Clutch pedal

jparnes1 · 02-26-2012, 04:22 PM

For those of you with a MT, how much do you depress the clutch pedal when shifting? I'm not talking about track use here, just regular road driving. I have searched this and find people either fully depress for safety's sake, and those who depress just past the point of disengagement.
Can anyone justify there technique with a sound reason?

HerrK · 02-26-2012, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jparnes1

For those of you with a MT, how much do you depress the clutch pedal when shifting? I'm not talking about track use here, just regular road driving. I have searched this and find people either fully depress for safety's sake, and those who depress just past the point of disengagement.
Can anyone justify there technique with a sound reason?

Safety?

You know the term "Money Shift". I guess partial depression can be given a new term maybe "Money Push" Either way pushing and spending money will be the end result of poor execution by the hand or foot.

Do you really want to take a chance of grinding up your syncro's or gears for the sake of being too lazy or too much of a speed racer not to push the pedal firmley to the floor.

stickshifter69 · 03-06-2012, 01:12 AM

+1 with HerrK! Might as well opt for a DCT.

az34 · 03-06-2012, 03:47 PM

i had always ajust the seat on every MT car i'd own to fully depress the clutch, never had an issue after thousands of gear changes.

Zyal8r · 02-29-2016, 06:51 PM

I have never in a million+ shifts tried to get the pedal all the way through its travel. Smooth fast shifts don't happen that way. IMHO you are overthinking this. I have had early Porsches and Alfas with weak synchros that needed double clutching and heel and toe downshifts. These happen in split seconds and no attempt is made to clutch with that kind of precision. I believe after you have done it enough in a given car it becomes instinctive, instantaneous and smooth. I have never had to replace a clutch. Bottom-line as JParnes said, test the engagement point and I think you will be surprised at how high it is!

I do think as the Porsche owners manual recommends that brakes are for stopping and are cheap and replaceable. Downshifting is overdone and should be used to place the car in the proper gear to exit the corner and not so much to slow it down. Early down shifts at high revs simply cause unnecessary wear on the engine, which is not designed to act as a brake.

With the DCT I love the perfect rev matched down shifts but as the corner is approached from high speeds I let the revs drop to around 2000 rpm or even less in each gear (don't watch the tach) before pressing the down paddle until I get to the gear that I want to use on the turn exit, which is not necessarily a very low gear when you have torque from 2 turbos.

If you are new to manual shifting just keep doing it. It will become second nature. I'ts like skiing. (And reread JParnes' post too)

02-26-2012, 04:22 PM	#1
jparnes1 Colonel 241 Rep 2,387 Posts Drives: 2016 340i, 2012 Z4 35i Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NY iTrader: (1)	Clutch pedal For those of you with a MT, how much do you depress the clutch pedal when shifting? I'm not talking about track use here, just regular road driving. I have searched this and find people either fully depress for safety's sake, and those who depress just past the point of disengagement. Can anyone justify there technique with a sound reason? __________________ 2016 340i XDrive, EBII/black, 6 MT, M Sport, Track Handling, Cold Weather, Tech, Lighting, Driver Assistance Plus. 2012 Z4 35i, ED 2/24/2012, Melbourne Red Metallic, Black Leather, Carbon Trim, 6MT, M Sport, CW, PP, PS, NAV, CA.
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03-06-2012, 01:12 AM	#3
stickshifter69 Second Lieutenant 4 Rep 220 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (0)	+1 with HerrK! Might as well opt for a DCT.
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03-06-2012, 03:47 PM	#4
az34 Major 54 Rep 1,014 Posts Drives: 2009 z4sdrive35i 2008 x5 3.0i Join Date: May 2011 Location: montréal iTrader: (0)	i had always ajust the seat on every MT car i'd own to fully depress the clutch, never had an issue after thousands of gear changes.
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02-29-2016, 06:51 PM	#5
Zyal8r Private First Class 21 Rep 141 Posts Drives: Z4 E89 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: South Carolina iTrader: (0)	Fast and smooth I have never in a million+ shifts tried to get the pedal all the way through its travel. Smooth fast shifts don't happen that way. IMHO you are overthinking this. I have had early Porsches and Alfas with weak synchros that needed double clutching and heel and toe downshifts. These happen in split seconds and no attempt is made to clutch with that kind of precision. I believe after you have done it enough in a given car it becomes instinctive, instantaneous and smooth. I have never had to replace a clutch. Bottom-line as JParnes said, test the engagement point and I think you will be surprised at how high it is! I do think as the Porsche owners manual recommends that brakes are for stopping and are cheap and replaceable. Downshifting is overdone and should be used to place the car in the proper gear to exit the corner and not so much to slow it down. Early down shifts at high revs simply cause unnecessary wear on the engine, which is not designed to act as a brake. With the DCT I love the perfect rev matched down shifts but as the corner is approached from high speeds I let the revs drop to around 2000 rpm or even less in each gear (don't watch the tach) before pressing the down paddle until I get to the gear that I want to use on the turn exit, which is not necessarily a very low gear when you have torque from 2 turbos. If you are new to manual shifting just keep doing it. It will become second nature. I'ts like skiing. (And reread JParnes' post too)
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