Manual transmission Fan Club and BS thread (All Generations Welcome)

Handbrake, till you get the "see-saw" timing down. Lotta neat stuff to learn, including rev-match downshifts & heel-toe, if you so desire.

 

Forgot to mention double clutching....but only if you want to.

 

Since I’m considering a manual and been off work for a couple weeks I been googling and YouTubing about it . Everyone seems so split on downshifting . Even with no experience I want to say you should downshift . I mean automatics do it.

 

Rowing up and down is the thing. If you can be as smooth as an AT and not slip the clutch while doing it, then have fun!

The ADM is needed for best control when downshifting.

Note that there is engine braking even with ATs. So, the negative arguments make no sense other than syncro wear which is gonna happen with any MT. I don't expect that to be a problem on any modern MT for hundreds of thousands of miles.

 

I never thought of it as a personal preference but perhaps this day-n-age it is. I down shift all the time, (at stop lights, merging, down hill) just habit I guess. I downshift going down hills here in the mtns instead of using the brakes - I use the engine for more control and saves wear-n-tear on the brakes. I was taught on a pick-up with three-on-the-tree, My FJ-40 is a three-on-the-tree, still fund to drive.

 

The hill assist solves that problem. I know not everyone is a fan of it, but many MT learners find it very useful.

Plus, the Tacoma has a wonderful emergency brake you can use to hold on hills. Just keep the thumb button release pressed in as you pull the brake lever up - you’ll hold. Ease the brake lever down as the clutch engages. Pure “old school” that works.

 

its definitely useful for beginners. I never had it so when I drove something that had it the first time it totally fucked me up. Glad my OR doesn't have it personally, I use the hand brake trick if necessary.

 

There are positives and negatives to both sides of downshifting or not. Downshifting is less wear on brakes, but can be a bit more wear on engine and clutch. Braking only obviously is more wear on your brakes, but brakes are a wear item and easy to replace, so some would rather put the wear on them. It can be useful to downshift because if the light your approaching suddenly turns green and you need to get going again, you are generally in gear already and can just take off without having to take the time to figure out what gear you want and shift into it.

I tend to do a hybrid in my Tacoma. I don't downshift through all the gears, but usually just 3rd. From going full speed you can let off the gas and let it slow down a bit from whatever you are in (5th or 6th most likely), drop right into 3rd and let the engine do some braking for you, and by the time you are getting to the bottom of 3rd, you are pretty close to stopping, so I just go from 3rd straight into neutral and come to a stop. The exception is when towing, especially something pretty heavy, I tend to use all the gears as it helps with slowing the load behind you down.

Don't worry too much about specifics. As you learn you'll have your own preferences and ideas on what works best. Just get the basics down and then you can refine from there!

 

when you’re doing the downshift from 5th or 6th to 3rd are you rev matching ? And once you’re in third are you off the gas pedal? Are you also braking the whole time?

 

I downshift only when its slippery, going downhill (to save brakes and take advantage of DFCO) or when approaching hills on the highway to keep the momentum. Well also, i downshift if i want to pass someone or need power right away. I never downshift when approaching a red light, unless im towing or really heavy. Just my .02.

 

It really comes down to personal preference and situation. It is part of the learning process in driving a MT and understanding how the vehicle responds.

 

Agree. Once you understand how the manual tranny and the clutch work together, it makes things much easier.

 

Only if you don't rev match properly. I got 165k miles out of my WRX clutch, and I downshifted every time.
That being said, it is harder to do in the Tacoma, especially with the big jumps in gear ratios the lower you go.

 

Its funny, in europe most people dont even know what rev matching is, haha! Everyone just throws it in neutral and coasts. One of the first autos i saw was 90s audi 100, i was about 10 and was blown away. "This thing shifts on its own?"

 

The nice thing about a Manual is you get to choose what you want to do.

 

By the time you are getting to the bottom of 5/6th gear you are pretty much below 50mph and you can easily shift into 3rd with minimal to no rev matching, at least in my experience. The revs will jump up a bit to match on their own, but the synchro and letting out the clutch pedal slowly at the grab point can handle that tiny bit without breaking a sweat. The idea is to try to shift into 3rd at around the same MPH/RPM as it would naturally be at near the top end. I usually just have my foot lightly on the brake the whole time I'm coming to a stop, maybe give it a quick nudge on the throttle as I go into 3rd. Obviously as you are getting closer to a stop you'll have to increase your braking.

Honestly, if you are just getting started, I wouldn't even worry about downshifting. Leave that for later and just use the brakes for now. But even if you do skip downshifting for the time being, you always have to pay attention and have an idea what gear you should be in, in case you suddenly have to shift into gear and get going. Then as you get better at understanding driving a stick and your specific vehicle, you can decide if you want to incorporate downshifting or not or something in between.

Rev matching is one of those advanced things that will come to you in time and I wouldn't get too hung up on it to start with either. Especially even more advanced rev matching by doing heel-toe is pretty hard in the Tacoma because of the pedal placement. If you are in a race car where the revs are super high and the difference between your engine and trans is big, then it is more important I think, but haven't been very worried about it in daily driver vehicles. I've seen a few of the beginner manual YouTube videos that try to introduce that way before people should really be worrying about it, in my opinion. I drove a manual for years and years and never really knew or worried about rev matching and did fine.

Unless you do 100% perfect rev matching, there will always be a bit of slippage as the clutch grabs and thus wear. Also if you are rev matching you are increasing your engine revs from idle/lower RPM, making your engine work harder, thus wearing it. Are those things so minute so as to barely matter? Probably, if you are good enough. But technically there is additional wear.

I've never really been big on rev matching or been terribly good at it, but I'm pretty methodical and try to be gentle on shifts, never dropping the clutch, and do them at appropriate times. Been driving stick for a couple and a half decades across quite a few vehicles (some I've driven for over 100k miles), and never had to replace a clutch up to this point. Not even gotten to the point where I thought I might need to.

 

I always just let out the clutch slow. my clutch is still going at 100k+.. .with over 10k of that being towing.

only time I throttle really is when I want to slide out of gear and theres too much catching it so it won't pop out.

I skip gears a lot too.. 2/3/6 are definitely my most used gears.

 

^^^^^^^^ This.

To row or not to row, it's all good with a manual.

 

I skip gears almost always too.

 

Your best bet to learn finesse with a manual transmission, is to take someone along who can teach you.
Unfortunately, the tacoma in standard form is a fairly wonky m/t, and i’m sure the salesman isn’t too keen to have you learn on their rig