How do you recover gears?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by TheRedskinsWay, Aug 13, 2011.

  1. TheRedskinsWay

    TheRedskinsWay Light Load Member

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    Mar 11, 2011
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    On my drivers I have yet to miss a gear upshifting, but on downshift i sometimes will try to down shift and try to put it into the previous slot and all i hear is the dreaded grinding noise. When that happens my instructor will give me time to see if i can get it right then if i cant he'll reach over and throw the stick easily into the correct hole. He will then say i was either going to slow for the gear or didnt slow my speed down enough and every gear has its own slot, I understand that but how do i know what speed belongs to what gear? Most of our drives are with a super 10.
     
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  3. Onetruckpony

    Onetruckpony Medium Load Member

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    Watch the speed and RPM of each gear on the way up.
    If 9th goes from 40 to 55 on the way up, when down shifting go down to 9th at around 55 and bring RPM up to make it fit.
    After you do it awhile you can figure out which gear and what RPM you need if slowing for a red light that turns green..ie slowed to 35 you will know which gear at what RPM the truck wants at 35 MPH.
    Hope this helps..keep practicing, youll get it.
     
  4. American-Trucker

    American-Trucker Road Train Member

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    OTP is right, you'll learn what RPM and what speed = what gear lol


    Like my truck if im doing 16mph thats 6th gear, 20-25mph 7th etc

    Over time it'll become natural i dont need the tach or the speedo 90% of the time but when i need it i know what im looking for, your school should be teaching you to speed match the gears...





    American Trucker
     
  5. Shaggy

    Shaggy Road Train Member

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    My old instructor used the 5mph theory in High Range on a plain jane straight 10 and 9 speeds
    It's not accurate to each truck and kinda weird to be honest. But it taught me to read road speed in the end.

    Downshifting for braking isn't just that. Downshift to climb a hill after losing roadspeed



    5mph x 6th gear would be 30mph
    5mph x 7th gear would be 35mph
    5mph x 8th gear would be 40mph
    Etc.....



    Super 10 is just less clutch movement.
    split each gear. Personally did not like downshifting in a super 10. when i down shifted for braking used it as a straight 10.

    It gets confusing if distracted easily. when you get the hang of it can drive it like a car without a clutch. I had super worn in super 10 few months ago. I loved it, Hated my first super 10.

    Some days I drove it like a straight 10. 2-4-6-8-10

    Sometimes not even possible to downshift. heavy brakes trying to read intersections. Always that un expected yellow light with a law enforcement monitoring :Driver:
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2011
  6. DirtyBob

    DirtyBob Road Train Member

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    It definitely comes with time. Sometimes you might be in the right hole as well you just gave it to little or too much on the throttle when attempting the downshift. So don't always assume you chose the wrong gear.
     
  7. Longshot34

    Longshot34 Light Load Member

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    Jul 3, 2010
    InTheSticks, USA
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    You'll get it...and before long you'll only use that clutch when your taking off... I haven't been driving that long, only 2 yrs. I can remember having the toughest time catching 7th either way...up or down. LOL My instructor used to laugh at me the whole time...1-6 smooth as glass...come up to 7th and you'd think the gear didn't exist with all my grinding! LOL Like I said, you'll get in time with no problem. Just takes a little practice like anything else.
     
  8. Ranger70

    Ranger70 Light Load Member

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    Aug 28, 2010
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    Could be a few different things, start with the basics first, have you dropped rpm's enough, did you give enough throttle, did you miss the hole, how long is it taking to recover, take to long rpm's go down you may need to hit another gear, etc... point is relax it is all about practice, the 5mph thing is a good general tool to get you in the ballpark of gear selection, but if you are only dropping one gear it shouldn't be to hard to figure out, even 2. Going back to when I went to school, drop 1 gear, take rpm's down to 1000-900, double down drop down to 700, a very crude method but it gets you in the rythem of all you need to do to downshift, then you can figure out the little tricks. All ways know the basics and then move on.
     
  9. Bent Wrench

    Bent Wrench Medium Load Member

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    I drew a picture of a speedometer and pie sliced it into sections for each gear. 1000 to 1500 rpm slices, don't worry about splits yet.

    You could draw it on the inside of the windshield (in a corner) with a felt pen for reference
     
  10. Powell-Peralta

    Powell-Peralta Road Train Member

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    Believe it or not, i think one of the best ways for someone to learn the science/reasons for shifting gears in a truck (or car) is to get a 10 speed bike and ride it at least 8 miles a day and/or at least 1 hour a day but more would be better.


    This will help you learn WHY you need to upshift and downshift. It also teaches you the relationship between engine speed (your legs) and road speed---the speed of the the rear wheels---and thus speed of the transmission and rest of the drivetrain.


    Once you understand the WHY you need to shift and the speed relationship between engine and wheels, this makes all the difference in the world.

    P.S. 1) Sounds like your "instructor" can't teach worth a ####.
    2) It would be better to learn on a regular 10sp transmission vs. super 10 in my opinion.
     
    tinytim Thanks this.
  11. TheRedskinsWay

    TheRedskinsWay Light Load Member

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    Mar 11, 2011
    Columbia SC
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    Thanks guys! I figured it was a "get better with time" deal. Powel riding a 10spd bike makes alot of sense, I just might pull my old bike out. Also we drive 8spd, and a 9 spd, but we test in the super 10 so I wanna get comfortable with that for now.
     
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