Been doing some research into how to get the best from the Diesel engine in my Vrs, as coming from a petrol im inclined to rev it pretty hard :thumbdwn: I know the basics, like keep it below 4k rpm and feed on the throttle not just jab at it, but looking for a few more tips to enhance my enjoyment.

Anyway I read on another website that you shouldn't lift your foot from the accelerator whilst changing gear, now i can see the principle of keeping the turbo spinning, but surely when you release the clutch it will be revving faster and so will lead to the clutch wearing quicker? Any ideas on this?

The other thing i saw was Clutch-less gear changes... WTF! How does that work? Surely the clutch was put there for a reason? Intrigued by this one!

Any ideas or tips greatly received.

Matt

I couldnt believe that you could do clutch-less gear change, ive never done it but my driving instructor proved it to me in his fabia tdi. Id also love to know how it wrks but i dont think ill try it in my new Fabia VRS, untill i know how it works.

And i believe it would wear the clutch out faster, ive done it in the vans at wrk but at the end of the day the vans not mine and iam not bothered if it breaks but it does keep the power there.

Clutchless gear changes are all about being at the right revs for the speed your doing and the gear you are changing into. Possible and my boss used to drive our van without the clutch all the time. I would recommend it though as its easy to go wrong and cant be healthy for the clutch.

Get it remapped. You'll be able to drive it a lot more quickly then

clutchless gear changes on a change up is very very very easy...in the courtesy cars ive had any revs past 1 and half thousand revs then just slot it in..... on a change down the other hand alot harder... matching revs with speed i believe but even so it was hard to do so....arent the policed trained to do it as it takes out the time in which you have to put the clutch down and bringing it back up.

gtjunior it doesnt wear the clutch ie though clutchless gear changing... only thing it will knack is your gear box and ive been quoted by a agrage that u if u do it day in and day out then you looking at a new box between 3-6 months :eek: whenever you get a courtesy car give it a try

--ho

How the hell is it possible to change gears without pressing the clutch?? Isn't it also bad for the gears??I've never tried it and I don't think I will, it sounds very unhealthy to me.

How the hell is it possible to change gears without pressing the clutch?? Isn't it also bad for the gears??I've never tried it and I don't think I will, it sounds very unhealthy to me.

yes it is unhealthy........ ermm.. would u like me to take a video of me doing it? i cannot promise a change down but a change up no problem

Does it make the KKRRRRR sound everytime you do it?

Am I right in thinking that official 0-60 times are done with clutchless gear changes?

Learners seem to be the best at clutchless gear changes.

I've been able to put the car into neutral without using the clutch by matching the revs, but never been able to select a gear without the clutch.

I'm still ale to do up changes and switch down into neutral without the clutch but found myself doing it on the Octy one or twice so i've knocked that on the head. No good for the gearbox. Used to be able to go from 2nd right though to 5th and back down again without the clutch or crunching in my mkII Astra but it wasn't easy to master (and no it wasn't an automatic).

....and lets be honest, it's not like our vRS's are McLaren F1 cars is it. Yes they are quick, but lets not get carried away eh??

#If you learned to drive with a "crash" box you would know how to do clutchless gear changes both up and down the box

its easy once you know how, its all about matching revs to speed, get it right and it will fall into gear get it wrong an yer in deep shyte:rofl:

to change down, knock it out of gear, blip the throttle and apply a bit of pressure tothe gear leave and you will find it will slide into gear when the revs match the speed, at first it will clunk a bit, but the more proficient you get at it, the better and easier it becomes

to change up again knock it out of gear, let revs drop a little as you apply pressure to the gear leaver an it will go in gear

dont apply too much pressure though for either, you will knacker gearbox

clutchless works great on bikes going up box, but the design of the bike box is different ...

.. but if you watch all the top competition drivers in rallying / racing in the day s pre auto clutches, the ALL used the clutch to change , except a few Scandinavians in Minis in the sixties ...........

If its good enough for them ..............

#If you learned to drive with a "crash" box you would know how to do clutchless gear changes both up and down the box

its easy once you know how' date=' its all about matching revs to speed, get it right and it will fall into gear get it wrong an yer in deep shyte:rofl:

to change down, knock it out of gear, blip the throttle and apply a bit of pressure tothe gear leave and you will find it will slide into gear when the revs match the speed, at first it will clunk a bit, but the more proficient you get at it, the better and easier it becomes

to change up again knock it out of gear, let revs drop a little as you apply pressure to the gear leaver an it will go in gear

dont apply too much pressure though for either, you will knacker gearbox[/quote']

And here we have the best seller 'How to destroy your gearbox'.

