I passed over 11 years ago and started rev matching about 5 or 6 years ago, but I often get it wrong, so I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one and that someone as experienced as you still occasionaly does too!
Same here, it's not always perfect but when it is I'm smiling like a crazy person behind the wheel. That's the joy of a manual for me. Every time it's a perfect shift or launch, it's me and not the car that's done that for me.
I love rev matching when I downshift. It's very easy for me and natural. I just give the throttle a blip and obviously blip abit more if I'm downshifting say from 4th to 2nd to take a corner
I must have watched all of your videos about Rev match-smooth downshift-how to change gears smoothly-heel & toe-double clutching, but despite this and even though I already know and practise all this driving techniques, I'm always amazed and hooked by your words. You are a point of reference for driving, as a driving instructor and especially as a car enthusiast. I owe all my knowledge and skill about driving to you. Thank you.
I passed my test yesterday with 1 minor on observation to junction. Your videos have helped me understand driving with a new mindset of being ‘safe’. Thank you! I will remember you my entire life, please continue helping others. You are making a difference!
I learned rev match and heel and toe from your older video. Also my sim racing setup was very helpful with that. I firstly learned how to do proper heel and toe with a virtual h pattern racecar because it is crucial there, otherwise you will have a hard time on corner entry. After that I tried it in my real car. Rev matching without braking was learned rather quickly but heel and toe took me lots of practice. But now I can say that I am able to do it quite well. It adds also lot more fun to my daily commute drives. Thanks for that!
@@oliver.gilbertyes this definitely, can heel toe on my sim setup but can't really do it irl bc my foot can't really reach the throttle unless I'm applying the brakes heavily ( which i would rather not practice on the road, maybe on a track if i ever end up on one)
@@oliver.gilberttrue, when my dad has a few too many drinks and asks me to drive his w203 C220 CDI, i always try to heel and toe just to never find the gas unless im breaking too much for the ocasion, mercedes put the gas too low on that car and it feels like shit
@@jaygaspar1565You could probably take the practice to an empty parking lot or just any large empty space that won't endanger anybody. Cheaper than going to a track day just to practice heel toeing. In fact, you might also have prepared yourself to actually put the skill to use if you have the interest to go for track days.
BRUH. I got my license and they fr didn't teach me how to downshift. I thought it was the same as going up a gear. No wonder every time I did it the car launched forward. These vids are GOATED.
Yeah, same. We would upshift, up, up, up, stop at the crossroad, and start from the beginning. After passing my test I drove my dad's car with my dad and he would get pissy at me for making the car jump during downshifting but I had no idea how to do it properly. A figured it out naturally over time, but ur right, they didnt teach me.
I admittedly have at times been using the clutch to help me slow down (albeit only when already braking usually from 60 to 30 zones). It then occurred to me last night that it might cause extra wear on the clutch. That's why even after having passed my test 18 years back I find it helpful to watch videos like these to find ways I can still improve my driving and hopefully address any bad habits I may have developed!
What I find key about your explanation is that you teach to hold the clutch pedal at the bite point until the speed of the engine matches the speed of the road, and you teach how to judge that using the tac or by sound. What some instructors would tell you is to hold the clutch at the bite point for 4-5 seconds, which will achieve the same effect in some situations, but cause the downshift to be jerky in others. Not only that, it doesn't give the learner the understanding of what is happening and why they are holding the clutch in the first place. The same with moving off - you don't hold the clutch for three car lengths, you hold it as long as it takes the engine speed to match the road speed yet again. Same with stopping - you don't declutch two car lengths before stopping, it's different in every car and gear. You declutch when the engine speed drops to idle and so on. Your explanation is the only correct one. So thank you for your contribution to proper driver education made accessible to millions!
Thanks Artem, it sounds like you know how a transmission works. Basic advice can help a learner move and stop a car successfully, but a deeper understanding can take their driving to another level.
Rev matching is optional when decelerating (heel and toe), but when you want to accelerate it becomes a necessity, otherwise, you will slow down. And the lower the gear/higher revs the more you will do so while wearing out the clutch. Yes, the clutch is designed to rev-match the engine, but not from idle to the red line - that might even overheat the clutch if done a couple of times.
@@BURN-ADDiCT I'm glad you've found my comment useful. No, "riding the clutch" is a term I've heard being used in two scenarios: most often when you keep your left foot on the clutch pedal, kinda using it as a footrest when driving, or when you're going slow in traffic say 2-3 km/h and since 1st at idle makes you go 5 km/h but you want to go 2-3 km/h then you keep the clutch pressed to the bite-point to regulate the speed or keep the car from rolling back. In traffic, imo it's a better practice to accelerate using just the clutch and then press it back into the floor, and when you slow down then repeat. Although I think at 2-3 km/h it doesn't make a big difference. In general, when you have the clutch at the bite-point - there is friction, if you press the clutch to the floor you disconnect the flywheel from the clutch and there is no friction, and similarly when you have your foot off the clutch then the clutch is "glued" to the flywheel and therefore also no friction. The more friction the more heat wear etc. I hope you can imagine more or less how that works, if not, then let me know I'll try to explain. But if you understand why you can burn the clutch if you rev the engine to the red line and then slowly release the clutch, then I hope you can also imagine why it's bad for the clutch if you are going say 80 km/h you put it in 2nd and then slowly release the clutch to either slow down or to make the clutch match the engine's rpms to the transmission speed/accelerate the engine... subsequently slowing down. In that situation, all of that deceleration that you feel comes from the clutch and not from the brakes. The reason why "riding the clutch" is bad is because you are putting strain on the hydraulic assembly of the clutch / the mechanism that operates the clutch. If you keep the clutch ever so slightly pressed, you risk pressing it enough to start disconnecting the clutch and causing friction, but even if it's not enough and the clutch isn't slipping, it still puts pressure on that clutch assembly. Same thing when you keep the clutch pressed in all the time instead of putting it in neutral and letting off the clutch. And finally, I'll add one more thing in case someone else is reading this: If you want to use the engine to brake ("engine braking"), which is very useful in the mountains going downhill, you need to downshift enough so that you have high rpms, and that's when rev-matching is super important. You need to rev the engine first before letting off the clutch, otherwise you will brake using the clutch and not the engine. The higher the rpms the more careful you need to be with how you operate the clutch, so if you still don't feel like you know what you are doing and need to practice rev-matching (take your time) then I would recommend keeping the revs in the first half of the tachometer. Ok, I think that's most of it lol
I wanted to thank you for the videos you're posting. Even though I'm not from the UK and I own my license for over a decade I still feel that watching and then practicing the lessons you teach in here is improving how I drive, making me safer and smoother driver. My driving instructor was pretty good, I really enjoyed learning with him but after watching you, it turned out that I was not taught some really basic things. In this instance, I didn't know I'm suppossed to rev match till someone told me years after getting the license that I shouldn't jerk the car when downshifting and then the only method I knew was to blip the throttle and try to catch the right revs. I was completely unaware that I could hang on the bite point and wait for the revs to match, thinking it would wear the clutch down more then necessary. There's countless things I learned from you so far, and even though the regulations obviously differ, the general stuff you show and the way you eloquently explain it is really helping me out. It is a bit embarrassing to admit how much I have to relearn but ultimately the goal is to drive safely and comfortably, so thank you again for this opportunity.
Passed my test today with no minors, your videos really helped me understand driving principles and made me more confident when I didn't have the ability to do lessons for a while.
2:30 in - been driving manual for a year..and no one has EVER EXPLAINED THAT TO ME LIKE THAT. or quite at all. even when I ask “oh you’ll just know” no please explain it to me as if I know nothing at all! bc I didn’t. lol your videos are SO helpful, thank you!
I first got my license on auto,(we dont really drive manual here) when i wanted to get a car i saw a manual fiat panda for super cheap with low mileage, i had to go for it Your videos helped me massively learning manual, it took me 3 lessons and a test to make up my manual license, and ive been driving my panda ever since! I quickly pickes up rev matching from your videos, to be honest it is a required skill if you want to overtake someone with such a weak car, i have gotten so good at it that when i had a racing day with a racing instructor and a souped up BRZ on the track the instructor was genuinely suprised i heel&toe rev matched, i have gotten in love with driving manual, it makes even my small 1.2L69hp shit box feel way more fun than even the tesla i drove, i thank you for teaching me about the fine workings of it! Thank you for being such an awesome teacher, without your videos i would probably never have gotten so good!
