Despite the fact that this is an extremely rare choice of gear when driving a car, there are still situations in which there is a need to switch to first speed (gear), which is preferable for faster acceleration while the car is moving, although such a switch will be associated with certain additional difficulties .
Shifting gears can become an automotive art for drivers and their full understanding of exactly what actions form smooth transitions between gears, engine speeds and different shaft speeds in . And despite the fact that first gear by its nature is designed solely to move the car, hairpins and very sharp turns multiplied by the steepness of the climb may require the driver to switch to a gear with a higher torque coefficient, namely , to the first speed of the gearbox.
If you, dear friends (motorists), have tried to shift into first gear (speed) in this way before, you may have noticed for yourself how difficult it can be to “stick” first gear at speed, right up to that very clanging sound under the hood of the car and even with full squeezing clutch. Let us immediately reassure you that everything is fine with your favorite car, the gearbox is not broken, the synchronizers have not fallen apart. Everything is very simple, you need to know and master a special technique for switching to the lowest speed (gear).
In ordinary life, this situation with switching to 1st gear occurs precisely in the case when a motorist, when approaching a traffic light, actually simply stopped his car at a red light and suddenly the green traffic light lights up for him, when the car needs to move quickly. The second gear of the box will take a long time to pull the car almost from a standstill, then by hook or by crook you will need to immediately engage the first lower speed (gear), here and at this very moment the knowledge that we have will help you We want to provide you with it today in this article.
Technically, the problem itself is that the difference in the ratios between second and first gears is quite (too) large. Therefore, it is not always possible for synchronizers to successfully cope with this task to fill this very gap. The synchronizing devices in first gear have to work much harder than in other gears, which can certainly lead to their early failure and inevitable failure.
In fact, the actions of the synchronizers themselves can be compared to a small clutch that is installed on the output shaft between the gears that slow down or increase relative to the speed of the gears, which perform the actions (work) of easily engaging the teeth in the gear. Therefore, the result is that when an attempt is made to shift into first gear, at that very moment the relative speed between the output shaft and the input shaft will be excessively high (large), compared to other different and less relative speeds (gears).
For example, take the transmission of a 2016 Honda Civic. The ratio for first gear in this box is 3,6:1 which means for every 3.6 full revolutions of the crankshaft, the gear makes only one revolution. 2nd gear has a ratio 2,1:1 , the 3rd gear ratio is 1,4:1 , 4th gear with ratio 1:1 direct transmission, 5th gear has the ratio 0,8:1 , and the last 6th gear has the ratio 0,7:1 .
As you can see, friends, the difference in the gear ratio of the gear teeth becomes smaller and smaller as they move to higher gears, which in turn makes it easier for the synchronizers to match the rotation speeds of the gears.
However, similar and similar problems can arise not only when switching from second to first gear.
For example, you need to overtake a vehicle, but there is not enough distance left to the solid line. You are moving in fourth gear and have already begun to pass the car you are overtaking. You need to speed up quickly. The only logical way for you in this situation would be to switch to a lower gear.
And the third? It is unlikely that the car needs more intense acceleration. An experienced driver, having compared the speed of movement and engine speed at this moment, can instantly come to the conclusion that it is necessary to turn on second gear. OK. But there is one “but”; doing this without a clear understanding of the actions performed by the driver will be very, very difficult and will be extremely harmful for the box itself. Therefore, friends, remember, there are certain and correct solutions for safely performing overtaking actions.
They (actions) can be divided into two main groups: double clutch release and throttle release .
They allow you to equalize the speed of rotation of the crankshaft and reduce the load on the synchronizers in gear, which will contribute to smooth shifting. *
*Despite the effectiveness of these methods, we still do not recommend their regular use, especially in those moments when you switch to first gear, since it will still not be possible to reduce shock loads as much as possible and the transmission will continue to receive additional stress.
Double clutch release
You can find out more about this shifting technique in our article: - “Here (in this article) we will outline and tell you about the basic postulates of the gear shifting technique.
To summarize the process of downshifting from fourth to third speed:
- 1. Press the clutch pedal.
- 2. Move the shift lever to the neutral position.
- 3. Release the clutch.
- 4. Press the throttle.
- 5. Press the clutch pedal again.
- 6. Switch to third gear.
- 7. Release the clutch pedal.
