BKL

Hi guys,

I recently attended a tracking school, and came across a small question.

My instructors that day told me that on the track, it is desirable to shift as smooth as possible, so that the car's balance will not be upset. This means no dropping the clutch between shifts and no "superman-fast" shifts. Also, the instructor mentioned that by dropping the clutch at redline will induce more clutch slip which in turn cancells out the time reduction from shifting incrediably fast.

However, on the other hand, I have heard from my buddies that if one does not drop clutch when at redline on the track, the clutch will be worn out faster. The logic is that at high rpms, if one allows the clutch to slip, then there is a lot of wear. So, he says it is desirable to drop clutch on every shift, which consequently makes the car "jerK" in doing so.

These two theories both make sense, so I am confused as to which one to practice.

Any help is much appreciated.

mikegarrison

Smooth is faster than quick. Any reference you will read will agree with your instructors -- sometimes you need to slow down what you are doing inside the car to speed up the car on the outside.

In fact, panic shifting (just shifting too damn fast) is the driving flaw I have the toughest time fixing in my own driving.

You definitely do not want to make the car "jerk". That's a good way to end up eating a concrete wall.

The perfect shift is one in which you have let the revs match so the car doesn't feel the difference between clutch disengaged and clutch engaged. That's also the easiest on the clutch and the tranny and the engine and the diff.

BKL

Thanks mike for the quick reponse.

However, when you let the revs match upon doing an upshift, wouldn't you have to wait for a long time?

E.g shifting from 1st to 2nd at 9000rpm. Wouldn't you have to wait unti the rev comes back down to around 7000rpm range to get that smooth shift?

Or, do you recommend modulating the clutch to get that smooth upshift?

Thanks

Raymund

There's no need to modulate the clutch for upshift Just good old timing. Shift at the right speed and engine and gear rpm will match when you engage the clutch.

and don't worry about the 1 and 2 shift. Thats only used in the pits.

Ek9

You've also got to factor in where you're shifting. If you're in a corner and need to shift up, it's got to be smooth. If you accelerating down a straight, it doesn't really matter.

I don't concern myself with clutch wear, it's a consumable item like brake pads. I don't consider track driving to be particularly hard on the clutch though.