Do you downshift when city driving?

[Billder]

I have a 83 SC with 160,000 miles that runs great. Is it better not downshift when just tooling around town. Brakes are cheep...

[84porsche]

I drive a lot of back roads to work and downshift when I can but most of the time, clutch and brake to stop usually only from 2nd and 3rd, the lights come to quick.

[the]

only when i'm going to need the lower gear to accelerate.

incessant and needless downshifting is a bad habit.

[Jays72T]

Originally posted by the
only when i'm going to need the lower gear to accelerate.

incessant and needless downshifting is a bad habit.

+1

[rcecale]

Originally posted by the
only when i'm going to need the lower gear to accelerate.

incessant and needless downshifting is a bad habit.

+1

It's easier to change out the brake pads than it is to change out a clutch.

Randy

[sig_a]

I have the (good or bad) tendency to simply coast to a stop at an intersection with the car in neutral, and leave it there until the light changes. I never hold down the clutch at red lights on the theory the less the clutch is engaged, the longer its life.

[KCinBR]

Normal Driving I slide it up into neutral without using the clutch and leave it there untill the light changes. Just slight pressure on the shifter as you back off the gas and it will go into neutral very smoothly.

quick stops from a higher speed I will downshift.

[jester911]

It is not a good idea to use your engine for braking the car either unless in a have to situation. The brakes on these cars are so much better than most other vehicles it is rarely neccesary.

[porschefool]

I'm too scared of backfiring without my pop off installed (even though I never have) so I'm a brake-pad-eatin' fool.

[GrantG]

If you learn to heal-toe and rev-match shift (and even double-clutch occasionally) really well, then there is minimal wear on the clutch. This is not a substitute for braking (which is how to slow the car).

Practicing really smooth downshifting while braking in the city is recommended and will not tax the car.

[911pcars]

If you brake to slow the car, then engine speed drops as well. To avoid lugging the engine if rpm drops sufficiently, you must downshift to bring the engine speed into its proper torque range.

IMHO, double-clutching is the ONLY method to reduce long-term wear of the synchro assemblies on 915 gearboxes. Other type gearboxes may be exempt from this requirement. There is only one method of double-clutching. Rev-match shifting is not equivalent to double-clutching.

Sherwood

[skinnerd]

I am agreeing with Sherwood.

I don't believe you do any excessive wear & tear on your drivetrain, by downshifting to a lower gear when needed.
That said, I don't use the engine compression to really slow the car down....that is what the brakes are for.
But most of these cars like revs....
So I'd rather hear that flat 6 whining along at 3500-4000 rpm behind me, than lugging it at <2000 rpm.
IMHO

So if your road speed/engine revs call for a lower gear....
Get it there.
You'll not hurt your car if you do it properly.

[cmcfaul]

Nothing sounds better then a proper heal-toe down shift :-). Brake, clutch, shift, blip gas with heal while still on the brake, release clutch.

chris
73 911 E

[dickster]

Coasting to a stop in neutral!!! How do you guys get out of an expected situation in a hurry?

I'm no expert but I do know that you should be in a gear to suit speed, road conditions etc.

[DARISC]

+1 What Derwood, Doug, and Chris say.

The engine/gearbox in my SC is my mobile musical instrument (don't got no steenkin' radio!) and I never get tired of practicing. I drive it and play it daily.

I learned to double clutch when I was a kid when 1st gears were not synchronized. I read about the technique in R&T, learned to do it and won a lot of sly, fake-out, begin after shifting into 2nd gear(at usually 15 or 20 mph), drag races by double clutching my old man's '51 Olds Rocket 88 back into first and leaving very surprised looks on the other guy's faces as I squirted past them in 1st as they punched it at nearly lugging rpm in 2nd.

I bought my SC to have fun driving it, not to drive it "sensibly" (I have a Saturn wagon for that sort of utilitarian function).

I'll wear out my SC parts faster than I'll wear out my Saturn parts because I drive it (but not "abuse" it) the way I do.

But, hey!, anything fun costs money, no?

[real550A]

Do you downshift when city driving?

In a word....No.
That said, if you get to know your car (trans.), you can become proficient at double clutching for downshifts and save your synchros a lot of wear. I use this only for reduced
speed situations, not approaching stop signs/lights.

[RichMink76]

Yes, I downshift and heel toe in the process (good practice and its fun).

I am with Rich on this issue. Neutral is not a good place to be when something is coming at you.

Rich

[911pcars]

"Do you downshift when city driving?"

I'm not sure what you're asking. If you're in 4th and you slow down to turn, do you leave it in gear to accelerate, but only in the city? Is that right? If so, then when is it permissible to start off from first or acccelerate from 2nd since the act of shifting from any higher gear is called "downshifting".

At face value, I find the question a little too basic. You must be asking something related. Please expand.

Sherwood

[cmcfaul]

There is offten a multi step process to get the car in 1st gear as we all know. Slight roll, put it into second a couple times, release then engage the clutch again and repeat the above, etc. Not somthing you like to do when you need to get going in a hurry. Just one of the things you learn to love about Porsches.

Chris

[Billder]

Thanks for all the feed back. My question was when coming to a stop.