There are many types of over-gassing. Its initial use was due to the lack of synchronizers in the variable gearbox, which precluded their smooth activation. Today, throttling is used for a smoother change in engine speed when downshifting at high speed. In cases of deceleration, a large load is placed on the engine and gearbox, which can have a detrimental effect on performance.
How to re-gas correctly?
- During standard throttling on a climb, before overtaking, in a turn, we reduce the fuel supply and depress the clutch. Without stopping in the neutral gear position, we lower it.
- We sharply press and release the accelerator pedal and briefly increase the fuel supply. We bring the engine speed to the maximum torque value. Release the clutch and open the throttle.
- When downshifting, turn off the fuel supply to the engine and depress the clutch. We engage neutral gear and bring the engine speed to the maximum torque value with a reserve for engaging a lower gear.
- We engage a lower gear and release the clutch pedal. We increase the fuel supply.
- In the event of an extreme situation, we use high-speed throttling. Before the engine starts to lose speed, keep the throttle open and slowly engage the clutch.
- At the moment of a sharp increase in speed, we engage a lower gear and clutch. By delaying disengagement, you cause the clutch to slip, which will allow you to raise the crankshaft speed to the level you need.
- Using over-throttle to compensate for the loss of speed when upshifting, disengage the clutch and move the gearshift knob to the neutral position. We sharply, but in doses, increase and decrease the fuel supply. We engage a higher gear, remove our foot from the clutch pedal and open the fuel supply.
Do you want the car to buck? Turn it down!
With downshifts the situation is somewhat more complicated than with upshifts. If you are a novice driver and this is not obvious to you, do the following: accelerate to 50 km/h in 3rd gear, engage 2nd gear and quickly release the clutch pedal as usual. As a result, the tachometer needle will jump up sharply, and the car will jerk violently. Try it! Happened?
This will always happen when moving from a higher gear to a lower gear, only the intensity of the jerk will be different depending on the speed and gear. Why does the jerk occur? As the sharply “bouncing” tachometer needle shows us, when the gear is lowered, the engine speed increases. If, when switching from II to III gear, the needle drops from 3500 to 2500 rpm, then when switching from III to II, on the contrary, it jumps from 2500 to 3500. This means that by including a lower gear, we forcibly accelerate the engine to higher revs. Since the rotating parts of the engine are heavy and inert, they resist spinning up, which is what results in the machine jerking. It turns out that the jerk is like a protest of the motor :)
Over-gas or clutch?
So I recommend that you regularly, every time you downshift, use the throttle and, preferably, double depressing the clutch pedal. By throttling, you will change gear faster, smoother and safer for both road traffic and vehicle parts than by smoothly releasing the clutch pedal. Of course, it’s difficult to master re-gasping, but if you do it, I’m afraid you’ll like it so much that you won’t be able to tear it away! And then you won’t be jailed for a machine gun :)))
Toe Forever!
By the way, re-throttle (in English: toe) came to us from the good old fifties, from trucks that did not have synchronizers and the gear could not be engaged in principle without re-gearing. Therefore, today there is sometimes a point of view that, they say, shifting the throttle is an anachronism, hello from the past, and that any modern car copes perfectly with downshifting without shifting the throttle. If you think so, then let’s return to the second paragraph of this article and once again engage a lower gear without revving up the throttle. And for greater clarity, let’s switch to 50 km/h not in second gear, but immediately in first gear. Just choose a quieter and wider place on the road, otherwise you’ll fly off the road, it won’t seem too much...
I’ll also add that re-throttle is an integral part of any professional racer’s arsenal of techniques. So if you are planning to take up sports driving, changing the throttle is a must for you! Try it, go for it!
And if you need practice, come to the courses “The Magic of Gear Shifting” or “Driving on a Race Track”. For novice drivers, the “Driving in the City” course is more suitable, and for advanced drivers, I can also advise taking an exclusive course from our school: “MBA Course for Drivers: Mastery of Driving a Car.”
Even if you are not going to achieve the heights of racing driving, in any case, changing the throttle is an element of driving skill and the calling card of a competent driver. I recommend!
With shifting and downshifting - that's all, and in the next article I will finally tell you
Today we will talk about increasing the thrust of a car engine during certain critical situations, in particular about the reserve of power that is created before emergency action and about maximum torque, which reduces engine inertia. As experienced drivers say driving instructors Today we will talk about re-gasification.
