'Crunchy' gear change

Sounds like the 2nd gear synchro could be a bit tired. If that is the case though, it shouldn't crunch if you double declutch properly. You sure you're doing it right. Revving in neutral with the clutch released, before pressing the clutch to engage 2nd or a lower gear gear? Mike.

Ah, that's probably the problem, I was pressing the clutch before setting the revs. I'll try again, and I think it probably will be the syncro :-(

You don't say what car you have. If it's got a cable clutch that you adjust yourself - try adjusting it.

It's pinking Peter - he has mentioned it more than a few times :-)

cheers, clive

I think everyone else is well aware of what car it is :)

They you need to practice declutching as it's perfectly possible to drive a crashbox without crunching it.

I'd check now incase a seals gone and it's piddled all the oil everywhere. Suspect that the second gear synchro is on it's way though as they do get worked the hardest.

Strangely enough it's called double declutching because you depress and release the clutch twice.:-) First time to 'engage' neutral. Then, still in neutral with the clutch still engaged, rev or allow the engine to slow. When the engine revs match the revs req'd for the gear you want, depress the clutch, engage the gear and release the clutch. With practice it can be done very quickly and smoothly. Useful if you need to change down going up a hill, especially with a trailer. In a car, you can just ease the throttle a little, (car engines rev too quickly to keep the accelerator pedal on the floorboard) and dip the clutch. The engine revs immediately start rising. Into neutral, release the clutch, then almost immediately, press the clutch again, snick into the lower gear, release the clutch and give it full throttle again as the clutch bites. Mike.

I can vouch for the fact that a *very* harshly driven car will eat the second gear synchro in moments.

I took a nearly-scrap car to a run-what-you-brung pseudo stage rally and killed the synchro after two laps...

Yeah, that's what I've been doing today.

Yes, it works very well, and is very smooth when done correctly. I can see myself double declutching for a long time.

"PC Paul" wrote in news:uQIFe.39152$Pf3.13543 @fe2.news.blueyonder.co.uk:

Very likely that the synchro on 2nd is knackered and 1st will not be far behind. It's a weakness of the Seicento and all small Fiats that use this box - SWMBO had new 1st&2nd synchro units on her 99V Seicento about a year ago. Work cost about £200.

Presumably double declutching you no longer get the crunch when changing down into 2nd. Get into the habit, and you wont wear your synchros out. :-) Although it can be used when changing up or down, in a car I mainly only double declutch when changing down at relatively high speeds. Maybe between

Yeah, you're right!

Yeah, I hope to get into the habit. It's a shame that my syncro is going :-(

lol, I wouldn't change down to 2nd at anything faster than 35mph (usually no more than 30). The top speed in 2nd is a little over

petermcmillan snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Seicentos are quite low geared, aren't they? My car will hit 60 in 2nd; I use it for overtaking anything doing less than 45 (with a double declutch, of course :-). When I did advanced driving, they forbid gear changes while overtaking. A silly rule, IMHO. It prevents you from changing down for better acceleration, meaning that safe overtaking requires one to have a very long stretch of clear road (quite a rarity) or a supercar with enormous torque! Another silly one: you're not allowed to change down while braking. Just try braking to turn down a side road, leaving yourself enough time to release the brake and change down before staring to turn, and you'll understand where I'm coming from :-)

I wish my car was like that. The limiter is around 6000rpm, so it is pretty low geared. The new Aygo is aparently 'good for more than 50mph in 2nd', it may not sound good to you guys, but I'd love that.

The limiter setting and low geared are not the same at all. Many bigger cars redline at or below 6000rpm too. Except the VVTi/VTeC crowd.

I find I always want cars with higher gearing too, though. I would have loved to cruise at 1500rpm at 85 in my Carlton but instead it was doing just short of 3000rpm :-(

There's plenty of room for longer ratios when 5th can happily cover from

Of course if you can't hit 60 in 2nd the extra gear change really hurts the

lol. The max speed my car can do in 5th gear is 87mph, or 89mph if you're in 4th. At 70mph in 5th I will be doing 4500rpm, or 5200rpm in

That's probably one reason why people tend to say that Seicento Sportings feel faster than they look on paper. They have the same gearing as my car, so their 0-60mph time will probably suffer.

In 3rd gear I can just reach 60mph lol.

That's verging on dangerous in traffic with 'real' cars... in the same way mopeds are!

But I can see now why you drive around at max revs. You don't get a choice!

'twas a joke ;-)

little, low, noisy always makes it feel a lot faster.

My first 1100 Escort (an old 41bhp Mk 2 Popular Plus) couldn't hit 70 on a flat road in *any* gear... I feel your pain!

For those of a sporty inclination, that was a massive 44.8 bhp/ton, with a tarmac shredding 52lb.ft. of torque. Makes you drool, doesn't it ;-)

Just one of the reasons I'm not interested in taking an advanced driving course. I've no doubt there are things I could learn, but if it's at the expense of unlearning techniques that are safe, but just don't conform to their 'system', I'll carry on, and "Do it my way" :-) Mike.

I was thinking of changes down from 5th to 4th or 4th to 3rd when I said