I just passed my driving test (upgrading from automatic to manual) and have been practicing rev match since then by watching your videos! Your are forever my driving instructor, legend!
im diving in head first and buying a Honda fit 5 speed manual tomorrow, I've never driven a manual before but have some pretty good faith in myself to learn in a parking lot alone after binge watching your videos for the past week. Appreciate your videos a ton!
Hello, I am from Colombia and for the past few weeks I've been watching your videos. Wanted to let you all know I passed my test and have my L now. Thank you for your videos, you have no idea how helpful your videos are.
Passed my test nearly 1 month ago, I started learning with my Dad November last year and then with an instructor from February. I used to be so worried on Mondays when I had a 2hr lesson, I thought I’d never understand how to drive… Until I found this channel 🙌 💯 You’ve been a second instructor to me and it’s incredible the amount of depth, confidence and clarity your videos have provided me. I learnt in an I20 and in June I got a Kia Rio 2, that also helped as it was like being able to use the instructor’s car whenever I wanted, and the 1.4L diesel is a very forgiving manual. With your videos and my own car I was able to pass my test 1st time with 3 minors (I did take the test in the instructor’s car, and my original October test date was cancelled and rebooked because of an examiner illness so the extra month helped). Being able to drive on my own is liberating but I still find myself coming back to these videos for more and more advice on how to improve as a driver. It’s going to be tough to avoid my habit of breaking while downshifting but I’ll practice where I can. I think the best use of this will be when I’m going from say a 50 to a 30 mph limit so I won’t be coming to a full stop and risking not breaking when I probably need to. Anyways, many thanks for these videos, any worry I had I could just search and you’d have a video on it. Incredible work. I’d highly recommend this channel to anyone still learning to drive and I look forward to your future videos.
Also, I went on the M3 yesterday for 30 miles one way and 30 miles back and your 20 min motorway video was very helpful but since I had had plenty of A-road experience the drive wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Many thanks again. 🎉
Wow I wish I got an instructor as good as you when I was getting my license.. It's been 3 years since I got my license and as I didn't have nowhere near enough money to buy a car until now I haven't gotten any practice in. But 30 minutes of your videos taught me more than the 15 hours I spent driving with my instructor and helped me finally understand what to do and why. Not to mention I spent 700€ on the training and your videos are free. Literally life saving
I've driving for 24 years, always manual cars and used the clutch only to rev match until I bought a sports car (TT) 4 years ago and learned about rev matching by blipping the throttle. I drive an F-type now and it's so rewarding (and addictive) to rev match when going up or down the gears. I even do that when driving our family 7 seater SUV 😊
I already drive. Been driving for 10 years. But i haven’t found a video this clear in demonstrating how to downshift. I will definitely recommend this one 👍
I'm almost always doing jerky downshifting, and whenever I watched videos about revmatching I was freaking out because they mostly show it with gas, and it looks too complicated to try it in very busy roads. Thank you for showing that it's also possible just with clutch! I'm looking forward to try it.
So, my teacher in driving-school learned me to destroy my clutch and I was doing it for 10 years wrong. Fortunately on super-old car. I just bought Hyundai i30 N-line with manual and I'm super-glad that I saw this video. Big thank you for opening my eyes before I had a chance to destroy my new car. I love the rev-match too, so I'm about to practice. It can be really great especially when you entering the town where we have 50 km/h from 90 km/h outside of town/village. So this is probably the first thing I'm going to focus on to rev-match. :)
What a great explanation of the heel and toe method. I often see people teaching rev matching, they show you how, but never why. Ego gets in the way of an explanation. Good job. Oh and Happy Christmas.
Honestly I don't think a lot of people understand how rev matching works. They understand it helps, which is fine, but not the technical reason for it.
iv'e been using this technique in my 981 cayman and bmw z3 alot. I down shift for practice on purpose and it helped ona. road trip when getting ready to pass on a single 2 lane freeway. Thank you for the video!
Thanks for the great video! I own a Seat Leon 5F (2019) with a 1.5l TFSI eco engine. It automatically switches into "eco mode" when the engine is under low load, for example when cruising @80 km/h on an even road in 6th gear. This makes it use only 2 of the 4 engine cylinders, resulting in fuel consumption of about 3l / 100km in the given scenario. I used to drive a Honda S2000 and was very used to it's unique engine, revving up to 9000 rpms. Without gas revmatching, driving this car will be bumpy, unsafe, expensive (repair bills for the clutch), or all of them. As I grew older, I needed a better car for everyday chores - so I sold the Honda and got the Leon, which I am very happy with. I've been rev-matching with the gas out of a habit (of course, it's very different in the Leon lol!) but find that it sometimes feels a little weird and unnecessary in the Leon since it's designed towards being driven with a very light foot on the gas pedal. Something within me just cries painfully whenever I rev-match with the clutch only though... Do you rev-match in your Leon? Does it have an eco-mode as well? Do you think it's problematic to rip the car out of eco-mode by rev-matching with the gas when shifting down? Just using the clutch makes the car stay in eco mode and only use 2 cylinders at a time. Greetings from Nuremberg, hope you're well! Keep up these incredibly informative straight-to-the-point videos. p.s.: I highly appreciate you taking the extra 5 minutes to divide each and every one of your videos into chapters. Makes watching them mutch more structured and enjoyable!
I just recently found your channel and I must say it's been a treat to watch all your videos. Been driving for ~12 years (only 2 were in automatic and plan to keep it that way), and I don't think I've felt my driving as smooth and comfortable as of now. The way you explain the basics and techniques makes them so easy to understand and a great refresher for more experienced drivers like myself. Love your content!
Thank you for saying that rev-matching with the accelerator is difficult! Most other videos all say, "Oh just blip the throttle, it's that simple!" But after getting my first manual car 5 years ago, I still haven't perfected simply "blipping" the throttle, as it's never accurate, or I give too much gas and the engine revs too high. I'm going to focus on clutch rev-matching from now on
Been watching ur videos for a month now, and just today, i past my Driving Test !!! Ur are one of the best if not the best driving instructors ever bro, great work ! 👌
One of the best channels for learning to drive and the best explanations! I dont know anyone who can describe it so easy to understand as you. English is not my native language and i understand everything. After i got my drivers license my dad taught me to engine break by downshifting, but actually what he taught me was to break with clutch. I felt weird doing it every time. I love driving and decided to search it up on internet. He doesnt know the correct way, to give gas to match the revs. For 2 years im doing this whenever im driving and its much more enjoyable and fun to do it ( and saves the clutch ). I learned even more from this video, great explanations again😁👍❤
i appreciate putting your car on the line just to show us the do's AND the donts. not many people will actually show you the donts, they'll just say what not to do briefly, but you've explained it. Im going to be acquiring a 72 beetle, so ive been trying to learn everything I can before I get it so I can drive it confidently. this was the most helpful video so far.
Didnt know this mate made new videos but definetly learned how to downshift smoothly due to his videos about heel toe and rev mstching etc. cant wait to learn more
Legend, couldn’t fully understand rev matching without u, I always understood that lower gears of course have a lower gear ratio so engine has gotta rev more etc… but never got my head fully round it, you sir, are a legend (u also helped me out a lot with your other vids)
I really needed to hear the first part of the video, I have my car drivers license for almost 2 years and my motorcycle license for almost 4 years now. I just got a car right now and struggled on the downshifts because I tried to revmatch by blipping the throttle like you do while riding a motorcycle. Sometimes it worked but sometimes it was absolutely horrible My driving teacher never taught me how to downshift. When rolling towards a stoplight or a bend she told me to break and press the clutch
I now own a 2019 ND2 Miata 6-speed manual coming from a 1986 Toyota MR2 5-speed manual. It took me a while to shift smoothly, or more smoothly, for their big difference in shift throw and speed, biting point, clutch pedal force, etc.. As you pointed out, the Miata has dual mass but light flywheel while the Toyota has the standard single mass. I've stalled the Miata several times on stoplights initially, for I had to adjust the "muscle memory"! 😂
Auto-rev match tech is amazing. It's still important to learn this. I find myself turning the feature off more frequently after watching these videos. Good stuff!
