down shifting

just starting out in business, im with trainer but cannot get the proper advice from him, maybe he's letting me swim or drown?

My question is about downshifting at lower speeds, I dont have much problem when i see the turn ahead far enough to get slowed down, but that quarter or eight of a mile isnt always there, and when you are in the city and you have the light catch u just right or unexpected stops i often find myself scrambling for the right gear and usually i find myself in the grind zone.

What advice can u give me for going from say 7 down to 4th at a moments notice as i tend to like that gear for making turns?

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Jun 15, 2018
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Lost in the Gears NEW
by: Anonymous

Some of this information is very helpful. Most website comments, though (here and elsewhere), focus on the technique of shifting (and floating gears). What the newbie is experiencing most often, though, is the difficulty of what to do, if one has to skip one or more gears while downshifting, or, worse, if one gets totally lost in all the gears and needs to find a gear - any gear, in order to recover. Having a rule of thumb about road speeds, as they match specific gears, is helpful. It is seldom discussed and taught, in my experience!

Mar 21, 2017
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down shift NEW
by: Anonymous

My best advice is slow down to 15 mph then press cluch, gas clucth and go to 6th gear.

May 25, 2016
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Shift NEW
by: Anonymous

10 speeds: down shift to neutral at 1100 rev to 1500 clutch shift in to desired gear. Now on lower end gears 5-1 small revs. Use road speed to dictate which gear. A trick I learned...... 15 mph 6 gear. At the speed together 1+5= 6 25 mph 7 gear 2+5 = 7 etc...... Only use 15, 25, 35, 45, 55. For lower gears double the gear. 5+5 = 10 mph 4th would be 8 mph etc... Hope this is useful.

May 12, 2009
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Pain in the ***
by: Anonymous

I feel your pain man. When I was in school I could swear the tranny was going to drop out from all the grinding and slamming we all did to those poor trucks. Makes you wonder where the guy is that invented those transmissions, my guess is probably sippin a mai tai on the beaches of mexico checkin out the perty senoritas. Anyway, this is what we learned in school and maybe it will help and maybe not. Up shifting of course is waaay easier floating. Get your rpms up to around 1100 like jimmy said, off the gas, shift, on the gas. Grab and go. Now down shifting...not so easy. The way they taught us was in mph. Which will match to your rpm's. In a 10 speed I liked 6 to 4 but you can do your own thing. 6 gear was about 20 mph. 4th about 10 mph. What we would do is get down to 20, clutch, neutral, rev rpms to 1100, clutch, down shift. Pain, but thats the way they tought us. They also taught us to upshift, using the same thing kinda. Gas, clutch, neutral, clutch gear. But my buddy told me how to float and I did it while a instructor wasnt paying attention...way easier. Here is the break down on paper. 3rd gear-5mph, 4th-10, 5th-15, increments of 5 all the way up, same as going down. But as far as grinding reving your truck up and then clutching and then going into gear works just gotta get down the timing. Hope this helps man and if you could when you get time let us know whats in store for any rookies out there. I myself am starting next month and would like to have some pointers on what im about to step into. Thanks and be safe out there

May 11, 2009
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Hey, where's the darn clutch on this thing?
by: Jimmy

Welcome aboard. When I was an instructor, saw this "problem" over and over. But fret not, my friend, we'll get you through it. You're grinding 'cause you're not matching road speed with rear end speed. Don't worry about the technical aspects of what I'm trying to say.

Unless you are shifting at the correct RPM's, you're going to grind it. As a newbie, you need to think it through before you act. You need to anticipate possibilities before hand. And you will have about 1 second to do this. As you're approaching an intersection traffic signal controlled with a green light, anticipate the light turning red. If you know you need to turn right at that intersection, then prepare ahead of time. Grab your gear before you start your turn. You're grinding because you are trying to shift too soon. Truck is still at 7th gear speed and you're trying for 4th. G-R-I-N-D. And you think you are in your 4 wheeler where you can just zip thru that turn. Remember, Pardner, you be driving a big truck, things in a big truck are in slow motion. Such as starting out from a stop, shifting gears, backing up, changing lanes. A big mistake for newbies is adapting to a truck from a 4 wheeler. I'm sure you already figured out that shifting an 18 wheeler is a tad slower that shifting your Toyota, right?

So visualize with me this scene. You're coming off the off ramp and you know you're turning right, so get your road speed way down to about 15mph still in 7th gear, then shift into 4th gear, but be sure you're at about 1000-1100 RPM's. Remember, if you're coasting while approaching your turn, your RPM's are waaaay down there around 700. No can shift. And of course, you need to shift slower, remember big truck, not Toyota.

So to sum it up, upshift at 1000-1100 RPM and downshift at 1000-1100 RPM. Depending on your equipment, these shift ranges could be higher. But to learn, try what I told you and let me know.

Re-read this post and when you have time and lots of room, practice, practice, practice. Also, observe your trainer when he's driving and eyeball the RPM's and his shifting. Learn every damn aspect of this biz. Jimmy

May 11, 2009
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oh no
by: Anonymous

dont use the clutch except to start and stop, then concentrate on the feel of the gear and the sound of the engine rpm, bump the trottle to get out of gear, then gently raise the rpm while lightly pushing or pulling the shifter into the next gear, feel the teeth bumping each other as the speed of the gears match up, rub em till you get the feel, dont jam or grind with excessive rpm, two steps not one, meaning pause between the gears, then slide it in , hope that makes sense

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