Re: One more time, synchros

[Fred Di Matteo <fredalfa@sprintmail.com>]

The question asked about why 1st and 2nd gear synchros problems,
deserves a very simple answer.  I think all hot-shoes fail to depress
the clutch pedal all the way to the floor before engaging a gear.  Too,
they tend to force the shift lever into the next gear even before the
clutch is fully depressed and the synchros suffer early failure.  Those
gears are heavier than the next 3 and harder to stop.   If you're in
such a hurry to get into 1st gear, hit 5th first then 1st.
I'm going to give you my method of downshifting without the traditional
blipping in neutral and that includes shifting down from 5th through
4,3,2,and 1st .  If you are in 5th and need to downshift into 4th simple
hold the throttle steady, DON"T LET UP, at whatever speed your going,
depress the clutch ALL the way and shift!  It's that easy.  What happens
is that in the short time the clutch is being depressed, the engine
speeds up to just the right speed to engage the next gear perfectly with
no effort.    Works for me every time.

Fred Di Matteo