Posted by Gary Robertson on April 09, 1999 at 15:13:14:
In Reply to: stupid question on shifting posted by Drew on April 07, 1999 at 21:20:43:
Drew, I drove dump trucks in my youth and the truckers don't use the clutch at all.
I agree with accelerating input shaft (engine)speed to output shaft (wheel)speed.
Upshifting is easy, you merely back off to where there is not binding either way
and pop it into the next gear, no clutch and with finese of course. downshifting is
much more difficult but not impossible. A good thing to do is to memorize what
your engine sounds like at the rpm range for shifting in each gear. That way you
know how much to goose the throttle when downshifting. Back off till the trans is not
binding, goose the throttle up to match expected wheel speed (shifing rpm), keep
preasure on the shifter towards your intended gear and slide her in. If you mess
up be ready to double clutch. You can practice with a syncro trans, as you can shift
without the clutch too, and not get in any trouble. Keep practicing, Gary.