4th gear

Burfy

Ex. Club Member
Ok, so what's the deal with the fact that you can shift into 4th without engaging your clutch?! I saw it in a movie once, so I was like "What the hell, why not... the worst that'll happen is the synchro screams at me" so I was puttin' along I let go of the gas and put it into 4th without hitting the clutch MUCH to my surprise. Is that just the way the tranny is designed? Sorry if I look completely off the wall for getting THAT excited about 4th gear haha
 
I think it has probably been down to luck, especially if you are shifting from third to fourth. The micra uses synchro's like most other cars, but with any car if you can have the two cogs spinning at the same speed you can engage gear without using the clutch. It should be possible to engage any gear once you are moving without the clutch by rev matching.
 
Didn't they used to do this in rallying? Because its faster and you keep more control or whatever... it simply meant they needed the skill to match the revs with the gear... or crunch it a bit.

Maybe I invented that idea...
 
I know from the racetrack they barely use a clutch too. But then again those gearboxes are most likely to be designed to work that way, a micra gearbox is not.
 
A lot of truckers do this to avoid stressing the clutch, the clutch is only used for pulling away and stopping. A lot of rally boxes are non synchro so you would have no choice but to rev match. With sequential boxes you can generally change gear without the clutch without too much trouble. I reckon there is going to be a lot of you guys trying this now! lol. It's really tricky to get it right consistantly, I can do it if I take my time holding the revs steady.
 
I've heard a bunch of people talking about shifting without using the clutch (except first gear haha) i learned that if you don't have syncho's you had to "double-clutch" which is basically what everyone is talking about here with matching the revs... btw, if i hear 3 people exploded their gearboxes while trying to shift without clutching, it WASN'T my fault :p i've been too much of a ##### to try 2nd gear...i've gotten 3rd ONCE, and i tried it again and it screamed at me, so i just stuck with 4th haha.
 
"When an experimenting driver tries to "match the revs" on a synchronized transmission and force it into gear without using the clutch, it is actually the synchronizer that makes up for any discrepancy in RPM, deceiving the driver into an exaggerated sense of how much human skill was involved."

yep, that would be me... lol...i figured out how to change gears without clutching :blush: gearing up is slow if you're not good at it, but gearing down is actually easier, and will actually save your clutch a bit, but i find it a waste of gas lol... but anyways, SYNCHROMESH!!! yep, that's the term for it... if your tranny already has synchros in it, you'll never truly be able to synchromesh, but it is a rather good feeling to move the gear into place without touching the clutch :)

(quotes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_transmission#Synchronized_transmission)
 
you can change gear without using the clutch without double clutching in any gear, like everyone says you have to match the revs of the engine with that of the gearbox and just jam it in. It isnt very healthy for the gearbox just because they arnt designed to do it.

the gearbox's used in race cars (or some anyway) have what is known as straight cut gears with dog engagement. This is where the gears are straight and not slanted and the edges are pointed so you can jam them into gear without using the clutch. This is part of the reason theyre straight cut as it would be difficult doing it with slant cut gears, also the straight cuts in the gears make it stronger (even though theyre built using stronger materials). It also what gives it the whining sound you hear in race cars, the reverse gears on most cars are straight cut and thats why you get that whining whilst your reversing.
 
straight cut gears also transmit more power.

never knew about the "no clutch" gear changes! dont fancy trying it tho myself....... especially as i'm told the gearboxes are weak on k10's.
 
gearing down is MUCH easier... but imo it's a big waste of gas lol... don't try it if you don't feel comfortable... but since mine's 17 years old, and I myself am 17 years old, i like to be a little wreckless at times :laugh: and i'm always up for a new challenge... my newest thing to do is drift on snow/ice like roads... it was only a phase and lasted 5 hours straight haha
 
I can change from 1st to 2nd and back (2nd to 1st) at exactly 10Mph, in my 1.0, k11. I have tryed a few other gears, but i dont do it anymore since it crunches too much
 
4th to fifth, and 5th to 3rd are perfetcly ok,

but i love heel and toe'ing from 5th to third at juntions, and third to second..... sounds ace..lol
 
Hi. My cluch once broce down and I had to get home and for my luck i could change gear without using the clutch. My first car didn´t hav that.
 
I seem to be able to do this 7-8 times out of 10, I originally did it to practise just in case worse came to worse and my clutch died or the cable snapped. I wouldn't advise doing it all the time, I just do it every now and again so I don't get rusty lol
 
I actually put a bit of pressure on the stick in the gear I want it to go in and as soon as I feel it loosen up I put it in gear, simple as pi! hehe
 
Don't mix basic rev matching with the more complicated double clutching. Double clutching is being in one gear pressing the clutch to take it out of gear, releasing the clutch when the box is in nuetral, revving the engine to the required revs, then pressing the clutch again, and THEN putting it into gear. I have to do this on my old land rovers as they are not synchronised in first and second gear. You don't need to do it at all on a car with a synchro. The one thing that you can do is basic rev-matching, (press the clutch change gear, rev the engine to required revs, release clutch) this doesn't make it any faster, but it does pro-long the life of your synchro, and leads to smoother gear changes.

Once you are used to it it becomes second nature, it's good to do as I feel that it tunes you in to your engine more, especially if you don't have a rev counter (the landrovers don't even have a working speedo lol), as you learn to listen to what your engine is telling you.
 
in k12s you can change up gears without using a clutch

That would be the synchronizers working :) I've made it (from a rolling start) from gear 1 to gear 5, and then all the way back to gear one with out using the clutch grr It wasn't the smoothest ride, but I can say I successfully did it lmao I didn't grind any gears fyi.. I must say, shifting up was MUCH easier than going back down
 
its easy to not use a clutch in a bike, when mine broke on my pit bike i still rode it :B It was just a little tricky setting off without 1, heeh. But without using a clutch you are alot faster, its the same with an auto box over a manual, theres less for the human to do so its quicker :B

Ryan.
 
I'd still take manual over auto.. When auto starts to malfunction you get worried for your bank account.. If manual malfunctions you know it's just the dumbass driving it :p Plus you can do a WHOLE lot more with manual: Burnouts, redline, safely slow yourself down with your tranny rather than locking your wheels, and of course, stall the car lol.. I think my fav is sticking it in first gear release the clutch and turn it over haha
 
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