Anyone ever downshift to 1st on tight turns at slow speed?

[Gokwi]

I heard when driving manual, it is not smart to downshift to 1st gear, sadly, I can only just drive my NSX casually, but not race it (Double cluthcing, downshifting, etc. but maybe I'm just too scared to do that to my baby ~_~ I know I got alot to learn.
But the Top Gear review video, it said that you can easily shift to 1st gear on a very tight turn
I only down shift to 2nd gear if I have to, but usually I will just shift to neutral to slow down on a turn, stay on 2nd gear and slow down, and accelerate back up
I know downshifting is very good for slowing down fast, but would you rather pay for your clutch and your tranny, or just pay for the brakes?
Please comment

 

[nicholas421]

it's not even possible to shift down to first at speeds over 5mph (or thereabouts).
at least that was the case with my old '96 and my current '91.



[This message has been edited by nicholas421 (edited 18 November 2002).]

 

[Gokwi]

hey
look at the top gear video and listen to what he says after he drives the NSX out of the House, and through the gates
http://www.stevesig.net/cars/Top_Gear_Videos/Top_Gear-Honda_NSX.asf

and thats what he said

 

[ChopsJazz]

It is entirely possible, and sometimes desirable, to downshift to first in tight corners if you blip the throttle to match the engine revs. First can be reached in a downshift at any speed up to near redline, or about 45 mph. If you can't, perhaps your synchros are bad.

As far as shifting into neutral in a corner, DON"T! [Quote: I know downshifting is very good for slowing down fast] And don't use the engine to slow down, as a rule: Slow down with the brakes, accelerate with the engine.

 

[RacerX-21]

Chopsjazz is right, it can be done. Most road courses wont bring you to 1st gear, but it can be done if necessary. At Texas Motor Speedway the instructors put in a tight chicane at the end of the tri-straight, to prevent us from reaching full speed. I tried 1st a couple of times to keep the rpm up, but since it required an immediate shift I figured 2nd was faster.

Rob

 

[Gokwi]

Originally posted by ChopsJazz:
It is entirely possible, and sometimes desirable, to downshift to first in tight corners if you blip the throttle to match the engine revs. First can be reached in a downshift at any speed up to near redline, or about 45 mph. If you can't, perhaps your synchros are bad.

As far as shifting into neutral in a corner, DON"T! [Quote: I know downshifting is very good for slowing down fast] And don't use the engine to slow down, as a rule: Slow down with the brakes, accelerate with the engine.

I shift into neutral before I go into the turn, and use my break while turning.
Yea I know I'm not suppose to use the engine for slowing down, but incase of a emergency, like a sudden stop, it is best to down shift into a lower gear and break, then shifting to neutral(or holding the clutch) and breaking, right?

Oh well, rarely anyone downshifts to 1st while driving casually..

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

There's no reason to leave it in neutral. Keeping the car in gear and clutch engaged will allow you to apply power to the rear wheels to increase rear traction in case of rear slip.

Cheers,
-- Chris

------------------
Revolutionize your NSX with ScienceofSpeed
www.ScienceofSpeed.com | [email protected] | 877-863-4520

 

[Soichiro]

Gowki - downshifting and double clutching have nothing to do with racing. As far as being scared to 'treat your baby' like that you make no sense - these procedures don't hurt the car, in fact when done correctly they can extend the life of the mechanicals. With all due respect you shouldn't be trying to figure out high performance driving skills by watching a video - go to a school and get some first hand experience. There are excellent schools held by the NSXCA, the BMW CCA and others.

 

[Smoothaccel]

Gowki, I down shift to 1st all the time sometimes from 30MPH and I have been doing it for three years now. I had my tranny rebuilded a few days ago and all the gears were perfect (absolutely no visible wear and all the syncros were wery close to perfect condition according to my mechanic. The reason I had my tranny worked on though is beacuse I added short gears and I found out that my tranny was in the snap ring range.

Critical, there is a mechanism that prevents you from downshifting to 1st so do not force it. First, you have to match the revs to what the car would be revving if it was first gear then the syncros will line up and the gear goes in easily. Blip it!