Floating Gears

I know what you're saying and I don't really disagree....don't really agree either LOL.

I guess I'm going to say that you have to really mess things up to the point of being incompetent to grind with the clutch because there is no power the trans. The gears will lose momentum and stop when you try to mesh them

 

Let me rephrase then.

If you are really truly grinding the gears hard, just forcing it into gear, then yes, it is certainly easier with the clutch. If you rev to high and just start forcing it into gear, there will be a lot less grinding with the clutch.

But I'm also talking about that kind of grinding where you are just a hair off, and you just hear them hit a few times, not a long continuous grinding. With the clutch, you may be right, you may not even really grind if you are close enough, but you can do the same without the clutch, if you do it quickly enough. If you are not moving the gear shift quickly enough, there will be a little grinding. The problem with that, of course, is if you are off by a little more than you think, you end up grinding the gear really hard.

Honestly, if you are doing it right, I don't think it's any harder to do it without the clutch, missing is missing. With no synchros, you are going to grind if you miss the window. But if you aren't shifting quickly enough into the gear, then yes, it's probably going to grind more often not using the clutch.

 

Trainees get into a truck with about 10 hours behind the wheel, only learning to double clutch. Usually by the second or third day I'd have them float a gear or two to really get the feel of how LITTLE the throttle needs to move.

There's nothing like the wide eyed look on a trainee's face when they float that first time, "It's so easy!"

The problem with folks that rely on double clutch is they often drop rpm's too much, then ram the throttle, creating an enormous amount of stress on the drive train. This also contributes to lack of smooth transitions between gears that can get you in real trouble if conditions are slick.

Learn to float AND double clutch. Both are very useful.

 

I learned to float gears old school aka how I got my CDL my boss took me out at 18 to teach me how to drive and said never touch the clutch. If I touched the clutch it was a swat on the back of the head. Try learning how to shift a 5x4 and 3 speed rears without double clutching the freaking thing. After I learned how to drive that combo nothing was hard.

 

I dont have the ability to record myself, but i dont grind, i maybe tap the teeth a handfull of times a day. When i teach floating, i have a bad habbit of floating from the passanger seat, (gets a good dirty look from fresh drivers who have never floated) yes you can go all the way up and down without grinding. Float a 10 city peddeling for a week. Repatition, nothing more.

 

This is floating through downtown plattsburg, NY on the two lane grossing 80k. There are some scratches that I don't get when I clutch

 

My 3406b cat with almost 1m miles does't like to come out of some gears so I use the clutch. Funny thing coming out of 4l to 5th ( range shift ) it never grinds for me. Its a 13 speed. Maybe its just a slow response from the old Cat.

 

Seen 2 dude do it. My CDL instructors. Harland and Chris. Up and down both ways. Everyone else has ground the hell out of it....those "been driving for 40 years guys".......

 

Every tractor shifts different too. Same models even shift different sometimes. I prefer floating up but dont always do it.

 

After a while, I can make it seem/shift like an automatic..Its a slow way to. just do it for fun, and to show off..

When the old pros grind, either the tranny insists, or, they just are pullin it in trying to get the job done...AND, sometimes you may not hear a grind at all, but the driver felt it in his hand...that little sensation let him know the hole was comin and he was a sittin there waiting on it