RE: double clutch

["Gregory S. Youngblood" <greg@domain.elided>]

On Tue, 6 Aug 2002, Weiss, Jeffrey wrote:

> David gives the short explanation:
> > Double clutching helps weak synchronizers, straight cut/
> > racing gears and old non-sychro transmissions engage without
> > crunching. Otherwise you'll have to quickly match gear speed
> > /engine RPM by ear, which takes longer to learn....
>
> "Otherwise"?  I don't see how one is a substitute for the
> other.  You can't match gear speeds with the engine unless you
> double clutch,  so don't you really have to do both?

I don't know about Alfas, but after driving some cars long enough you
"just know" the point to shift up and down and matching speeds by ear. As
an exercise in being cocky (was a lot younger and stupid) I used to
often shift up and down while driving without using the clutch at all.
Once you "know" your car intimately enough, it's pretty easy. Again, this
wasn't on Alfas, but on a couple of American and imports.

Question, if the clutch isn't used to shift, do the synchros still work to
make the shift smooth? Back when I did this, if I screwed up I'd grind the
gears, so I've just assumed that the syncros weren't getting used that
much, if at all. Thinking about it now, I'm not so sure.
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