speed.
Obviously, being mechanically similar to clutches, synchronizers wear out. Even though it’s not necessary on modern cars, people still double-clutch in order to prolong the lives of their transmissions.
I was taught at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving® to not even lift off the gas while downshifting. Just push in clutch, downshift, let out clutch then adjust throttle position to desired speed. We were also taught (and some never got the hang of it) of shifting without using the clutch. It required matching engine and drive train speed then slapping the shifter into the desired gear. I am one of those that is easy on my clutch, when slowing I pop my truck into neutral and use my brakes to slow or stop. But when I drive in a spirited manner, I downshift without using my clutch, I can get back on the gas much sooner. I occasionally get on the gas too soon and my transmission lets me know it doesn’t like what I just did.
I do that, too: I saw a friend do that in his car about 12 years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Took a little getting used to, but it’s been second nature for quite some time now. I drove my mother’s car for 3 years, had my first car (very used) for 4 years, and had my previous car (new) for 10 years, and I’ve never had to replace a clutch.
I haven’t understood anything else in this thread. 
I did a lot of downshifting (and upshifting) today.
- Clutch pedal in.
- Shift to Neutral.
- Clutch pedal out.
- Rev engine to expected lower-gear RPM.
- Clutch pedal in.
- Shift from 3rd to 2nd.
All that takes like a second. Synchromesh is out between 3rd and 2nd, and it was never an option between 2nd and 1st. (That feature came out much later.) I come to a stop before shifting into 1st because the revs would be outrageously high if I double-clutched and shifted while still moving.
The '66 MGB also lacks synchromest between 2nd and 1st, so I’ll be double-clutchg it when I get it. (Going into 1st while still rolling is much more comfortable int he MG.)
Only shifting messes me up when I get into the Jeep. I always try to push in the non-existent clutch when I start it up after driving the Triumph!
Racer72 seems to have it most correct thus far. Were you to ask me what method I use, I’d say A, B, C, and D.
The reality is, a LOT of people spend waaaay too much shifting gears in a transmission. Further, if you do it a LOT, and you do it in a racing situation, then you’ll find that changing gears on the street is rarely a hot and heavy thing.
If you’re upshifting, Clutch in, wait for the revs to drop to the appropo rev range and let out the damn clutch. You’re not wearing our the synchros, your not doing anything particularly hard on any of the systems.
If you’re slowing down (say in traffic), I’ll push the clutch in, put it in neutral, then let the clutch out. And coast until the car reaches the speed it’s going to be in…When that speed it reached, clutch in, select the right gear, clutch out.
If I’m at a stop, the stick is in neutral, the clutch is out. Wear to the throwout bearing is not occuring.
My tranny spends a LOT of time in neutral, with the clutch out. It’s easier on all parts involved, and all I really care is that the throwout bearing will outlast the clutch material.
If you’re in stop n go traffic. Stretch out the range you use in a gear. In my car 2nd gear with extremely light throttle is good down to 800 rpm and 12 mph. At the same time, give the guy/gal ahead of you 5 or 8 car lengths. While the people ahead of me are stomping their clutches and rabbit brakeing to stop their cars, I’m puttering along in 2nd gear, using the gap ahead of me soak up the ‘stop’ part of stop n go. (It makes the stress level of the folks behind me lower too, THEY don’t have as much stop in their stop n go.)
Do what feels smoooooth and you’ll be fine. Perhaps I’ve spent too much time doing my own auto repair, but my personal motto is: Drive it lightly, and when it breaks, meh, fix it and move on. A clutch job doesn’t scare me. Nor is it some doom-impending death of the car. A clutch is a wearable part that’s DESIGNED to be consumed in the operation of a car.
By the same token, I’ve got a heavy duty race lube in my daily driver’s tranny. Why? It works better, and it makes the shifting feel better. (Redline MTL) Heck, it was less than $20.
Lastly, if your clutch lasts 60,000 or 150,000 miles, who cares? It doesn’t go on your permanent record.
Course, what do i know, my racecar has a slushbox…and I shift IT manually and STILL rev match it when I race.
Method B as described in the OP is useless. The point isn’t to get just the engine speed up to match the intended gear, but to get the transmission input shaft speed up to match. This can only be accomplished by blipping/revving up with the clutch pedal up, which is done in double clutching (which was nicely described by Kevbo).
I have heard that double clutching is not only unnecessary in modern cars, but that it can damage the synchromesh. It definitely admonishes me not to do it in the handbookl for my '96 Corolla.
Unintentionally Blank–your post is the only that makes sense to me.
I haven’t driven stick in a while, but I think what I did most closely resembles your post.
My mother rides her clutch and my father shifts too soon and stalls the engine (I mean daily). I used to ride my clutch too, back when I had one (so to speak). I changed my habits and shortly after that, got an automatic. I miss my manual, though. My next car…
And is unnecessary in ANY modern thransmission. The rotating mass of the input shaft, when compared to the stuff ahead and behind it, is negligible.
Now, If you’re driving a tractor trailer, where you’d think double clutching would help, you’ll find they don’t use the clutch a whole lot either, preferring to rev match and leave the clutch alone. If you look at the gearbox in a semi, the gears are straight cut. That makes 'em noisy, but strong, and it also makes em easier to shift without using a clutch. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/gear2.htm
Car/Small truck transmissions are helical cut, they’re ultimately weaker, but much more quiet in operation. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/gear3.htm
I must appologise for being hopeless at describing how I change down gear from memory. I concentrated on what I was actually doing this weekend and found I very rarely change down gear and when I do it is after the engine speed is low enough for the new gear with a quick release of the clutch.
While I agree that I prefer Method B, the idea that Method A is somehow discomforting to passengers makes me giggle. Of all the common disturbances to passegners – driver talking on cell phone, radio too loud, cutting off other cars, driver getting lost, driver putting on makeup in rear view mirror, constant fiddling with radio, I literally never would have thought of clutch work on downshifting as disturbing to pax, unless it was something like jamming the car into first at 45 mph and popping the clutch.
Lads (male or female),
Euro Doper here. Method A. As do both my parents and, well, everyone I know that drives a car.
Look, I do believe you when you say that there will be wear on my clutch and suchlike disasters.
However, and if this is not you than it is not you, do you really not drive in a fussy way because driving in the correct way gives you pleasure and having discussion about what the correct way is also gives you pleasure? Might that be slightly more the point of the exercise to you than saving a few bob on the clutch ten years down the line? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. 
Basically, every time you use the clutch, you put some wear on it. Using the clutch to slow the car puts even more wear on it. Although some people think it sounds really cool running down through the gears in quick succession, there is, for the most part, absolutely no need to do it. The guys on “Car Talk” are constantly recommending that people not change down through the gears when slowing down.
They do note, however:
They also say that using the engine to hold back the speed of the car is advisable on long, steep downhills, where overuse of the brakes could result in them overheating.
As for double clutching, they offered the following advice to a man who was wondering whether or not he should teach his son to do it:
I love those guys.
Not that it matters, but I just reread unintentionally black’s post and I don’t double clutch that way at all (it’s been awhile and I had to think about it).
I listen to the engine and shift accordingly. If I ever own a manual again (and I hope to), I will attend to the rpm’s–something I never really did.
That said, with 4 drivers (3 of them teens) we managed to wear out the clutch plate on my mom’s VW Rabbit back in the day.
Oops.