[earthian]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

For optimum performance and to keep the engine in its power band, you need to go through all the gears.

In my Santa Fe , there are 2 OD gears. 5th and 6th. I may shift from 4th to 6th sometimes.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

As long as you downshift to the appropriate gear, it is not a problem to shift from 5th to the 1st.

Is that right? I would have thought that a drastic gear reduction at speed, may strip the gears?

Originally Posted by audioholic

I do try some stuff like not using clutch while shifting etc, but this s shouldn't be done frequently.

I first used to do this on my Jawa 250. When you sync with the vehicle, you get tuned to the right synchronous speed for shifting the gears without engaging the clutch.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by HappyRoadie

Reviving this old thread. I have a Tata Safari Dicor. I have noticed that my driver reverses the car and when its time to move the car forward he directly slots it in 2nd gear and moves on. Is it a correct practice? Also 6 months back I had to get the clutch plates changed ( car had travelled around 43k kms then). The excuse my driver gave was that since the car is driven in bumper to bumper traffic thats why clutch plate got damaged. Hope to hear soon.

Take it out of the driver's wages. The clutch replacement points to, or at least strongly suggests, he is doing the wrong thing, or doing it in the wrong way.

By the way: a source of clutch wear is resting the foot on the clutch pedal. Check he doesn't do that,

Originally Posted by earthian

In my Santa Fe , there are 2 OD gears. 5th and 6th. I may shift from 4th to 6th sometimes.

One of my early gurus told me that (as I had learnt earlier) it is fine, within reason, skipping gears on the way down, but not on the way up. But an article I recently read put a compelling contrary case. say... you wanted to accelerate hard, so did so in second, and reached the speed you want to cruise at: so what's the point in changing to 4th via 3rd. None at all! But old habits die hard.

Is that right? I would have thought that a drastic gear reduction at speed, may strip the gears?

5th to 1st seems too big a change to me.

I first used to do this on my Jawa 250. When you sync with the vehicle, you get tuned to the right synchronous speed for shifting the gears without engaging the clutch.

Err... I think you mean disengaging. You can do anything you like with the gear lever if you don't engage the clutch

My dad used to show off clutch-less driving, but he was a grand master, and had cut his teeth (and maybe those of a cog or two while learning) in pre-syncromesh days.

[earthian]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Err... I think you mean disengaging. You can do anything you like with the gear lever if you don't engage the clutch

Yes, i meant disengaging, though "engage" in the present context was meant to be "employ"

[pranavtengshe]

Driving a grand i10 petrol it never takes off from standstill in 2nd gear without slipping clutch. But if its crawling, maybe even slighly moving it picks up fine in 2nd. One more risk of using higher gears at low speeds is engine lugging. So if you save your clutch you are straining your engine. 1st gear is often too short but puts less strain on the mechanicals