Outside of "properly" rev matching with the gas pedal I quite often push the gas gently while releasing the clutch at a moderate pace - not crazy fast but not as slow as you would if you were rev matching just with it. It's less effort than rev matching "properly" with the gas, but also faster than matching with the clutch alone and still smooth I think the absolute easiest way to think about the clutch is that you simply want the engine spinning just a tad faster than the wheels in pretty much any scenario you're lifting the clutch pedal, I remember back when I was learning I got that in my head and started to rev match with the gas pedal and it surprised the heck out of my instructor! Really intimidated with heel and toe though, that'll take a while to learn!
I'm starting to get good at driving a manual thanks to you! , and I really appreciate it. I'm still a little bad at downshifting, but I'm getting there. 💙 From 🇺🇸
No wonder it's a little bit more difficult for me to downshift... I have the Miata as my 1st manual car.. thank you for the video. I have been watching them to help ease my anxiety while learning to drive.
I’m from the United States. I started driving manual in 2017 and just now discovered rev matching and blipping. Your videos are very helpful and easy to understand. I always feel embarrassed for my passengers having to wear neck braces to ride with me. lol
This video came at the right time having just bought my first car and its manual - and only struggling with downshifts. THEN I SEE IBXTOYC- uh i mean Andrew -BACK ON THE CHANNEL LETS GOO!!! such a bizzare combo of some of my fav youtubers haha
I have never rev matched with the clutch much . I have always used the accelerator to get the revs at the appropriate level for the speed and gear. I did not realise that it was an advanced technique , it always seemed the more natural thing to do to be gentle on the car.
Agreed. I've been doing it that way for 47 years. Using the accelerator to match revs is very natural for me, and just as easy whenever I change cars even for just a short while. The thought of relying solely on the clutch to do this makes my engineer's brain hurt. For me, the clutch lasts about as long as the car (130k miles on the last one, and then it was replaced for reasons unrelated to clutch wear).
I passed my driving exam 3 days ago.I just want to say a big thank you, your videos helped me a lot to learn, how to drive. Thank you again🙂 and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year🎉
8:25 Beautifull car. In case I always rev matched using the gas, to avoid putting as much preassure on the clutch, but it's good to know this other way in case pedals get stuck or something
Thanks for another wonderful post Richard. Watching your videos has helped me improve my fuel efficiency considerably. Which is a very big deal because petrol is very expensive in India and its price varies across cities: it is the costliest in Mumbai, where I live.
Thanks for this very helpful video. I passed my test in August. Sometimes, my clutch control is hit and miss. I watched your videos preparing for my test now I use your videos as a reference
Your socks and shoes are always money! Also thank you for this video, I recently got an 8th gen civic si with a stage 3 clutch. Most of my driving is in town and my previous vehicle was happy cruising in 3rd gear. The si definitely seems to prefer being in 4th, so ive been having to downshift a lot. You got me rolling in a manual a few years ago and continue to help me today. Thank you!
Wow my dad taught me how to rev match before for smoother and "healthier" according to him by using the gas pedal. That's how i learned and I had no idea about the 1st technique you demonstrated here! I must try this haha. Thank you.
Thanks for this useful video I’ve had someone who I’ve been teaching how to drive struggling with downshifting cause it was very jerky this video will help a lot!
I've been driving a manual for 15 years and was never taught this. Over time if I figured this out to some extent but have definitely been over using the breaks to slow the car down before downshifting as a way to keep the heat change smooth.
I passed my driving test today and your channel helped me so much while i was still learning. it made me so much more confident before lessons too since I would get really nervous every time. even though i’ve passed however, i’m still gonna watch your videos as they help me become even better, so thank you for making these! 👍
Haven't been driving long and I'm already rev matching using the gas on downshifts. Not especially well, admittedly, and it helps that I drive the most forgiving car ever made (its bite point is about half the travel of the clutch), so that helps, but I figure having the technique down will help for future.
Haven’t been able to drive recently but I’ve been binge watching all the advanced videos. Downshifting or Upshifting to 2nd has always been annoying for me just cuz of holding the clutch at the biting point. Just wanted to say thanks for making these videos so easily understandable with all the camera angles.
Your videos are so interesting, I've been driving for almost 2 years and i still find your videos very informative and just enjoyable to watch. ♥️ Almost 700k as well! Happy for you!
you taught me so many useful things in one video and also made me aware of things that I was doing without knowing the reasons (like matching revs or hitting gas while downshifting). Now I know the reasons and I will be able to teach it to others as well thank you so much🫵❤️
Even when you're not rev matching with the gas, I've found that pressing the throttle just a tiny bit, barely rising the revs over idle by 100-200rpm, will help reduce engine braking by a lot, making a smooth clutch release easier.
Hello there! I found this channel after beginning to doubt my clutch skills. Clutch began to smell on a regular basis, mostly while manoeuvring. Watching your videos puts me at ease that I'm doing it correctly, but when I get in the car I'm starting to develop a phobia of sorts haha. Been driving for around 10 years and have never had my car stutter on take off so frequently. For the past 2 years I've been driving mountain roads and city mostly, maybe that wore the clutch out. No idea when was the last change, the car is second hand. I will be taking it to a mechanic first chance. Nevertheless, wanted to say thank you for the great videos! :))
This helped even though i drove manual for over 10 years. I was using the clutch to slow the car thinking it was the engine braking. I got it backwards because i held the clutch too long not rev matching properly with the aim to release the clutch as quick as possible to let the engine slow me down..... Did it wrong on my car even though i ride a bike lol....
13:33 expert mode: doing the shift without pressing the clutch. Since you are already rev matching you can try it without the clutch. Getting the gear out is easy. After letting go of gas you can pull out the gear after 1/4 of a second. The rev matching is very similar but you need to be more accurate to what the gear is expecting. Any more or less and it will let you know (grinding). Match the revs with gas and after letting gas after 1/4 sec you can just gently push the gear in. Timings and accuracy will depend on your car. Mine will only do about 100 rpm +- but my friends car will do closer to 150+-. Easiest is probably 3rd to 4th and 4th to 5th gear. Going the other way is harder as you have to do more matching from 4th to 3rd.
Learning how to rev match was a game changer when I first started driving manual! It's still a little tricky to get a perfect downshift every time, but I've only been driving for 3 years so I've plenty of time to master it still. I wish that I could heel-toe, but I have US size 12 feet, long femurs and exclusively drive tiny cars so my knees just hit the steering column unless I'm slamming the brakes lol.
I was really waiting for the end. I was always told to rev match with pressing the gas pedal. Clutch - throttle blip - drop gear - throttle blip - clutch up. Less clutch wear, fast car, feels more stable.
you said "don't lift the clutch high enough so that the clutch slows down the brake" you also said "instead, you want to lift the clutch high enough so that the clutch matches the engine speed" Which one is higher? how do I distinguish between both? You've missed out an explanation on that part. I don't want to risk bringing my clutch up to the wrong extent, it would make all the difference between excessive and normal clutch wear. Everything else was perfect. Very clear and detailed explanation, thank you.
Awesome, this is just the video I needed! I have a hard time getting smooth downshifts consistently, especially in the lower gears. Sometimes I get it right, sometimes I don't. I knew that when I get a rough downshift, it's because I released the clutch too early, but I wasn't sure when exactly to release it. But until I saw this video, I didn't know that you can use the tachometer, as well as the sound of the engine, as a guide for when to release the clutch. Cool! Now, I will practice next time I drive my manual car. By the way, my 2020 Toyota Corolla hatchback comes with an auto rev match feature. But it's just a tool, it doesn't compensate for bad driving technique.
After mastering it, the next level is to shift/down shift without using the clutch pedal. But it took a lot of practice, I'm 24yo, I learned heal and toe at 15yo in simracing, applied it during my learning sessions IRL, now it's natural and then since 5 years ago I was confident to switch gears without using the clutch. I don't recommand because a big mistake car break the gearbox. It's really end level, so in down shift, it's not efficient, too tricky but concerning up shift, I'm doing it naturally 98% of the time, it preserves everything, has no much risks, and chill to perform. Nothing is smoother than that because it's equal to the perfect shift when clutch isn't involved and it's so satisfaying. 🥰 (It stays the end level even in up shift) The strange thing there is that I've always meet little troubles with casual cars because they don't have enough power to rev fast, with my simracing experience I want to do this fast but so frustrating I have to be slow and chill it, many time I forgot I don't have a sport car. Then that's why I'm confused when you said it's more difficult in the miata because when I tried one for my purchase, I felt in love on it and one of the reason was because heal and toe was so natural and I performed it perfectly at everytime at any speed for any gears. 😅
I spent this whole video thinking I must be committing a sin because whenever I shift down, I just pump the accelerator and change gear normally. And I've done that since the day I passed about 12 years ago (wasn't taught to do it). Seeing the first 2 thirds of this vid had me confused thinking why risk clutch wear at all? Glad to be validated at the end lol. I wouldn't have thought it to require any more driving skill though, it seems much simpler and more intuitive. My down shifts are smoother than my upshifts half the time. Although I guess you need a certain amount of experience to naturally know how much rpm you need to give it.
