In message <002201bf8d0d$db32e420$4c04c73f@pacbell.net>, Chris Tweney writes:
> OK, this question has had me fretting since Saturday's event.
>
> I was talking to my co-courseworker, Darryl, who said that
> he runs his Cabriolet through almost the entire course in 2nd
> gear. Now what I've found is that I'm losing lots of time by
> trying -- and usually failing -- to heel-and-toe downshift into
> 1st on the slower turns. So should I just forget about downshifting
> in autocrosses, or should I work on perfecting heel-and-toe?
> What are y'all doing out there -- left-foot braking w/o shifting?
The answer is: It Depends. If you've got a wide torque curve, you don't
need to downshift as much. If you've got all your power up in the
high revs, you might need to do it on some corners.
I'm driving a Miata (140 bhp, RWD), and all of my power (such as it
is - quit snickering, you Corvette drivers!) is above 4K rpm. I
generally stay in 2nd, but on some tight corners I'll drop into
1st. There weren't any that required it last Sunday at Oakland,
but it's not unusual to see a tight 180 that works better in 1st.
Basicly, if your revs are dropping out of your power band during a
corner, you "should" be downshifting. But if you're not falling very
far below your power, you may be hurting yourself more by making the
shift that you gain from the extra power. If I could do perfect
shifts, I'd probably downshift a lot more than I do. But I can't, so I
don't.
The hard part is trying to figure out how far your revs are dropping. I
find it almost impossible to look at the instruments while I'm on
course. And of course, you don't know how far you dropped until
*after* it's too late. That's what the 2nd and later runs are for.
Keith Hearn
'99 Miata 10AE "Sexy Sadie" the Sapphire Shark
B-Stock
Milpitas, CA
|