Sports Driving Glossary: Gear Shifting - Sports Cars
Sports Driving Glossary: Gear Shifting - Sports Cars
The use of a manual transmission may seem obvious, but in sporty driving it's not that simple.
Nowadays it is rare to find sports cars with Manual Transmission: I paddle behind the wheel, they have become the norm in even the smallest sports cars. The "levers" certainly help in driving, allow the driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel and eliminate the use of the clutch. So they are avoided too locks wheels when lifting (through the bridge block).
But the correct use of the "good old manual" can always come in handy, even when using automatic or sequential transmissions.
How to use a manual transmission
Rules to follow when using Manual Transmission there are not many of them, but they are important:
- Keeping your hands on the steering wheel when not shifting gears is important to maintain maximum control of your vehicle.
- When changing gears, you first remove your right hand from the steering wheel, then depress the clutch, engage the gear, and finally place your right hand back on the steering wheel while releasing the clutch (the fact that the steering wheel makes shifting safer before releasing the clutch).
- Shifting to the correct speed is essential: in naturally aspirated engines, you need to change gears when you are at the top of the rev counter, while in turbo engines, gear changes often increase to use engine torque.
- Downshifting is the most delicate moment: in sports driving, it is necessary to brake hard and then downshift (or several gears) until the vehicle speed is synchronized with the engine speed.
- On rear wheel drive vehicles, a toe-heel technique must be used to avoid blocking the axle and causing oversteer.
- When driving on the highway, the number of gear changes should be kept to the required minimum. The unnecessary changes never pay off; it is often better to "hold" a gear up to the limiter than to put a higher gear for a while and then downshift another one.
