Feather the Clucth

Sorry if this is a stupid question but what does feather the clucth mean??? and how is it done...

Feathering is basically riding the clutch to prevent wheel spin @ high RPM launches.

hey, no question is too stupid on af... :biggrin:

but seriously, all it means is that u let the clutch out slowly until ur tires grip an then u dump it (in a race).

for daily driving, if someone says that, then its jus driving so the clutch work is smooth w/ out the jerk....

Speaking of that, is there anyway to get so good at shifting that when you bring someone in the car who's not use to riding in a stick everyday, they don't lean forward and then jolt back everytime you shift. I personally think IM pretty smooth, but obviously not enough. I feel bad sometimes.

Speaking of that, is there anyway to get so good at shifting that when you bring someone in the car who's not use to riding in a stick everyday, they don't lean forward and then jolt back everytime you shift. I personally think IM pretty smooth, but obviously not enough. I feel bad sometimes.

Practice driving smoothly . . . . .let the clutch out slower w/ more gas
Who cares how the passenger feels, if they dont like it let them get their own ride.

if you drive slower it is easier, because think about it, if your hossing it, your acclerating quickly, so is there body, push in the clutch and no more power ot accelerate the car, but they still kep going somewhat and lean forward, then in the next gear they go back again, one time my dog was in the car and I wsnt thinking, took it to redline in 2nd, and when i pushed in the clutch her nose went all the way to the crevice betwen winshield and dash, kinda felt sory for the ol girl.

SO all i do is release clucth slowly and when i feel the car got grip i jus pop it and floor the gas???

and when downshifting exp: im goin 65 in 5th gear and wanna downshift to 3rd i gotta downshift to 4th den to 3rd right...if dat rite and anyone tell me how it is done rite???

Im new to the 5 speed also. I was curious... Will this wear out the clutch faster?

-Mike

I dont think its bad for it but im not sue but I always go straight from 5th-3rd, just rev the engine up to where you think it wil eb when you let out the clutch, and then it will be alot smoother of a downshift than if you just went to 3rd, let out the clutch and then floor it. I got my civic down to where anytime I downshift I just blip the throttle and it puts the RPMS right where they need to be and even if i drop the clutch the car doesnt shake at all.

No need for the clutch except for 1st/reverse gears.

Its hard to describe driving techniques . . . for me at least.
You dont pop the clutch when feathering, the whole point is acceleration with no wheel spin. Basically controlling acceleration with the clutch instead of throttle . Thats the best I can do.

No need for the clutch except for 1st/reverse gears.

Its hard to describe driving techniques . . . for me at least.
You dont pop the clutch when feathering, the whole point is acceleration with no wheel spin. Basically controlling acceleration with the clutch instead of throttle . Thats the best I can do.

Could you elaborate on the no need for a clutch. I've seen my dad with a class A license do it, but I myself would rather not. Im curious how its done though.

Every thing must go perfectly for shift w/ no clutch to work, other wise you get a nice grind. 3rd to 4th or 4th to 5th are the easiest to learn, also for down shift.
While your cruising @ speed - time for gear change - pull from gear to neutral while adjusting throttle so there is no resistnace when pulling from the gear - split second neutral - then shift to next gear - back on gas

Down shift - rev match in neutral before shifting

Don't try to pull or slam the gears - it should go very smoothly if done properly, smother than with the clutch IMO.

I cant explain - its easier to show some one

I got my bug in first with no clutch a cople times, I just had to push it and get it rolling and at like 5 I just tap the gas and push and it goes in. and the way i was showed to up shift was the way you said it but not leaving it in neutral for a second but putting a bit of presure in the next gesar and when it was ready it always just popped in, is this bad for anything, and on the downshift the same way, rev it above where you think and give slight pressure, even if i was F'ing up my cars I dotn own any of them anymore that I did this on :evillol:

You shouldn't do that in 1st or even downshift to 1st while moving - a few MPH's is ok. If it goes smoothly, you did it right - its about the timing.

jackasssi, is this at all bad for the tranny? clutchless-shifting, i am anxious to try it. :iceslolan

Its not bad if done right, just remember your trans was not built for it to be done over and over again. The clutch is there for a reason.