Once you get to the skill level where you can rev match with throttle blipping and heel toe, you feel amazingly in touch with your car. Takes a good while to get the hang of it but oh what a feeling! No other car can replicate that rewarding rush and sense of accomplishment. Depending on the car, you might have to get creative with downshifting under braking. In my 2022 Corolla SE manual, pedal placement for heel-toe requires me to brake with my heel and use the brake as a pivot so I can stab the gas with my toes. The gas pedal is just too recessed to do it any other way. Have yet to see this particular way done anywhere else but I am sure others have tried it this way. I've seen how you do it which is common and well as the reverse of what I do (brake with toes, stab gas with heel). Of course, this requires specific pedal placement to allow for this kind of articulation. As usual, you have made another fantastic video to help people master the manual transmission. I salute you! I would love to know what your opinion on auto-rev matching in modern manual cars is. I find it is not as effective as a driver who has the training and practice to rev-match, well, manually. My thoughts are a trained driver can proactively select revs whereas auto rev matching is reactive (clutch must be released before revving to appropriate RPM occurs which takes time and ultimately caps shift speed and clutch release time. Putting in the work to learn to do it yourself and become in-tune with the vehicle seems to yield much faster shift speeds than the automated revving can deliver. Is this your experience as well? This is my experience with Toyota iMT. Probably why Toyota decided to default the system to "off" everytime you start the car. It just cannot compete with a good driver.
You may disagree, but I’d suggest that your throttle pedal’s recessed position is adequate for heel and toe. You should be using heel and toe in a controlled environment, where HARD braking is required. If you are braking HARD enough, with the ball of your foot, that recessed throttle pedal will be almost flush with your brake pedal at the moment you need it, meaning you can use your heel on the throttle. If your throttle is too far away to reach with your heel, you aren’t braking hard enough, most likely because you weren’t travelling fast enough to need to heel and toe in the first place. It’s a track technique. Not a road driving skill.
@@gtp_vexd3507 I don't disagree. You are completely correct. If I needed to brake harder I probably could heel toe the other way as the pedals would line up. However, I like to be able heel-toe in less extreme circumstances. Even on road, it can be useful in certain circumstances to be able to brake and downshift. This is why I started heel-toeing in this manner as to allow for less aggressive braking and downshifting simultaneously. I don't always do it, but I have found it useful at times. Thank you for your input.
I learned how to drive manual in a semi truck (lorry) first so I didn’t even know you could use a clutch to rev match! I’ve always used the throttle for this (and half the time I forget to clutch at all unless I’m going slow or coming to a stop).
Wow, I didn't learn this when I went to driving school? They taught me to do break progressively before I step on clutch and downshift to match the rev, but this one is a smoother technique.
I've learned to rev match on my own from watching your videos (still can't heel and toe, need a bit more practice) because my dad is for some reason of the belief that rev matching is some new-fangled European-only technique since he didn't learn it when his 18 year old sister taught him to drive 35+ years ago. Whenever he downshifts, he does what you do in the second demonstration, and just lets off the clutch completely when he's in the lower gear. The car jolts every single time he does it, and he sees nothing wrong with that at all. He just refuses to listen to me tell him he's wearing his clutch much faster by doing that because "you have less experience therefore you know less than me, therefore you're wrong." He actually believes that me rev matching properly damages his car MORE than what he does. He also doesn't want to watch any of your videos anymore because "they drive different over there, the cars are different" even though the basic fundamentals of a manual transmission haven't changed for the past 100 years. All this to say, what can I tell him to help him prolong the life of his clutch and car, other than rev matching because he seems adamant on never attempting it?
ahh... I am glad you mentioned the rev matching method - this is what I learned to do as a young driver when my mate was skinning up next to me... he would complain that my driving was too jerky and he would spill the, errrr, gear 🤣 But since then I have been using that method - I find that its easiest to think about it roughly like you put the clutch in and also push a little bit on the accelerator (for quick changes) - if you are too slow on the gear change, then you over-rev - so its got to be quite quick. However nowadays I am very slow/careful driver so I will try out the clutch-rev-matching :)
I was riding motorbikes and passed my motorbike test before I passed my car test. Once I passed my car test, on day one I started learning how to rev match with the throttle. I still haven’t gotten round to learning how to heel-toe, but I really need to. The opportunity hasn’t popped up yet, it’s always either been too busy, or I have a passenger in the car.
This is very useful stuff, for real. Somehow if you don't look up and learn these things as a beginner, you might end up as an "experienced" driver that does none of these things, as its the case of plenty, unfortunately.
This is all quite basic stuff, but very well explained indeed. A useful video for the beginners who want to improve their skills/switch to driving manual.
In Canada, manual transmission cars are cheaper so that’s why my first car was a manual! My drivers Ed was completely on an automatic so My dad taught me how to drive a manual over the weekend and it was a very frustrating experience, he’d say ‘watch my feet’ but I couldn’t see his feet in the wheel well - he’d say “pop the clutch” and I had no idea whether that meant to push the pedal down or to lift my foot off the pedal. After one day of this, I drove around on Sunday and drove to work on Monday in rush hour. I had that car for 17 years and never needed to have the clutch replaced because the one thing my dad emphasized was ‘you don’t want to ride the clutch’ I’ve had manual cars ever since - because they are still cheaper but also because they are more fun to drive
I passed over 11 years ago and started rev matching about 5 or 6 years ago, but I often get it wrong, so I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one and that someone as experienced as you still occasionaly does too!
Its because modern drive by wire sucks the delay just kills off smooth rev match heel & toeing.
Same here, it's not always perfect but when it is I'm smiling like a crazy person behind the wheel. That's the joy of a manual for me. Every time it's a perfect shift or launch, it's me and not the car that's done that for me.
@@reynaldiwidjaja277drive by wire isn’t the cause of this, it’s the emission control systems. Drive by wire can provide very crisp throttle response.
@DaedricDan I leant rev matching last year and I started driving 2 years ago… is that early?
I love rev matching when I downshift. It's very easy for me and natural. I just give the throttle a blip and obviously blip abit more if I'm downshifting say from 4th to 2nd to take a corner
This guy deserves a Queen’s Gallantry Medal for all his tutorial videos
At 35 years old I’m learning how to drive a manual for the first time and your videos have been the BEST I’ve found online... thank you!
I must have watched all of your videos about Rev match-smooth downshift-how to change gears smoothly-heel & toe-double clutching, but despite this and even though I already know and practise all this driving techniques, I'm always amazed and hooked by your words. You are a point of reference for driving, as a driving instructor and especially as a car enthusiast. I owe all my knowledge and skill about driving to you. Thank you.
I passed my test yesterday with 1 minor on observation to junction. Your videos have helped me understand driving with a new mindset of being ‘safe’. Thank you! I will remember you my entire life, please continue helping others. You are making a difference!
That's really great to hear! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
I learned rev match and heel and toe from your older video. Also my sim racing setup was very helpful with that. I firstly learned how to do proper heel and toe with a virtual h pattern racecar because it is crucial there, otherwise you will have a hard time on corner entry. After that I tried it in my real car. Rev matching without braking was learned rather quickly but heel and toe took me lots of practice. But now I can say that I am able to do it quite well. It adds also lot more fun to my daily commute drives. Thanks for that!
a lot of non-sports cars have pedals that are not setup with heel and toe in mind, so it can be a lot harder irl!
@@oliver.gilberttrue, i can't heel and toe in my car, only in my mothers car.