#If you learned to drive with a "crash" box you would know how to do clutchless gear changes both up and down the box

its easy once you know how' date=' its all about matching revs to speed, get it right and it will fall into gear get it wrong an yer in deep shyte:rofl:

to change down, knock it out of gear, blip the throttle and apply a bit of pressure tothe gear leave and you will find it will slide into gear when the revs match the speed, at first it will clunk a bit, but the more proficient you get at it, the better and easier it becomes

to change up again knock it out of gear, let revs drop a little as you apply pressure to the gear leaver an it will go in gear

dont apply too much pressure though for either, you will knacker gearbox[/quote']

Its actually very easy, as the man says you need to match the engine speed, road speed etc and the box will actually pull the lever in with just a light pressure applied by you. i've been doing it for years it will have no reall ill effect on your gearbox if you dont try and force the lever in, it should just snick itself in with the lightest of pressure. if you get it wrong it will crunch slightly, just use the clutch then!!

It most certainly isn't a fast way of changing gear though, it is a lazy way!! you wont win any races using the clutch-less method as you must wait for the revs to either drop to the correct speed for the next higher gear, or rev up to the speed for the next lower gear. usually its about 1000rpm either direction.

A mate didn't believe me that I could drive his car without using the clutch at all, untill his cable snapped 30 miles away from home! he phoned me up so I went and met him, he drove my car home and I drove his - he just couldnt understand how I could appear to be driving so normally with a broken clutch cable - its simple really though, with the vehicle stationary you select 1st gear and start the car in gear appling some accelerator, pull away and drive using the clutch-less technique, if you have to stop at traffic lights - take out of gear, turn engine off, select first, when lights change start car again and pull away, it chugs a bit when starting in gear but works fine.

Reminds me of another trick actually, ever broken down and needed to push the car out of the road? why go to all the hard work of getting out and pushing? just put the car in 1st (or reverse) and drive it on the starter motor holding the key in the start position!! slow but gets you out the way.

but if you watch all the top competition drivers in rallying / racing in the day s pre auto clutches, the ALL used the clutch to change , except a few Scandinavians in Minis in the sixties ...........

Sorry but i beg to differ, many drivers that use a dog box dont use the clutch, not just for speed but it also enables them to left foot brake whilst comming down the box ..........................but it is a work of art to do propperly at speed.

However the only benefit on the road would be to get you home if the clutch went.

As for not lifting whilst changing gear ....... lol

Rather than getting carried away with crash box techniques, why not just 'toe & heel' it when braking on corners etc.?

John.

And here we have the best seller 'How to destroy your gearbox'.

and here speak the voice of experience:rofl:

When I was learning to drive my dad told me about cluthchless gear changes. Used to do it in my chinquecento and then 1984 Corrolla but haven't tried it in any of my fabias.

As mentioned it it very easy given a bit of practice but takes a fair bit of concentration and can be time consuming/slow

As far as changing gear without lifting the throttle - I do it the whole time when I have a 1.2 loan car!!!!!

#If you learned to drive with a "crash" box you would know how to do clutchless gear changes both up and down the box

its easy once you know how' date=' its all about matching revs to speed, get it right and it will fall into gear get it wrong an yer in deep shyte:rofl:

to change down, knock it out of gear, blip the throttle and apply a bit of pressure tothe gear leave and you will find it will slide into gear when the revs match the speed, at first it will clunk a bit, but the more proficient you get at it, the better and easier it becomes

to change up again knock it out of gear, let revs drop a little as you apply pressure to the gear leaver an it will go in gear

dont apply too much pressure though for either, you will knacker gearbox[/quote']

.....therefore, is it really worth it:confused:

Hi

Clutchless gearchanges are easy enough, but not as quick as using the clutch if you dont want to knacker your gearbox. You need to let the engine slow down when changing up. Whith a clutchless change and a heavy flywheel, you wait forever for the revs to drop 1st to 2nd. I find it much better to clutch down and "soak up" the excess revs by feeding the clutch just a little as second goes in. Only time I would or ever have used it (including racing both bikes and cars) is when the clutch cable has let go.

Heel and toeing (to match the revs coming down the box) does not work on the vRS and niether does left foot braking (to keep the boost up into corners). Tried both, when the brake light comes on the fuel is cut by the ECU. Just get on the gas a little earlier than you would in a naturally aspirated car. Provided you are around 2000rpm, lag is not really a problem, not like old school press, wait for it, wait for it...... whooosh era cars.

For getting the best out of the vRS, I find that generally, working quickly through the box changing up between 3000 and 3500 rpm using nearly full throttle gives fast relaxed progress. You really dont gain much by going to 4000rpm. I even let the relaxed attitude take over and change up 2500 - 3000 sometimes and am still going plenty quickly. Sometimes feels slower at the top of 5th than in 6th in the fat of the torque, but I need to get the stopwatch on that to confirm.

Chris

and here speak the voice of experience:rofl:

:rofl:

and here speak the voice of experience:rofl:

No no...for me it is 'how you messed up your differential without knowing it'....

That, my friend, was a manufacturing defect

However the only benefit on the road would be to get you home if the clutch went.

If the clutch goes it's invariably the plates being too worn to transmit drive - this won't help you at all in that case.