I'm sure the 1st many times you try your gonna get a wonderful grind. I taught myself in cars that weren't mine, brand new BMW's when I was a porter back in the day:bigthumb:


www.racingschools.com for pro instruction

well if you don't do it properly then the synchros can be damaged. It is rather easy to do though but you really have to completly understand what you are doing. Try to find someone who knows how to do it and get thew to show you first before tring it. But if you doi try it then be sure to stop putting pressure on the shifter if you get a grind, if you get a grind you either waited too long to put it into gear or tried to go to fast or the engine is at the wrong rpm. This is something that is developed and becomes second nature. If you are not completely confident in what you are doing then I would suggest that you don't do it. Or try it a few time driving slow. Try going from 4 to 5 at about 45mph or so. I fyou cannot seem to do it after a couple of tries then just quit while you are ahead.

thanks guys. yes i did try it. i grinded like a fool-actually i just tapped the gear, i didnt really grind. i still want to know how to do it though.

i just got home from work, and guess what... i clutchless shifted perfectly. i think it took me 3-4 tries to get it right. immediately after i upshifted, i downshifted! i was surprised, and i am happy now. just like jackasssi said, it is smoother than the clutch. thanks for teaching me

I take NO responsibility if you fuck some thing up! Becareful on the down shifts - there is no Rev-limiter for downshifts besides a quick reaction by the driver- neutral or press clutch in that case.

Use at your own risk - http://www.driftsession.com/drift_techniques/heeltoeshifting.htm

When I worked for Honda so many people bent valves due to over-rev on down shifts. S2000 people popped a few engines from 6th to 3rd shifts. Also people not used to the goofy shifter in the new Si's would shift into the wrong gear & bend valves. One chick did it with only 300 miles . . . .go figure

I take NO responsibility if you fuck some thing up! Becareful on the down shifts - there is no Rev-limiter for downshifts besides a quick reaction by the driver- neutral or press clutch in that case.

Use at your own risk - http://www.driftsession.com/drift_techniques/heeltoeshifting.htm

When I worked for Honda so many people bent valves due to over-rev on down shifts. S2000 people popped a few engines from 6th to 3rd shifts. Also people not used to the goofy shifter in the new Si's would shift into the wrong gear & bend valves. One chick did it with only 300 miles . . . .go figure

yeup, my buddy did it in his type r, an another did it in his 00 gts.

its pretty easy to do i guess...jus learn ur car well enough an u should avoid things like that.

sounds like those ppl didn't realize the length of their gears an then tried to go too low...sigh...

I actually had a dream that I was clutchless shifting. Strange though, because it's not even that big a deal to me, I still haven't tried it. What do you mean bend valves by over reving on the downshift? Say Im gonna drop to 2nd going 30, I'll rev to like 3500. You mean reving to like 7,000 is bad right? And as for shifting too low, if I was on the highway going 70, and all of a sudden I wanted power and dropped to like 2nd, thats obvioulsy gonna totally pass the 8k redline? These are the bad things your referrng too right? Sorry if these are stupid, and I know they're bad, but I want to make sure they're the same things you're talking about.

An over-rev can be caused from missing a shift or downshifting into the wrong gear, say 6th to 2nd @ 80MPH or something stupid like that. The force on the trans turns to motors & when in the wrong gear you can over-rev pretty badly.

You could do more damage than just bending valves! Put a valve through the top of a piston, lol thats always a good thing.

When your downshifting you want to rev-match to the next gear - raise the engine speed(RPM's) to match that of the next gear selection during the neutral pass. You never just want to downshift & put all the strain on the engine, its actually puts tons of pressure on the input shaft bearing.

just wondering why you would do clutchless shifting..whats the advantage,,aooarently not for racing...if u dont wanna shift get an automatic...anyine have an explanation?

Not using the clutch makes shifting smoother/quicker, if done right. 85% of my down shifts on the track are without the clutch and I'd say 30% upshifts with no clutch. Who ever said anything about not wanting to shift????????? Proper shifting is the whole point.

Also if you don't use the clutch, it doesn't wear as much . . . .

Also if you don't use the clutch, it doesn't wear as much . . . .


Your right about that man. The way I learned is when my car in college
(87 dodge charger) lost it's clutch, I drove it like that for six months because I had no money to fix it. I just reved that p.o.s real high to get it into first while the clutch was engaged and then let it out slowly, got rolling and just applied enough pressure into the next gear while the revs were falling that it would just slip into gear. Downshifting I would blip the gas and pull it out of gear and apply the same force to get into the next lower gear. Just like having sex. Gently apply force until the input shaft slips into the gear. :naughty: Too much and it'll grind and she'll force you out!