@@oliver.gilbertyes this definitely, can heel toe on my sim setup but can't really do it irl bc my foot can't really reach the throttle unless I'm applying the brakes heavily ( which i would rather not practice on the road, maybe on a track if i ever end up on one)
@@oliver.gilberttrue, when my dad has a few too many drinks and asks me to drive his w203 C220 CDI, i always try to heel and toe just to never find the gas unless im breaking too much for the ocasion, mercedes put the gas too low on that car and it feels like shit
@@jaygaspar1565You could probably take the practice to an empty parking lot or just any large empty space that won't endanger anybody. Cheaper than going to a track day just to practice heel toeing. In fact, you might also have prepared yourself to actually put the skill to use if you have the interest to go for track days.
BRUH. I got my license and they fr didn't teach me how to downshift. I thought it was the same as going up a gear. No wonder every time I did it the car launched forward. These vids are GOATED.
I was thinking exactly this, my insurance starts tomorrow so definitely going to try this
Yeah, same. We would upshift, up, up, up, stop at the crossroad, and start from the beginning. After passing my test I drove my dad's car with my dad and he would get pissy at me for making the car jump during downshifting but I had no idea how to do it properly. A figured it out naturally over time, but ur right, they didnt teach me.
@@HonchinaI’m teaching myself right now. So far I’ve just been braking to roughly the matching rpm for the downshift. I need to learn to rev match.
Same here . So i will try to learning it by myself
same. For a while i just shifted to neutral then shift to the lower gear when its slow enough
I admittedly have at times been using the clutch to help me slow down (albeit only when already braking usually from 60 to 30 zones). It then occurred to me last night that it might cause extra wear on the clutch.
That's why even after having passed my test 18 years back I find it helpful to watch videos like these to find ways I can still improve my driving and hopefully address any bad habits I may have developed!
What I find key about your explanation is that you teach to hold the clutch pedal at the bite point until the speed of the engine matches the speed of the road, and you teach how to judge that using the tac or by sound.
What some instructors would tell you is to hold the clutch at the bite point for 4-5 seconds, which will achieve the same effect in some situations, but cause the downshift to be jerky in others. Not only that, it doesn't give the learner the understanding of what is happening and why they are holding the clutch in the first place.
The same with moving off - you don't hold the clutch for three car lengths, you hold it as long as it takes the engine speed to match the road speed yet again. Same with stopping - you don't declutch two car lengths before stopping, it's different in every car and gear. You declutch when the engine speed drops to idle and so on.
Your explanation is the only correct one. So thank you for your contribution to proper driver education made accessible to millions!
Thanks Artem, it sounds like you know how a transmission works. Basic advice can help a learner move and stop a car successfully, but a deeper understanding can take their driving to another level.
Rev matching is optional when decelerating (heel and toe), but when you want to accelerate it becomes a necessity, otherwise, you will slow down. And the lower the gear/higher revs the more you will do so while wearing out the clutch. Yes, the clutch is designed to rev-match the engine, but not from idle to the red line - that might even overheat the clutch if done a couple of times.
I needed this extra information. Thank you.
Quick question though; When not rev matching, isn't that the infamous "riding the clutch"?
@@BURN-ADDiCT I'm glad you've found my comment useful.
No, "riding the clutch" is a term I've heard being used in two scenarios: most often when you keep your left foot on the clutch pedal, kinda using it as a footrest when driving, or when you're going slow in traffic say 2-3 km/h and since 1st at idle makes you go 5 km/h but you want to go 2-3 km/h then you keep the clutch pressed to the bite-point to regulate the speed or keep the car from rolling back. In traffic, imo it's a better practice to accelerate using just the clutch and then press it back into the floor, and when you slow down then repeat. Although I think at 2-3 km/h it doesn't make a big difference.
In general, when you have the clutch at the bite-point - there is friction, if you press the clutch to the floor you disconnect the flywheel from the clutch and there is no friction, and similarly when you have your foot off the clutch then the clutch is "glued" to the flywheel and therefore also no friction. The more friction the more heat wear etc. I hope you can imagine more or less how that works, if not, then let me know I'll try to explain. But if you understand why you can burn the clutch if you rev the engine to the red line and then slowly release the clutch, then I hope you can also imagine why it's bad for the clutch if you are going say 80 km/h you put it in 2nd and then slowly release the clutch to either slow down or to make the clutch match the engine's rpms to the transmission speed/accelerate the engine... subsequently slowing down. In that situation, all of that deceleration that you feel comes from the clutch and not from the brakes.
The reason why "riding the clutch" is bad is because you are putting strain on the hydraulic assembly of the clutch / the mechanism that operates the clutch. If you keep the clutch ever so slightly pressed, you risk pressing it enough to start disconnecting the clutch and causing friction, but even if it's not enough and the clutch isn't slipping, it still puts pressure on that clutch assembly. Same thing when you keep the clutch pressed in all the time instead of putting it in neutral and letting off the clutch.
And finally, I'll add one more thing in case someone else is reading this: If you want to use the engine to brake ("engine braking"), which is very useful in the mountains going downhill, you need to downshift enough so that you have high rpms, and that's when rev-matching is super important. You need to rev the engine first before letting off the clutch, otherwise you will brake using the clutch and not the engine. The higher the rpms the more careful you need to be with how you operate the clutch, so if you still don't feel like you know what you are doing and need to practice rev-matching (take your time) then I would recommend keeping the revs in the first half of the tachometer.
Ok, I think that's most of it lol
@@tvflight7858this explanation plus the video is a life saver. Thanks!
It's Andrew from ibxtoytat! XD What a fun cameo!
He has other vids with him too!
@@sullivan3503 Oh nice!
yeah I noticed too XD
I noticed it td lol
I wanted to thank you for the videos you're posting. Even though I'm not from the UK and I own my license for over a decade I still feel that watching and then practicing the lessons you teach in here is improving how I drive, making me safer and smoother driver. My driving instructor was pretty good, I really enjoyed learning with him but after watching you, it turned out that I was not taught some really basic things. In this instance, I didn't know I'm suppossed to rev match till someone told me years after getting the license that I shouldn't jerk the car when downshifting and then the only method I knew was to blip the throttle and try to catch the right revs. I was completely unaware that I could hang on the bite point and wait for the revs to match, thinking it would wear the clutch down more then necessary. There's countless things I learned from you so far, and even though the regulations obviously differ, the general stuff you show and the way you eloquently explain it is really helping me out. It is a bit embarrassing to admit how much I have to relearn but ultimately the goal is to drive safely and comfortably, so thank you again for this opportunity.
Passed my test today with no minors, your videos really helped me understand driving principles and made me more confident when I didn't have the ability to do lessons for a while.
That's great news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
@@ConquerDriving ❣
2:30 in - been driving manual for a year..and no one has EVER EXPLAINED THAT TO ME LIKE THAT. or quite at all. even when I ask “oh you’ll just know”
no please explain it to me as if I know nothing at all! bc I didn’t. lol
your videos are SO helpful, thank you!
I first got my license on auto,(we dont really drive manual here) when i wanted to get a car i saw a manual fiat panda for super cheap with low mileage, i had to go for it
Your videos helped me massively learning manual, it took me 3 lessons and a test to make up my manual license, and ive been driving my panda ever since! I quickly pickes up rev matching from your videos, to be honest it is a required skill if you want to overtake someone with such a weak car, i have gotten so good at it that when i had a racing day with a racing instructor and a souped up BRZ on the track the instructor was genuinely suprised i heel&toe rev matched, i have gotten in love with driving manual, it makes even my small 1.2L69hp shit box feel way more fun than even the tesla i drove, i thank you for teaching me about the fine workings of it!
Thank you for being such an awesome teacher, without your videos i would probably never have gotten so good!
I just passed my driving test (upgrading from automatic to manual) and have been practicing rev match since then by watching your videos! Your are forever my driving instructor, legend!
im diving in head first and buying a Honda fit 5 speed manual tomorrow, I've never driven a manual before but have some pretty good faith in myself to learn in a parking lot alone after binge watching your videos for the past week. Appreciate your videos a ton!
I think this video is easier to understand. you have illustrated very well. you have a sacrificed heart. rare for new drivers.
Hello, I am from Colombia and for the past few weeks I've been watching your videos. Wanted to let you all know I passed my test and have my L now. Thank you for your videos, you have no idea how helpful your videos are.