Throttle and maximum traction
Over-throttle is an increase in engine speed in neutral or with the clutch depressed at speed before the next gear engagement. To prepare the car and raise the speed in advance for a sharp start or making a quick maneuver.
Many novice drivers believe that throttling is a legacy of old cars that did not have synchronizers. But when driving lessons we are often told that re-gas has not lost its relevance in modern car models, especially to increase safety at various critical moments through the use of car engine power.
Another way to help drivers cope with difficult situations on the road is to maximize the car's engine thrust or torque. It can be achieved at one or another speed of rotation of the automobile crankshaft. This indicator is usually indicated in the technical specifications for the vehicle. For example, for VAZ cars the maximum engine thrust is approximately 4000 rpm.
In simple terms, it is best to overcome some critical situations when the rotation speed is higher or corresponds to the highest torque. In this case, the engine responds much faster to pressing the gas pedal. If the rotation speed decreases, then sharp throttling will no longer give a quick effect.
Note that today (in most cases due to high fuel prices) the so-called “economical” driving is very relevant, which is why motorists in emergency situations are less likely to help themselves with engine power.
Learning to increase power?
To increase the power of a car engine to the desired level, various techniques are used. For example, standard throttle change before switching to a downshift. This technique is relevant in the following cases:
- before entering a turn;
- before overtaking;
- on the rise;
First you need to disengage the clutch, and then sharply press the gas and release it sharply, which will bring the frequency value when rotating the crankshaft closer to the maximum torque value. Here, a reserve of 1000-1500 revolutions is also made, which will be lost when the gear is engaged. Next, while shifting the throttle, engage a downshift using the clutch, and then press the gas pedal.
Re-throwing when pressing the clutch twice is used if there are any defects in the gearbox (for example, damage to the synchronizers), when two shift cycles are missed, and when changing gears while driving on a very slippery road surface. To do this, stop the gas supply and disengage the clutch, then “open” the gas again, which will increase the speed. Next, turn off the gas and clutch again, and a downshift is needed. After this, we “open” the gas.
Reversing the throttle in neutral is important before engaging in a low gear with a skip and during intense acceleration, that is, when power decreases sharply. To perform such a shift, you need to turn off the gas and clutch, go to “neutral”, “open” the gas (this will increase the speed and give some reserve), engage a low gear, and then press the gas.
After-gas, if you need to engage an overdrive, drivers use it to compensate for some loss of speed, for example, due to a long pause while engaging an overdrive. This method is also applicable when engaging gears with one or another skip (II - IV or I - III). In post-gasification you need to adhere to this sequence of actions. First, disengage the clutch and switch to neutral gear. Next, sharply, quickly, but very measuredly, we “open” and “close” the gas, after which we engage the overdrive gear. At the end we “open” the gas again.
A few words about high-speed gas transfer...
High-speed throttling, when the clutch slips and a downshift occurs, or rather its engagement, but in an impact way, is used in those extreme situations when there is no time to perform actions.
This re-gasification is performed as follows. As soon as the engine begins to lose speed (although it is better to start the procedure even before that), slowly disengage the clutch with a slight delay, while keeping the throttle open. This gives the engine the opportunity to quickly increase speed. It is at this moment that you need to shift to a lower gear and press the clutch. It must be said that the delay in disengaging the clutch causes it to slip and increases the rotation speed in a short period of time, and to any level.
Clutch slip when in constant gear is used to increase power when there is no time to downshift. This method can be used when overcoming a steep climb (its top), an area with dirty and loose soil, and when driving in the snow. Incomplete disengagement and engagement of the clutch gives an additional 300-600 revolutions, which speeds up the vehicle.
Note that all of the above methods have a fairly wide range of applications, both in critical road situations and in standard ones. They allow you to increase the controllability and stability of the car thanks to the anti-lock effect during emergency braking. In addition, these techniques are designed to generate reliable engine thrust, which reduces the severity of critical situations.
Video material on how to re-throttle and select speed:
Good luck and peace of mind on the roads!
The article uses an image from the site www.kakprosto.ru
The generation trained in Soviet driving schools or drivers who worked in the old domestic automobile industry will not be stumped by such a question. They know very well what double squeezing is, what over-throttle is and how to brake with an engine. These are the main questions that the driver should have mastered at the first stages of training.
