[dinkoh]

Originally Posted by orionredwing

Q: On a HARD brake (not slamming the brakes), how many of you guys unintentionally leave your car in neutral because you have the clutch depressed, even though you have moved your shifter to the lower gear?

As I slow down, I usually downshift to go with it, but when I brake hard, I usually have the clutch depressed and end up in neutral. That's because when I brake hard, it's a natural feeling to keep both feet depressed in the same direction (left foot clutch, right foot brake). Your attention is also typically diverted by the traffic situation which caused you to brake hard in the first place.

Me too bro. I hate it.

Originally Posted by captainaudio

+1

"Heel and Toe" is a misnomer that goes back to when the pedals were very far apart.

The real espression should be "left side of right foot, right side of right foot"

CA

Really? I find heel and toe easier to blip? I feel when I "roll" my right side of the my foot might not reach, or the left side might not break enough.

Originally Posted by mantis

no one will know about ur CDV. i'm told (thanks Spool) that you can take it out, remove the valve inside of it with a tip of a pen, then put the same CDV back in

Get that CDV out! Andrewflk replaced my CDV, and shifting is so much better.

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Most racing schools and high performance driving schools advocate "trail braking". Obviously you begin to brake before you enter a turn. You should down shift before you enter the turn (while you are braking utilizing the "heel and toe" technique). As you begin to turn and as you are going through the turn ease off on the brakes but do not release them fully. This keeps weight planted on the front wheels and helps the car turn. This technique can "rotate" the car by forcing mild oversteer (trail brake rotation). As you progress through the turn continue to brake and then make a transition to "maintenance throttle". As you exit the turn and the car is pointed into the straight begin to accellerate. At no point should you be coasting, this can upset the balance of the car.

Like that. I'll try that, but I have to master downshifting. I start downshifting way BEFORE the turn...

[ttdmac]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Most racing schools and high performance driving schools advocate "trail braking". Obviously you begin to brake before you enter a turn. You should down shift before you enter the turn (while you are braking utilizing the "heel and toe" technique). As you begin to turn and as you are going through the turn ease off on the brakes but do not release them fully. This keeps weight planted on the front wheels and helps the car turn. This technique can "rotate" the car by forcing mild oversteer (trail brake rotation). As you progress through the turn continue to brake and then make a transition to "maintenance throttle". As you exit the turn and the car is pointed into the straight begin to accellerate. At no point should you be coasting, this can upset the balance of the car.

For those who are practicing this, do it at low speeds in the novice group at the track. I've seen people try to attempt trail braking and end up inducing lift off oversteer, switch ends of the car in the middle of the turn and end up staring down incoming cars. lol

[ruxp]

Question -

When you stop for say, 5 seconds or so, and you're in 2nd gear, do you always shift down to 1st before moving again? How bad is it for the clutch/trans if you push in the clutch & stop while still in 2nd, then start off again from 2nd gear?

[!Xoible]

yah go in first. it's not bad for the clutch if you go in 2nd. you can take off in 3rd if you want. the engine just needs to struggle a bit more to launch for higher gears than 1st.

People n snowy areas launch on 2nd gear to avoid spinning and what not

[ruxp]

another question - anyone find themselves occasionally accidentally shifting into 3rd when they mean to shift into 1st?

[!Xoible]

on a 335? i think it's a bit difficult to do so coz there'e enough space to "feel" where you are at. this will come with practice.

[STE92VE]

Originally Posted by ruxp

another question - anyone find themselves occasionally accidentally shifting into 3rd when they mean to shift into 1st?

Never...

[ruxp]

hmm, ok.

this might be a stupid question

why does it feel like there's no power in first gear at all? the car feels like it's literally straining to go forward, and i have to shift pretty quickly. is that normal?

thanks for all the tips/help so far

[STE92VE]

Never experienced this. When the car is cold, I usually shift from 1st to 2nd under 2500rpm...when she's warmed up, I shift out of 1st between 3000-3500rpm. No absence of power on either.

[!Xoible]

Originally Posted by ruxp

hmm, ok.

this might be a stupid question

why does it feel like there's no power in first gear at all? the car feels like it's literally straining to go forward, and i have to shift pretty quickly. is that normal?

thanks for all the tips/help so far

Originally Posted by STE92VE

Never experienced this. When the car is cold, I usually shift from 1st to 2nd under 2500rpm...when she's warmed up, I shift out of 1st between 3000-3500rpm. No absence of power on either.

u probably are going into 3rd, or you are not fulling disengaging the clutch. When the car is cold it should be much more jumpy coz the engine is sucking more gas

[ruxp]

Originally Posted by STE92VE

Never experienced this. When the car is cold, I usually shift from 1st to 2nd under 2500rpm...when she's warmed up, I shift out of 1st between 3000-3500rpm. No absence of power on either.