Passed my test nearly 1 month ago, I started learning with my Dad November last year and then with an instructor from February. I used to be so worried on Mondays when I had a 2hr lesson, I thought I’d never understand how to drive… Until I found this channel 🙌 💯 You’ve been a second instructor to me and it’s incredible the amount of depth, confidence and clarity your videos have provided me. I learnt in an I20 and in June I got a Kia Rio 2, that also helped as it was like being able to use the instructor’s car whenever I wanted, and the 1.4L diesel is a very forgiving manual. With your videos and my own car I was able to pass my test 1st time with 3 minors (I did take the test in the instructor’s car, and my original October test date was cancelled and rebooked because of an examiner illness so the extra month helped).
Being able to drive on my own is liberating but I still find myself coming back to these videos for more and more advice on how to improve as a driver. It’s going to be tough to avoid my habit of breaking while downshifting but I’ll practice where I can. I think the best use of this will be when I’m going from say a 50 to a 30 mph limit so I won’t be coming to a full stop and risking not breaking when I probably need to.
Anyways, many thanks for these videos, any worry I had I could just search and you’d have a video on it. Incredible work. I’d highly recommend this channel to anyone still learning to drive and I look forward to your future videos.
Also, I went on the M3 yesterday for 30 miles one way and 30 miles back and your 20 min motorway video was very helpful but since I had had plenty of A-road experience the drive wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Many thanks again. 🎉
I passed my driving test today. I live in Finland.
Thank you for your helpful videos.❤
That's really great to hear! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
Hey Richard, just got my licence last month on my 21st birthday! Passed with no faults and am glad to be driving with a manual gearbox :)
That's fantastic news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
@@ConquerDriving Your videos are amazing ! Thank you for helping us conquer driving
Wow I wish I got an instructor as good as you when I was getting my license.. It's been 3 years since I got my license and as I didn't have nowhere near enough money to buy a car until now I haven't gotten any practice in. But 30 minutes of your videos taught me more than the 15 hours I spent driving with my instructor and helped me finally understand what to do and why. Not to mention I spent 700€ on the training and your videos are free. Literally life saving
I've driving for 24 years, always manual cars and used the clutch only to rev match until I bought a sports car (TT) 4 years ago and learned about rev matching by blipping the throttle. I drive an F-type now and it's so rewarding (and addictive) to rev match when going up or down the gears. I even do that when driving our family 7 seater SUV 😊
I already drive. Been driving for 10 years. But i haven’t found a video this clear in demonstrating how to downshift. I will definitely recommend this one 👍
I'm almost always doing jerky downshifting, and whenever I watched videos about revmatching I was freaking out because they mostly show it with gas, and it looks too complicated to try it in very busy roads. Thank you for showing that it's also possible just with clutch! I'm looking forward to try it.
So, my teacher in driving-school learned me to destroy my clutch and I was doing it for 10 years wrong. Fortunately on super-old car. I just bought Hyundai i30 N-line with manual and I'm super-glad that I saw this video. Big thank you for opening my eyes before I had a chance to destroy my new car. I love the rev-match too, so I'm about to practice. It can be really great especially when you entering the town where we have 50 km/h from 90 km/h outside of town/village. So this is probably the first thing I'm going to focus on to rev-match. :)
What a great explanation of the heel and toe method. I often see people teaching rev matching, they show you how, but never why. Ego gets in the way of an explanation. Good job. Oh and Happy Christmas.
Honestly I don't think a lot of people understand how rev matching works. They understand it helps, which is fine, but not the technical reason for it.
iv'e been using this technique in my 981 cayman and bmw z3 alot. I down shift for practice on purpose and it helped ona. road trip when getting ready to pass on a single 2 lane freeway. Thank you for the video!
Really helpful videos, 1 week away from my test and I am confident because of your videos
@@lameloball7644 good luck to you also 🤞🏼
Good luck!
Thanks for the great video! I own a Seat Leon 5F (2019) with a 1.5l TFSI eco engine. It automatically switches into "eco mode" when the engine is under low load, for example when cruising @80 km/h on an even road in 6th gear. This makes it use only 2 of the 4 engine cylinders, resulting in fuel consumption of about 3l / 100km in the given scenario.
I used to drive a Honda S2000 and was very used to it's unique engine, revving up to 9000 rpms. Without gas revmatching, driving this car will be bumpy, unsafe, expensive (repair bills for the clutch), or all of them.
As I grew older, I needed a better car for everyday chores - so I sold the Honda and got the Leon, which I am very happy with. I've been rev-matching with the gas out of a habit (of course, it's very different in the Leon lol!) but find that it sometimes feels a little weird and unnecessary in the Leon since it's designed towards being driven with a very light foot on the gas pedal.
Something within me just cries painfully whenever I rev-match with the clutch only though...
Do you rev-match in your Leon? Does it have an eco-mode as well? Do you think it's problematic to rip the car out of eco-mode by rev-matching with the gas when shifting down? Just using the clutch makes the car stay in eco mode and only use 2 cylinders at a time.
Greetings from Nuremberg, hope you're well! Keep up these incredibly informative straight-to-the-point videos.
p.s.:
I highly appreciate you taking the extra 5 minutes to divide each and every one of your videos into chapters. Makes watching them mutch more structured and enjoyable!
I just recently found your channel and I must say it's been a treat to watch all your videos. Been driving for ~12 years (only 2 were in automatic and plan to keep it that way), and I don't think I've felt my driving as smooth and comfortable as of now. The way you explain the basics and techniques makes them so easy to understand and a great refresher for more experienced drivers like myself. Love your content!
Thank you for saying that rev-matching with the accelerator is difficult!
Most other videos all say, "Oh just blip the throttle, it's that simple!"
But after getting my first manual car 5 years ago, I still haven't perfected simply "blipping" the throttle, as it's never accurate, or I give too much gas and the engine revs too high.
I'm going to focus on clutch rev-matching from now on
By God's grace and by watching your videos, today I got a compliment from an experienced driver... Thank you very much
Been watching ur videos for a month now, and just today, i past my Driving Test !!! Ur are one of the best if not the best driving instructors ever bro, great work ! 👌
One of the best channels for learning to drive and the best explanations! I dont know anyone who can describe it so easy to understand as you. English is not my native language and i understand everything. After i got my drivers license my dad taught me to engine break by downshifting, but actually what he taught me was to break with clutch. I felt weird doing it every time. I love driving and decided to search it up on internet. He doesnt know the correct way, to give gas to match the revs. For 2 years im doing this whenever im driving and its much more enjoyable and fun to do it ( and saves the clutch ). I learned even more from this video, great explanations again😁👍❤
i appreciate putting your car on the line just to show us the do's AND the donts. not many people will actually show you the donts, they'll just say what not to do briefly, but you've explained it.
Im going to be acquiring a 72 beetle, so ive been trying to learn everything I can before I get it so I can drive it confidently. this was the most helpful video so far.
Didnt know this mate made new videos but definetly learned how to downshift smoothly due to his videos about heel toe and rev mstching etc. cant wait to learn more
Legend, couldn’t fully understand rev matching without u, I always understood that lower gears of course have a lower gear ratio so engine has gotta rev more etc… but never got my head fully round it, you sir, are a legend (u also helped me out a lot with your other vids)
That's really great to hear! Thank you for your generosity and thank you for watching!
I really needed to hear the first part of the video, I have my car drivers license for almost 2 years and my motorcycle license for almost 4 years now.
I just got a car right now and struggled on the downshifts because I tried to revmatch by blipping the throttle like you do while riding a motorcycle.
Sometimes it worked but sometimes it was absolutely horrible
My driving teacher never taught me how to downshift. When rolling towards a stoplight or a bend she told me to break and press the clutch
Cheers brother. Just bought my first manual and downshifting smoothly has been one of my biggest struggles. These tips will definitely help.
just passed my driving test first time earlier today , spent last night watching ur vids thanks for ur clear explanatory videos
That's really great to hear! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing,
I now own a 2019 ND2 Miata 6-speed manual coming from a 1986 Toyota MR2 5-speed manual. It took me a while to shift smoothly, or more smoothly, for their big difference in shift throw and speed, biting point, clutch pedal force, etc.. As you pointed out, the Miata has dual mass but light flywheel while the Toyota has the standard single mass. I've stalled the Miata several times on stoplights initially, for I had to adjust the "muscle memory"! 😂
i love how you explain things it made learning to drive so much faster when i actually realized what the car is doing underneath
I have been driving for 16 years yet I find this video useful. Learned the rev matching.