In the modern world, these questions are not relevant, since there are fewer and fewer machines operating on such principles. Until now, they operate among village farmers, in our secondary schools as a clear example in labor classes, colleges, technical schools and, of course, in the army.
However, any driver needs to know these questions, since this was the basis and in the event, God forbid, of cataclysms on a universal scale and if the earth turns into a deserted desert, ala “Mad Max,” then they will be relevant. Why? Because the only equipment that will function are old lawn trucks, semi-trucks, army armored cars and other monsters of the Cold War era.Ultra-modern cars with tiptronic gearboxes, CVTs and robotic transmissions will sink into oblivion like a sweet dream that will not come true and comrades who are used to driving in position “D” will either relearn or run on foot.Let's get closer to the point.
What is double squeezing and re-gasping?
Double squeezing and re-throttle are a mandatory procedure for pedal ballet for cars whose gearbox does not have synchronizers. It should be noted that previously they were not installed on boxes, but later, when engineering ideas reached the point that the car should not only be useful, but also easy to drive, synchronizers appeared.What are synchronizers?
Synchronizers are mechanisms that synchronize the rotational speed of the shaft and gears. This makes shifting easier, makes shifts smooth and quick, and reduces wear and damage. Yes, and it gets rid of the characteristic grinding noise that everyone has heard, especially when traveling on old buses.Double release is required not only when there are no synchronizers, but also when they are faulty or the box is frankly dead.
The process of double squeezing itself is switching to a higher gear by pressing the clutch pedal twice. Why is this necessary? Let me explain. This is necessary so that the engine speed is equal to the shafts and gears, otherwise the latter will fly apart or jam, depending on your luck. How does this happen? You are driving in first gear, rev the engine to 3000 rpm and plan to switch to second, you need to let off the gas, press the clutch and move the lever to neutral, lower the clutch and wait until the engine speed drops to 2000 and press the clutch again, which will switch to second. This way you equalize the speed of the primary and secondary shafts. The box is fine and you can move on.
Re-gearing is the reverse process in which you try to downshift without killing the gearbox. This happens as follows. You're approaching a corner that you can't make in fourth gear. You slow down and if you don’t downshift, you risk stalling because there won’t be enough revolutions to spin the engine. You smoothly release the gas and depress the clutch, decelerate and shift to neutral. What happens next is that you need to gain momentum because the low gear has a higher gear ratio. You need to operate the gas pedal or, as they say, revoke the gas pedal to increase engine speed. The revolutions have risen, they are synchronized with the shaft and you can press the clutch and switch to a lower gear and continue driving in it.
The main thing in the process is to observe a pause in throttling, with neutral gear. It’s like a beginner who gets behind the wheel of a car for the first time and doesn’t understand how to catch the right clutch moment when starting off so that the car doesn’t bite or stall. There are no special secrets here; the skill comes with experience.
Why is this necessary if modern cars with manual transmission are equipped with synchronizers? There is a simple answer to this. Imagine that you have a pickup truck or a small truck, such as Gazelle and Valdai, and you are transporting some kind of cargo. The road is not always smooth and straight; there are ups and downs or sections of rough terrain with a gravel road, and there are potholes and ravines through which it passes. Well, these same synchronizers didn’t last long after the first ascent, you need to use re-throttle. You go uphill and understand that the car won’t pull out in this gear, there won’t be enough revolutions, you shift the throttle, switching to a lower gear, and on a slope it’s easy for the car to shift without losing the necessary inertia.
There is one more point that every driver should know - engine braking. Why is he married if I have four brave wheels that will do everything. It is necessary, especially when the brakes have failed, there is ice or a steep descent in mountainous areas. In these cases, the ability to brake with an engine is simply necessary. How does this happen? If you suspect your brakes are failing, downshift, the engine speed will increase and the transmission speed will drop as you downshift. The car will begin to slow down. Then you switch in the same way until the danger has passed and you can either continue driving or use the braking system to stop. But this is with a manual transmission, but how to brake with an automatic? You need to put the box into overdrive and gradually reduce the speed; when the speed drops to 90 km/h, switch to second and wait for the code, the speed will drop to 50 km/h, then switch to L. It’s simple. However, most modern automatic machines do not require such body movements and adapt themselves to your style; if at a certain moment you let off the gas, then due to lack of revolutions, it will itself reduce the gear, braking the entire structure.
