Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Power Shifting

I've heard of people doing this when they drive, but I never much cared about it - seemed like something guys that really like racing or whatever do. I have always driven a standard (I prefer it), but I have never tried the whole power shift thing. Which is to say you get the car in the exact right acceleration or deceleration to shift gears without the use of the clutch.

Yesterday I accidentally did it! And I have to say it was pretty cool. I was decelerating to go over a bump, and was holding the shifter, but hadn't yet put in the clutch to change gears (and wasn't really planning on down shifting either). I hit the bump which made my hand bump the shifter and down shift correctly into the lower gear sans clutch. It was pretty cool. It effortlessly went into gear (you know no screeching noise you would normally hearing when trying to shift without the clutch) and I kept right on driving. Now I may need to attempt this again. It could get ugly.

1 comment:

Moah said...

I did that too.. just once. it was super cool. I don't think I hit a bump. I just shifted without realizing I had no clutch in and it went in and I was like what just happened?
I doubt I will reattempt it. speaking of manuals, I saw your earlier post about heel heights and relearning the sweet spot. I have a pair of driving shoes. I kid you not. Its much better than having a jerky ride every time I wear a different pair of shoes.