Stick shift yaaaugh

[Ivan Petrovich]

Hey all,

I bought my first car with a standard tranny last week. It's an 07 Mazda3 GT hatchback and I'm loving it. I have some questions that perhaps you can answer.

First off, I am getting the hang of down-shifting and rev matching. Would you suggest using the engine to slow down, or to pop into neutral and use the brake? Or perhaps to stay in gear, and shift into neutral only when coming to a stop? I am curious, because with an auto transmission, theoretically, the computer should downshift for you as you the brakes are applied, should it not? This would minimize brake wear. Alternatively, brakes are designed to be replaced and cost less than replacing a clutch, etc.

Secondly, is it critical to learn the heel-and-toe method of slowing down and shifting down at the same time while rev matching? For example, I find myself struggling to decide what to do when coming to an off-ramp from the highway. Should I rev match and down shift from 5-4, then 4-3, or use the brake and down shift at the same time, or just use the brake and then down shift?

I welcome all advice. Cheers.

[Berzerker]

The first piece of advise I will give you is to learn to spell the word BRAKES.

Berz out.

[Ivan Petrovich]

Thanks Berz.

[see.lai]

^

[XplicitLuder]

i pop it into neutral and just use my brakes to slow down until i stop (thats if im coming to a stop) but if you gotta downshift to a lower gear because you have slowed down then that's kinda obvious. The reason i do what i do, regarding my first sentence, is because in my eyes, changing break pads are cheaper then changing trannies.

[mb_]

My car isn't manual but I pop it into neutral when I'm at a light. Gear down when I'm slowing down but won't come to a complete stop.

Edit: I pop it into neutral when I'm driving a car that's manual.

Edit 2: I drive an auto and keep it in DRIVE at all times. I work at a dealership where there's more manual than autos which is what I was trying to say lol!

[Energy]

Hmm most of time I go into neutral and use my brakes when coming to a stop.

[Ivan Petrovich]

Thanks guys, good to get some perspective.

Any of you do the heel-and-toe method around corners? Or just brake and down shift right after?

[radioman]

Just brake and down shift until you can Heel toe.

I can't heel toe in my car FML

[rJZx]

^No point of doing heel toe on the street IMO

[Energy]

When approaching a corner and just driving normally I'll brake and downshift to a lower gear and then take the turn. Heel toe isn't really necessary, I only do that when driving in a spirited manner.

[sonick]

Originally Posted by ilmatic

^No point of doing heel toe on the street IMO

Agreed, there really is no reason you'd need to heel-toe regularly when driving off the track.

[mb_]

I only heel toe when I want to feel like a racecar driver

[Energy]

Oh btw props to you OP for getting a manual.

[ryugeeh]

Heel toe is a bitch on the mazda3 since the accelerator pedal sits way further back then the brake.

[bloodmack]

I usually down shift/rev match and let the engine slow me down, then brake when i get close to the stopping point.

for example, doing 60 km/h coming to a red light I'll down shift and let it slow down to like 40-30 km and then push the brakes til fully stopped.

[twitchyzero]

i heel toe only when I drive tiptronic

[GGnoRE]

I only heel and toe to slow down and downshift while going down steep hills.

Also, you shouldn't get into a habit of coasting your car in neutral. You should stay in gear until very low speed.

[gdoh]

downshift when being tailgated

[Ivan Petrovich]

Originally Posted by gdoh

downshift when being tailgated

lol.. that will show 'em.

@GGnoRE: I know what you mean. When stopped at a light though, people recommend shifting into neutral. Though, if someone rear-ends the vehicle, one could go into the intersection. Keeping in first with the clutch depressed is bad for the spring, I hear.

I guess a lot of this stuff is intuition/situational, and comes with practice.

[lowda9]

I downshift gears when slowing down and then use the brakes when i have to. It helps to save your brakes. But when i come to a stop then eventually will shift into neutral.

[Fafine]

don't really need to learn heel toe.
Practice rev match, and shifting smoothly

[DiiCii]

i only down shift if i need to go to a slower speed or need to stop asap.

+1 to heel-toe for when you feel like driving a race car LOL.. dat backfire

[snowball]

You would still brake after downshifting even at a low rpm, you won't stall until you're almost stopped. Never travel at a high speed in neutral, anything above 10km/h you should still be in gear. Shift into neutral when you're just about stopped. And heal-toe is not necessary at your stage

[z3german]

^+1

always downshift and use brakes without clutch in. When rpms get low just downshift more and continue breaking. If im coming to a stop that i expect i get to 2nd gear then when under 10km/h (its practically near stopping) i will clutch in and neutral. If its a stop thats a little more unexpected and aggressive like a sudden red light or someone goes a little too far in front of me turning right i can down shift properly until about 3rd. My friend can get up to 2nd but he drive a lot so hes got a lot of practice. Just practice practice practice!

If it hasnt been mentioned you want to ideally always stay in gear so you can hit the gas in an event of an emergency that might require you to hit the gas. If you shift neutral and brake you will have to spend that extra thinking power in an emergency situation of finding a gear which many times is impossible for it to be smooth in comparison to downshifting constantly.