Originally Posted by mantis

u probably are going into 3rd, or you are not fulling disengaging the clutch. When the car is cold it should be much more jumpy coz the engine is sucking more gas

Not going into third, fully engaging and fully disengaging the clutch.. I think it's just a "feel" I'm getting based on the sound of the engine, because looking at the speedometer, it accelerates fine

[.:bHd:.]

I donno if you guys covered this but how do you launch your car?

I rev up to like 3,000 - 3,500 rpm and just let go of the clutch pedal while flooring the gas pedal. I feel like the car is busting ass when i do this lol so i stopped until i find out the proper way to do it. What am i doing wrong?

[STE92VE]

Originally Posted by .:bHd:.

I donno if you guys covered this but how do you launch your car?

I rev up to like 3,000 - 3,500 rpm and just let go of the clutch pedal while flooring the gas pedal. I feel like the car is busting ass when i do this lol so i stopped until i find out the proper way to do it. What am i doing wrong?

You're leasing, aren't you?

[!Xoible]

Originally Posted by .:bHd:.

I donno if you guys covered this but how do you launch your car?

I rev up to like 3,000 - 3,500 rpm and just let go of the clutch pedal while flooring the gas pedal. I feel like the car is busting ass when i do this lol so i stopped until i find out the proper way to do it. What am i doing wrong?

really? WOW

i dont think you need anything over 2k RPM to dump your clutch and get a launch like that. again, i dont have a 335 so i dont know too much to be specific enough

[.:bHd:.]

Originally Posted by STE92VE

You're leasing, aren't you?

lol ya.. I read more about launching last night and to my understanding, your not supposed to just drop it, but take your foot of the clutch preety quickly and feather the throttle. Ill try it today

[ruxp]

Yeah, I think the main problem is my launch. At a stoplight, the car in the next lane always seems to take off quicker than me - like I'm just not getting it going properly. What's a good way to launch that WON'T destroy my clutch?

[shimshimhada]

Originally Posted by ruxp

Yeah, I think the main problem is my launch. At a stoplight, the car in the next lane always seems to take off quicker than me - like I'm just not getting it going properly. What's a good way to launch that WON'T destroy my clutch?

There is no good way to launch without destroying the clutch, great launches are all based on modulating the clutch (burning it up to the max) to control power delivery to attain maximum traction.

Best way to win at a stop light is not stop completely then floor it in 2nd gear.

[ruxp]

Originally Posted by shimshimhada

There is no good way to launch without destroying the clutch, great launches are all based on modulating the clutch (burning it up to the max) to control power delivery to attain maximum traction.

Best way to win at a stop light is not stop completely then floor it in 2nd gear.

I'm not talking about winning at a stoplight, I'm just talking about taking off decently.. like when a minivan in the next lane is taking off quicker than I am, I know I'm doing something wrong

[shimshimhada]

Originally Posted by ruxp

I'm not talking about winning at a stoplight, I'm just talking about taking off decently.. like when a minivan in the next lane is taking off quicker than I am, I know I'm doing something wrong

You're probably feathering the clutch out too slowly, don't think about it too much, little gas, feather clutch out quick (force yourself by using the ball of your left foot using, like your standing on your tippy toes), then go. I also like to shift to 2nd right after I start moving.

[Gregor Samsa]

This is a bit off topic, but since this thread is about enjoying your ride, I'd like to know if there is a thread in this forum where folks can post info about roads they like to drive on. If there is, I've overlooked it. You can find a lot of places to drive by plugging "motorcycle roads" into your search engine, but I'd like to see what roads people have found for driving their BMWs.

[STE92VE]

Originally Posted by Gregor Samsa

This is a bit off topic, but since this thread is about enjoying your ride, I'd like to know if there is a thread in this forum where folks can post info about roads they like to drive on. If there is, I've overlooked it. You can find a lot of places to drive by plugging "motorcycle roads" into your search engine, but I'd like to see what roads people have found for driving their BMWs.

Go to your regional forum and there probably will be threads about roads...do a search.

Ever hear of the Tail of the Dragon?

[!Xoible]

Originally Posted by Gregor Samsa

This is a bit off topic, but since this thread is about enjoying your ride, I'd like to know if there is a thread in this forum where folks can post info about roads they like to drive on. If there is, I've overlooked it. You can find a lot of places to drive by plugging "motorcycle roads" into your search engine, but I'd like to see what roads people have found for driving their BMWs.

Originally Posted by STE92VE

Go to your regional forum and there probably will be threads about roads...do a search.

Ever hear of the Tail of the Dragon?

+1 just start a new thread in the regional forums. have fun and be safe tho