Well I'm perty new to the stick thing and had a ? for you pros. What is the proper way to shift around the corner. I was reading in the manual and needed a little more help. I always shift down to second before the corner, but my ? is should you shift down let out the clutch and go around the corner or shift to second and hold in clutch and release and give it gas after the corner?? I know it is kind of a stupid ? but I was just wondering, or theres option 3 like my dad which I dont think is good for the car, leave it in about 3rd in town and just let it bog and slowwly acclerate.

 

well im not a pro and might be 100% wrong but if your talking about a slow casual turn i shift down into 2nd and let the clutch ease out as i turn the corner.

 

Thats kinda what I do, I was just wondering if that is correct. No offense to my dad but I basically taught myslef to drive it, by reading and practice and some watching him but I don't think he drives it right.

 

are you saying i drive like your dad?? I think your ok, but then again maybe were both wrong [sm=smiley20.gif]

 

No you drive like me, my dad drives it in 3rd doing like 15 because he is to LAZY to shift it heheh LOL hes paying for it so o well.

 

NOT downshifting will "lug" your engine and make it work harder since it's lower than the recommended speed for the gear....not a good thing. Downshifting right after you brake and letting the clutch out after you enter the turn/corner is the accepted way of doing it.

Do it before and you risk spinning out. Do it later, and you lose speed.

 

It really depends on how fast you're going when you should shift. Dusty has worded it so well I cannot add any further information. Its just a matter of feel, at least for me. I don't even think what I'm doing anymore.

 

thinking about it now, I downshift before I enter then punch it was I exit the apex. That's just me.....

 

yep... me too

 

to get maximum traction, you need to maintain a constant speed through the turn- deccelerate, and you're splitting traction btn that and turning- accelerate (even worse), and you're splitting the traction for that- actively brake (the WORST option), and you're using gobs of traction for braking, not leaving much to turn with.
there is no best way, of course, because you drive differently for different situations. if you're looking for maximum speed, you accelerate until the last possible moment, then brake in a straight line, downshift while braking, toe the accelerator to match rpms, release the clutch, release the brake, turn to the apex while trying to maintain a constant speed through it, and then accelerate after the apex out of the turn. [sm=sigh.gif]
obviously, this is not how you should drive around your neighborhood- for that type of driving, you're going slow enough that it doesn't really matter how you do it. i prefer a more tame variant of the above method myself.[sm=icon_blah.gif]