RE: Di Matteo shifting

["Weiss, Jeffrey" <jeffrey.weiss@domain.elided>]

Pottree@domain.elided jumps on the Di Matteo bandwagon:
> ...You want to drive, listen to Fred.  Subtext: you do not
> need to baby an Alfa...
> ...I am with Fred on this: double declutching has been an
> unnecessary and an antique notion on road cars (Alfas) for
> 40 years.  

I don't think anyone here is advocating "babying" their
cars.  However, it is a simple fact that there are a lot of
Alfas out there with weak or shot 2nd gear syncros.  I
suppose we could advise all those people on a single
solution: open 'em up and fix your trannies (and give 'em a
little gelato while you're at it).  As for me, I prefer to
be a bit more flexible and assume at least a few of those
poor folks wouldn't mind a solution that both works, and is
also kind of fun (for some of us at least).

I learned how to double-clutch downshifts from a bus driver
a long time ago, and have been doing it ever since.
Remembering Pops Racer admonishing Speed to heel-and-toe
only added to the fun of shifting like a racecar driver.
Plus, I had one less thing to learn when I started going to
Skippy School (before they introduced the new RT-2000 cars
with sequential shifters).  BTW, I can make a 3-2 shift
faster with doubling than I can without, so it's not all
about babying my precious transmission.

> Plus, very few people have the right size feet to heel-
> and-toe in an Alfa.

Ouch!  Please don't get me started on this glaring never-
corrected design flaw in a "driver's car."  But I figgered
out how to overcome this problem, too.
--
jw (Size 10-1/2)
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