I passed my test today (TGG)
Your videos have been so helpful and informative. Thanks for always sharing.
Congratulations on passing!
Auto-rev match tech is amazing. It's still important to learn this. I find myself turning the feature off more frequently after watching these videos. Good stuff!
Outside of "properly" rev matching with the gas pedal I quite often push the gas gently while releasing the clutch at a moderate pace - not crazy fast but not as slow as you would if you were rev matching just with it. It's less effort than rev matching "properly" with the gas, but also faster than matching with the clutch alone and still smooth
I think the absolute easiest way to think about the clutch is that you simply want the engine spinning just a tad faster than the wheels in pretty much any scenario you're lifting the clutch pedal, I remember back when I was learning I got that in my head and started to rev match with the gas pedal and it surprised the heck out of my instructor!
Really intimidated with heel and toe though, that'll take a while to learn!
I'm starting to get good at driving a manual thanks to you! , and I really appreciate it. I'm still a little bad at downshifting, but I'm getting there. 💙 From 🇺🇸
No wonder it's a little bit more difficult for me to downshift... I have the Miata as my 1st manual car.. thank you for the video. I have been watching them to help ease my anxiety while learning to drive.
I’m from the United States. I started driving manual in 2017 and just now discovered rev matching and blipping. Your videos are very helpful and easy to understand. I always feel embarrassed for my passengers having to wear neck braces to ride with me. lol
How lol 😂😂😂
Your videos have helped me a lot and today I passed my driving test on the first time. I only had 2 minors. I was so excited and nervous for the exam.
That's really great to hear! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
This video came at the right time having just bought my first car and its manual - and only struggling with downshifts. THEN I SEE IBXTOYC- uh i mean Andrew -BACK ON THE CHANNEL LETS GOO!!! such a bizzare combo of some of my fav youtubers haha
The hell does IBXTOYC mean??
I used a hyphen cutting of the word to the effect of a sudden stop in speech. His youtube name is IBXtoycat if ur not aware
Ibxtoycat is a minecraft youtuber. I dont know what that has to do with this channel.
@@roycehanly3666 nothin i'm just a fan
Oh, ok. just a good time in general, then.
I have never rev matched with the clutch much . I have always used the accelerator to get the revs at the appropriate level for the speed and gear. I did not realise that it was an advanced technique , it always seemed the more natural thing to do to be gentle on the car.
Agreed. I've been doing it that way for 47 years. Using the accelerator to match revs is very natural for me, and just as easy whenever I change cars even for just a short while. The thought of relying solely on the clutch to do this makes my engineer's brain hurt. For me, the clutch lasts about as long as the car (130k miles on the last one, and then it was replaced for reasons unrelated to clutch wear).
I passed my driving exam 3 days ago.I just want to say a big thank you, your videos helped me a lot to learn, how to drive.
Thank you again🙂
and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year🎉
Congratulations on passing! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too.
8:25 Beautifull car. In case I always rev matched using the gas, to avoid putting as much preassure on the clutch, but it's good to know this other way in case pedals get stuck or something
Thanks for another wonderful post Richard. Watching your videos has helped me improve my fuel efficiency considerably. Which is a very big deal because petrol is very expensive in India and its price varies across cities: it is the costliest in Mumbai, where I live.
I love rev matching that's why i switch to manual and thank you for explaining really appreciate it
Thanks for this very helpful video. I passed my test in August. Sometimes, my clutch control is hit and miss. I watched your videos preparing for my test now I use your videos as a reference
I really wanted to know how to do this , there’s nothing better than learning it from watching your video , thanks
Your socks and shoes are always money! Also thank you for this video, I recently got an 8th gen civic si with a stage 3 clutch. Most of my driving is in town and my previous vehicle was happy cruising in 3rd gear. The si definitely seems to prefer being in 4th, so ive been having to downshift a lot. You got me rolling in a manual a few years ago and continue to help me today. Thank you!
Wow my dad taught me how to rev match before for smoother and "healthier" according to him by using the gas pedal. That's how i learned and I had no idea about the 1st technique you demonstrated here! I must try this haha. Thank you.
Thank you!! It's been annoying me I couldn't go down gear smoothly, now I know what I'm doing wrong! :)
By far the best video I've watched on engine breaking and I've watched quite a few. Well done!
Thanks for this useful video I’ve had someone who I’ve been teaching how to drive struggling with downshifting cause it was very jerky this video will help a lot!
I've been driving a manual for 15 years and was never taught this. Over time if I figured this out to some extent but have definitely been over using the breaks to slow the car down before downshifting as a way to keep the heat change smooth.
I passed my driving test today and your channel helped me so much while i was still learning. it made me so much more confident before lessons too since I would get really nervous every time. even though i’ve passed however, i’m still gonna watch your videos as they help me become even better, so thank you for making these! 👍
That's great to hear! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
Haven't been driving long and I'm already rev matching using the gas on downshifts. Not especially well, admittedly, and it helps that I drive the most forgiving car ever made (its bite point is about half the travel of the clutch), so that helps, but I figure having the technique down will help for future.
Passed my test today watched your videos for the past week super helpful
Congratulations on passing!
Finally, someone who isn't talking about F-ing double clutching. The clutch is made to sync the engine with the gearbox
Absolutely amazing video!
You are teaching us a lot of stuff that we can not learn anywhere else.
Haven’t been able to drive recently but I’ve been binge watching all the advanced videos. Downshifting or Upshifting to 2nd has always been annoying for me just cuz of holding the clutch at the biting point.
Just wanted to say thanks for making these videos so easily understandable with all the camera angles.
Thanks to you I have refined even more driving a manual gearbox! Respect 🙏🏼
This is very helpful, I’m looking forward to putting this into practice this week with my instructor and with my car. Thankyou.
Your videos are so interesting, I've been driving for almost 2 years and i still find your videos very informative and just enjoyable to watch. ♥️ Almost 700k as well! Happy for you!
you taught me so many useful things in one video and also made me aware of things that I was doing without knowing the reasons (like matching revs or hitting gas while downshifting). Now I know the reasons and I will be able to teach it to others as well thank you so much🫵❤️
Even when you're not rev matching with the gas, I've found that pressing the throttle just a tiny bit, barely rising the revs over idle by 100-200rpm, will help reduce engine braking by a lot, making a smooth clutch release easier.
Hello there! I found this channel after beginning to doubt my clutch skills. Clutch began to smell on a regular basis, mostly while manoeuvring. Watching your videos puts me at ease that I'm doing it correctly, but when I get in the car I'm starting to develop a phobia of sorts haha.
Been driving for around 10 years and have never had my car stutter on take off so frequently. For the past 2 years I've been driving mountain roads and city mostly, maybe that wore the clutch out. No idea when was the last change, the car is second hand. I will be taking it to a mechanic first chance. Nevertheless, wanted to say thank you for the great videos! :))
This helped even though i drove manual for over 10 years. I was using the clutch to slow the car thinking it was the engine braking. I got it backwards because i held the clutch too long not rev matching properly with the aim to release the clutch as quick as possible to let the engine slow me down.....
Did it wrong on my car even though i ride a bike lol....
13:33 expert mode: doing the shift without pressing the clutch. Since you are already rev matching you can try it without the clutch. Getting the gear out is easy. After letting go of gas you can pull out the gear after 1/4 of a second. The rev matching is very similar but you need to be more accurate to what the gear is expecting. Any more or less and it will let you know (grinding). Match the revs with gas and after letting gas after 1/4 sec you can just gently push the gear in.
Timings and accuracy will depend on your car. Mine will only do about 100 rpm +- but my friends car will do closer to 150+-.
Easiest is probably 3rd to 4th and 4th to 5th gear. Going the other way is harder as you have to do more matching from 4th to 3rd.
Loved this one... Finally I know why rev match is helpful in a normal down shift as well... Use it a lot on highways for overtaking already... 👍
Learning how to rev match was a game changer when I first started driving manual! It's still a little tricky to get a perfect downshift every time, but I've only been driving for 3 years so I've plenty of time to master it still. I wish that I could heel-toe, but I have US size 12 feet, long femurs and exclusively drive tiny cars so my knees just hit the steering column unless I'm slamming the brakes lol.
