SwampThing

Is it good, bad, or what? A friend of mine's gotten me into the habbit of floatin the gears instead of slip shiftin like I used to do (pull it out of gear w/o clutch depressed, then depress clutch and put it into gear), and I gotta admit, it's a whole hell of a lot easier (plus the added benefit of not wearin down the clutch I suppose)...

Now if I could only float 1st gear from a stop, that'd be awesome!

fork

i also do this sometimes so i'd like to know if this is bad or not too

just a 22re

well i did it all the time with my neon when i would race people it just lead up to a lot faster of a shift and i just broke axle after axle never any trany problems

ovrrdrive

When my tranny was going out it got so bad I couldn't get it into third with the clutch so I had to float them. I would clutch 1st to 2nd, then float 3rd, 4th , and 5th.

It's harder to float a lightweight tranny like these as compared to a big truck but it can be done. One missed shift though and the sound alone will make you want to start using the clutch again...

Robrt32

I use my clutch to take off and very seldom ever touch it again...as long as you are not grinding it in gear , i don't see how it hurts.. I picked up the habbit from hauling grain every year

Stomis

I dont get how you can grind gears unless your trying to slap it into gear without clutching in... I know that in the right powerband of the gear it will just want to fall into neutral. I wonder if pulling it out when it doesnt want to go hurts the trans...

KD7NAC_07FJ

If you can mesh the gears smoothly there shouldn't be any issues. I do it all the time on the freeway with my old Suburban but I find it's a bit touchy with the new FJ. The FJ has such a short throw compared to the burban it's almost like I'm not pushing the clutch in anyway

My "Beast" (that's what all my friends call it) is a 3/4 ton Muncie 4 speed low gear manual (you only use three gears for normal driving). Freakin thing is a tank

Howdy

If you are using the clutch to to it into the next gear, then you are really not "floating the gears" Try upshifting and downshifting without using the clutch and really how to "float" It might take you a transmission or two, but you will get the hang of it.

Robrt32

thats what i meant by my post.. I do don't clutch between shifts 90% of the time..

SwampThing

Nah, I was talkin about how I used to shift before I picked up floating. I called it slip shifting because you'd slip it out of gear w/o the clutch and depress it to get it into the next gear. When floatin the gears I never touch the clutch other than for takin off in 1st. Common now, I aint a complete moron

mochester

how does slipping it out of gear w/o the clutch save you any clutch life?

the only thing that wears down your clutch, is after you've put it into gear, and as you start letting your foot off the pedal and giving it gas. thats the only time it is slipping. there is no slip at all when you push in the clutch while its in gear....just push it in quick.

just use your clutch folks, thats what its there for. you may think its cool to be able to say 'look what i can do' when you've got someone in the passenger seat, but it won't be cool when you need a transmission rebuild

bob200587

I had to drive 70 miles with no clutch pressure at all and that was no fun. Its not easy to do either, at least in my 4runner. You have to rev the motor very high to find the right RPM range to get it to fall in.

Downshifting without using the clutch is pretty hard to do...

I use the clutch to take off in 1st. To shift into all other gears, and to downshift. I don't use it to pull the shifter out of a gear. And I almost always downshift.

NPE701

Clutch is usually cheaper to replace than the transmission. =) Use clutch.

SwampThing

Lol aint that the truth... Still though, I dunno how yall float yall's gears, but when I do it, there aint no grindin or anything, it just falls straight into gear. So I don't really see why that would damage any tranny componets. I understand that if you get that horrible grinding noise you're fubar'ing your syncro's (and the only time I ever hear that is when downshifting into 1st at any speed over 10mph...)

Robrt32

If you know how, not a problem, if you don't , use the clutch .......if you are here asking questions best bet is too use the clutch.....lol

Blizzard

Imagine with a diesel like mine that has a retention power than you can get your nose in the glass if you downshift for error instead of upshifting...

David

ovrrdrive

Two words, panic rev.

You just have to rev it up with it in neutral and then as the revs come back down you just apply a little pressure in just the right spot and when the revs match it will click in.

Like I said, I used to do this all the time until I missed a few shifts, really badly. The sound of those gears ringing was enough to break me of this lazy man's habit...

I'll reserve this technique for the big trucks.

Intrepid

I know how to do this, I learned for a while back when I was going to try for my CDL class B, I agree with everyone else, save it for the big trucks. Shifting without the clutch is very easy once you get the hang of it, but as was mentioned, a clutch is easier and cheaper to replace than a tranny.

Stomis

Ahh alright all the kids around here call that power shifting... Something this kid with a Trans Am did to save 1/8 of a second that the clutch would be in when he raced. I'm gonna try it but if it grinds I'm gonna throw the towl in.