Downshifting

Joints?
I thought it was the nipples

 

You need to match gear with speed! In a 10 speed tranny lets say 45mph go 9th gear 35mph go to 8th and so on add the numbers together, of course these are examples no 2 trucks shift alike so a couple rpm either way will change. Get a piece of paper start 1st gear right down top speed when you govern out, 2nd gear same do gears and take note on what the rpm is in that gear. By doing this you will know how high or low to bump rpm for specific gear! This just a starting point as all trucks shift different. Its not necessary to always max out rpm to down shift! The slower the engine speed the lower the rpm. Maxing rpm out upshift and down shifting uses extra fuel ! Take your time and ease through the gears let the engine work for you! No need to max out rpm when shifting. Hope this helps, listen to your engine.

 

Your making it real technical and mathematical.
Which is fine if you can put all that information into context which most new drivers cannot.

It takes practice.
It is 95% feel. And you need a very light touch on the shifter, so that you can feel the gearing.
I upshift at 1400 in lower gears. After about 35 or so I run it up to 1600 or so to upshift.
So in lower gears you want to rev up to 1500 when down shifting.
Don't worry too much about coasting right now. Don't get all befuddled.
Smooth is fast.
It takes practice & concentration.

 

Well said!

 

I was a trainer.
It's a learning process, and the mind only absorbs so much so fast.
New drivers go way too deep on the clutch, instead of just nudging it. It's all about the nudge.
They way over rev the engine.
So then the guy gets confused, punches the throttle, puts the clutch to the floor, gggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd, now need to drop two gears, cause the speed is off, doesn't know the shifter pattern well yet.
It's practice and concentration.
Hope you have a decent instructor that's quick to figure out the story that's not a screamer, that never helps.

 

You should practice on a level road. There is a set RPM difference between gears in the low range and a another RPM difference between high range gears. On a level road, practice pushing the clutch in (no more than 1/3 to 1/2 way) and pressing "gas" to increase RPMs by the high range or low range amount, depending if you are in the low range or the high range. When practicing make sure, at first, you are only changing gear in the same range (high/low).

How much does your RPM change on your truck in the low range and how much for the high range? My truck I used to shift in low range at 1300 RPM and the next higher gear would maintain that speed at 1100 RPM. At high range I would upshift at 1600 RPM and maintain steady speed at 1250-1300. So my low range RPM difference was about 200 RPMs and high range difference was about 300-350 RPM. So when downshifting in low range I would have to increase RPMs 200 RPMs and select the lower gear. Downshifting in high range would require me to increase RPMs "bump the throttle" about 300-350 RPMs.

Everybody learns upshifting faster than downshifting. You can even practice pressing the "gas" just the right amount while stopped in the yard. The problem is often 1) pressing the clutch TOO MUCH. Remember, you usually only press it about 1/3 of its travel, not all the way down. Press it just enough to get the job down, too much will make your job harder and wear the clutch faster. 2)Not getting the RPM increase needed for the gear change. Newbies typically press the "gas" not enough followed by TOO MUCH. You and your right foot need to learn to press it just enough for low or high range. One cheat is to increase RPMs a little too much and "jam it in gear" as the RPMs fall toward the right amount. You will hear grinding.

Once you know your low range RPM difference and your high range RPM difference you can sit parked and practice increaseing your RPMs the right amount. You can practice "bumping the throttle". Practice it until you can get pretty close without looking at the tachometer. You can also practice on level road just switching from higher gear to lower gear at a constant speed. Drive for a while at a constant speed with the RPMs at the top of the normal range. Remember that RPM setting and speed. Now shift up to higher gear go back tot he same constant speed (exactly) and note your RPMs. Then practice going back and forth between those gears, each time returnig to the same speed (exactly). It would be ideal if you had a long & level road with no car traffic and pulling a heavy trailer. This would minimize the speed change while between gears.

 

Don't get in the habit of shifting on that stupid jake.

Turn tha Jake off. You are being TOO. IMPATIENT. YES IMPATIENT during shifting to use that jake. Turn it off. Actually sit and watch that Tach come down for downshifting after you kick it..

Lug her all the way down to 1000, clutch in, kick go pedal and slide the next gear on your shifting within 2 heartbeats (You are also double clucthing at this time) get it in there, add power.

IF you feel your rig slowing... and scratch that gear you tried to get, go straight to the next one down. Likely or not you will get it. Just don't be stupid and grind the whole box. (Oh wait, that does not come out the way intended.)

 

Shifting with engine brake on messes up the whole process IMO.I sometimes forget to turn it back off (it's very quiet so it's easy to forget about it) and then the shifting is not smooth at all and I am like WTF? Then I look and "Oh crap,eb on".

 

I had no choice but to learn and learn quick. At 13 yrs old My dad put me in a '61 B-model with a quadraplex and told me to make circles in a 20 acre pasture shifting up and down. He also said if he heard a gear grind while he worked at the shop he would tear my behind up. (He is 6-4 about 270). I got two spankings and that's all it took.