The answer you seek is in bold lettering.

It's not very precise because it really isn't. It's a proper skill and as such it has to be learned. The only way you'll really learn is to figure it out while doing it.

The tachometer is a nice visual reference but don't lean on it too much. The aim of rev-matching is to smoothen out your downshift when you reengage your clutch. The litmus test is: when letting go of the clutch pedal, are you experiencing a jolt? If you are, you're either doing it too slowly or with not enough RPM. A perfect rev-match is when the car in general barely notices the downshift: no lurching, no wasted revs, just a smooth progression. It's quite hard to do a blipped 2-1 downshift, by the way.

Good luck getting the hang of it. It took me a few months to learn, and I've been driving manual gearboxes all my life. Now I've grown so accustomed to blipped downchanges that it's become second nature - to the amazement of my passengers.

 

Sounds like achieving a perfect rev match in the Fit is not easy. Where is it best to blip, before, during, or after shift?

 

Answer in bold lettering.

 

^^like he said^^

Many years ago when I was learning to drive, all the family had were manual transmission cars. My grandmother would allow me to drive her around in her old '55 Nash Rambler while sitting in the back seat. If I wasn't driving smoothly she would perk up and tell me that I needed to drive as if she were holding her cup of tea. I quickly learned to shift smoothly and take the corners easily.

It can easily be done in the Fit, just takes repeated practice.

 

[quote=DeeezNuuuts83;912615]Like someone already said, you shouldn't skip from 4th to 2nd, since it's usually unnecessary. If you're slowing down just to slow down or approaching a corner, it's best to downshift one gear at a time. I rarely do it nowadays, but the only time I will skip a gear is if I'm on the freeway in top gear and really need (or want) to pick up a lot of speed. So let's say you're going from 4th to 3rd:

1. Release gas, press clutch
2. Begin moving shifter from 4th to 3rd
3. Tap the gas while the shifter is moving (usually when it crosses neutral) to where the rpms would be
4. Release clutch when shifter is in 3rd
5. Press gas (if you intend to accelerate)

DEEEZ, WHY DO YOU SAY TO RELEASE GAS IN STEP 1? I THOUGHT YOU MAINTAINED GAS PRESSURE UP TO THE MOMENT OF "BLIP"?

 

^ Because I'm talking about before you shift. If you're driving, your foot is on the gas. Step #3 is the throttle blip between gears.

 

On down shifts I find myself revving beyond the targeted match revs and letting the clutch pedal out as they drop to the appropriate RPM.... There are some towns that prohibit engine braking I guess because of the loud exhaust noise of many of the cars and trucks owned by people that practice this method of reducing speed..... My car definitely falls into this category.

 

i understand step #3. Just am not clear on what happens before you depress clutch. If you release gas before clutching seems like this would make it more difficult to reach a proper blip.

 

Stop asking and just try it. Obviously clear step-by-step instructions aren't working for you. Or trade in for an automatic.

 

If you don't release the gas you will over rev the engine compounding the problems you're already having. Finesse is the key word here.

 

Damn TC, you're even ganglier than me trying to fold up in these little cars. Funny how often you see tall guys in small cars, but you rarely see some 6'5 dde get out of a giant truck. When the Pontiac Solstice was being designed back in 05, Bob Lutz (standing at 6'4) insisted that it provide enough room for someone of his stature to drive it. GM may be dysfunctional, but they do design their cars for people who ate their vegetables!

 

I have a cousin that likes little Ford hatchbacks, he's 7' tall and looks out through the rear side windows..... Swedish cars are very comfortable for us Nordic types.

 

Swedish anything is very comfortable for us Nordics - arghh.

 

The 2 meter tall blonde women with good teeth and big bottoms are especially comfortable, just don't piss one of them off... They can hurt you even in moments of extreme intimacy but that is kind of nice.

 

Thanks for clearing it up.

 

As long as they can comfortably recline while I'm double clutching on a rush to redline, it's all good.

 

you are the perfect candidate for manumatic. just embrace technology.