Richard, I passed today with only a few minors. Thanks entirely to your helpful videos
That's fantastic news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
I was really waiting for the end. I was always told to rev match with pressing the gas pedal. Clutch - throttle blip - drop gear - throttle blip - clutch up. Less clutch wear, fast car, feels more stable.
Never would I have thought I would see ibxtoycat, I was already loving the video, now this!
you said "don't lift the clutch high enough so that the clutch slows down the brake"
you also said "instead, you want to lift the clutch high enough so that the clutch matches the engine speed"
Which one is higher? how do I distinguish between both? You've missed out an explanation on that part. I don't want to risk bringing my clutch up to the wrong extent, it would make all the difference between excessive and normal clutch wear.
Everything else was perfect. Very clear and detailed explanation, thank you.
Awesome, this is just the video I needed! I have a hard time getting smooth downshifts consistently, especially in the lower gears. Sometimes I get it right, sometimes I don't. I knew that when I get a rough downshift, it's because I released the clutch too early, but I wasn't sure when exactly to release it. But until I saw this video, I didn't know that you can use the tachometer, as well as the sound of the engine, as a guide for when to release the clutch. Cool! Now, I will practice next time I drive my manual car. By the way, my 2020 Toyota Corolla hatchback comes with an auto rev match feature. But it's just a tool, it doesn't compensate for bad driving technique.
After mastering it, the next level is to shift/down shift without using the clutch pedal. But it took a lot of practice, I'm 24yo, I learned heal and toe at 15yo in simracing, applied it during my learning sessions IRL, now it's natural and then since 5 years ago I was confident to switch gears without using the clutch. I don't recommand because a big mistake car break the gearbox. It's really end level, so in down shift, it's not efficient, too tricky but concerning up shift, I'm doing it naturally 98% of the time, it preserves everything, has no much risks, and chill to perform. Nothing is smoother than that because it's equal to the perfect shift when clutch isn't involved and it's so satisfaying. 🥰 (It stays the end level even in up shift)
The strange thing there is that I've always meet little troubles with casual cars because they don't have enough power to rev fast, with my simracing experience I want to do this fast but so frustrating I have to be slow and chill it, many time I forgot I don't have a sport car. Then that's why I'm confused when you said it's more difficult in the miata because when I tried one for my purchase, I felt in love on it and one of the reason was because heal and toe was so natural and I performed it perfectly at everytime at any speed for any gears. 😅
As mx5 owner, your explanation Is spot on. I thought it was me lol
I spent this whole video thinking I must be committing a sin because whenever I shift down, I just pump the accelerator and change gear normally. And I've done that since the day I passed about 12 years ago (wasn't taught to do it). Seeing the first 2 thirds of this vid had me confused thinking why risk clutch wear at all? Glad to be validated at the end lol.
I wouldn't have thought it to require any more driving skill though, it seems much simpler and more intuitive. My down shifts are smoother than my upshifts half the time. Although I guess you need a certain amount of experience to naturally know how much rpm you need to give it.
Love your videos mate I haven’t got a car but still love watching your vids 🙂
Once you get to the skill level where you can rev match with throttle blipping and heel toe, you feel amazingly in touch with your car. Takes a good while to get the hang of it but oh what a feeling! No other car can replicate that rewarding rush and sense of accomplishment. Depending on the car, you might have to get creative with downshifting under braking. In my 2022 Corolla SE manual, pedal placement for heel-toe requires me to brake with my heel and use the brake as a pivot so I can stab the gas with my toes. The gas pedal is just too recessed to do it any other way. Have yet to see this particular way done anywhere else but I am sure others have tried it this way. I've seen how you do it which is common and well as the reverse of what I do (brake with toes, stab gas with heel). Of course, this requires specific pedal placement to allow for this kind of articulation. As usual, you have made another fantastic video to help people master the manual transmission. I salute you! I would love to know what your opinion on auto-rev matching in modern manual cars is. I find it is not as effective as a driver who has the training and practice to rev-match, well, manually. My thoughts are a trained driver can proactively select revs whereas auto rev matching is reactive (clutch must be released before revving to appropriate RPM occurs which takes time and ultimately caps shift speed and clutch release time. Putting in the work to learn to do it yourself and become in-tune with the vehicle seems to yield much faster shift speeds than the automated revving can deliver. Is this your experience as well? This is my experience with Toyota iMT. Probably why Toyota decided to default the system to "off" everytime you start the car. It just cannot compete with a good driver.
You may disagree, but I’d suggest that your throttle pedal’s recessed position is adequate for heel and toe. You should be using heel and toe in a controlled environment, where HARD braking is required. If you are braking HARD enough, with the ball of your foot, that recessed throttle pedal will be almost flush with your brake pedal at the moment you need it, meaning you can use your heel on the throttle. If your throttle is too far away to reach with your heel, you aren’t braking hard enough, most likely because you weren’t travelling fast enough to need to heel and toe in the first place. It’s a track technique. Not a road driving skill.
@@gtp_vexd3507 I don't disagree. You are completely correct. If I needed to brake harder I probably could heel toe the other way as the pedals would line up. However, I like to be able heel-toe in less extreme circumstances. Even on road, it can be useful in certain circumstances to be able to brake and downshift. This is why I started heel-toeing in this manner as to allow for less aggressive braking and downshifting simultaneously. I don't always do it, but I have found it useful at times. Thank you for your input.
I learned how to drive manual in a semi truck (lorry) first so I didn’t even know you could use a clutch to rev match! I’ve always used the throttle for this (and half the time I forget to clutch at all unless I’m going slow or coming to a stop).
Wow, I didn't learn this when I went to driving school? They taught me to do break progressively before I step on clutch and downshift to match the rev, but this one is a smoother technique.
Smoother isn't always easier. Most likely taught you the easiest way because it's driving school. They're not going to teach advance techniques
I've learned to rev match on my own from watching your videos (still can't heel and toe, need a bit more practice) because my dad is for some reason of the belief that rev matching is some new-fangled European-only technique since he didn't learn it when his 18 year old sister taught him to drive 35+ years ago. Whenever he downshifts, he does what you do in the second demonstration, and just lets off the clutch completely when he's in the lower gear. The car jolts every single time he does it, and he sees nothing wrong with that at all. He just refuses to listen to me tell him he's wearing his clutch much faster by doing that because "you have less experience therefore you know less than me, therefore you're wrong." He actually believes that me rev matching properly damages his car MORE than what he does. He also doesn't want to watch any of your videos anymore because "they drive different over there, the cars are different" even though the basic fundamentals of a manual transmission haven't changed for the past 100 years. All this to say, what can I tell him to help him prolong the life of his clutch and car, other than rev matching because he seems adamant on never attempting it?
ahh... I am glad you mentioned the rev matching method - this is what I learned to do as a young driver when my mate was skinning up next to me... he would complain that my driving was too jerky and he would spill the, errrr, gear 🤣
But since then I have been using that method - I find that its easiest to think about it roughly like you put the clutch in and also push a little bit on the accelerator (for quick changes) - if you are too slow on the gear change, then you over-rev - so its got to be quite quick.
However nowadays I am very slow/careful driver so I will try out the clutch-rev-matching :)
I was riding motorbikes and passed my motorbike test before I passed my car test. Once I passed my car test, on day one I started learning how to rev match with the throttle. I still haven’t gotten round to learning how to heel-toe, but I really need to. The opportunity hasn’t popped up yet, it’s always either been too busy, or I have a passenger in the car.
This is very useful stuff, for real. Somehow if you don't look up and learn these things as a beginner, you might end up as an "experienced" driver that does none of these things, as its the case of plenty, unfortunately.
This is all quite basic stuff, but very well explained indeed. A useful video for the beginners who want to improve their skills/switch to driving manual.
In Canada, manual transmission cars are cheaper so that’s why my first car was a manual! My drivers Ed was completely on an automatic so My dad taught me how to drive a manual over the weekend and it was a very frustrating experience, he’d say ‘watch my feet’ but I couldn’t see his feet in the wheel well - he’d say “pop the clutch” and I had no idea whether that meant to push the pedal down or to lift my foot off the pedal. After one day of this, I drove around on Sunday and drove to work on Monday in rush hour. I had that car for 17 years and never needed to have the clutch replaced because the one thing my dad emphasized was ‘you don’t want to ride the clutch’
I’ve had manual cars ever since - because they are still cheaper but also because they are more fun to drive