Downshifting

Thanks guys guess i just need practice 3 hours and my instructor wants me to be a pro

steve j

Every truck engine has a different "sweet spot" for shifting I had previously only drove CAT engines ( really love the low RPM torque ) however I currently have a 450 Mercedes Engine and it really does like a higher RPM for its sweet spot.... the engine talks to you though and you can find it with a little patience and practice... just stay with it and I would say if youre learning a quick stab of the gas when you 2x clutch will help but as you progress you will want more of a steady smooth application of fuel for downshifting as you "find" the gear( it will pretty much pull it into gear for you when you get it right)

What helped me was to stop trying to rush the process. If you wait until you are too close to the stop sign for example, its much harder. Start downshifting WAY WAY WAY before a stop sign or red light. It takes time to let the gears slow you down and then downshift again. Apply light braking each time to lower rpm also helps. But try leaving a lot more time and distance. Its not a race to get to the stop. Its a long slow process that will gradually get better with time.

What helped me was to stop trying to rush the process. If you wait until you are too close to the stop sign for example, its much harder. Start downshifting WAY WAY WAY before a stop sign or red light. It takes time to let the gears slow you down and then downshift again. Apply light braking each time to lower rpm also helps. But try leaving a lot more time and distance. Its not a race to get to the stop. Its a long slow process that will gradually get better with time.

That's a good point. Slowing down ahead of time is VERY important because other regular drivers just haven't been taught how semis and air breaks work. they think we can stop on a dime but we can't. Screw others and slow down comfortably. Like I always say, "Slow and steady beats fast and dready!" I am understanding that going from 10th down to 7th or 6th does work the breaks more though because you're having to use them to reduce your speed to get into those gears. If you go down one or two gears, then you're relying somewhat more on natural speed loss and not so much breaks, but like me, if you're holding your brakes down from 60 to 25 (for example), then there's more reliance on the breaks and the engine is still in 10th gear, so what happens if you have to suddenly accelerate? You have to downshift regardless. I'm kinda learning a thing or three from this forum LOL

I really struggled with Downshifting during school. I just couldn't get the bring your RPM's down to 1,100-1,200 and then clutch out to neutral, bring up RPM's to 1,600 and drop into next lower gear. Best thing I learned were the following. 1. Different Trucks/Transmissions shift at different speeds and RPM's, so know your Trucks Range for shifting (so it is hard to get a specific answer on how you should downshift without someone knowing the truck you are driving) 2. You don't Downshift to Slow Down, you Slow Down (brake) and then you Downshift when you get to the right speed. 3. I have driven mainly 10-speeds so I have certain speeds (MPH) that I downshift at. When I get to 45 mph I downshift to 9th gear, when I get to 30 mph I downshift to 8th gear, etc.

45 mph = 9th gear

30 mph = 8th gear

25 mph = 7th gear

20 mph = 6th gear

(lower range)

15 mph = 5th gear

10 mph = 4th gear

8 mph = 3rd gear

6 mph = 2nd gear

If speed is in between gears I use the next higher gear (i.e. going 27 mph I will use 8th gear and won't need as much RPM's that I would need at 30 mph). 4. Good point earlier by member about running your RPM's up higher and as the RPM's start to drop then drop into the lower gear. I found when I was having trouble with downshifting into 9th gear I would tend to grind all the time until I started raising my RPM's and then as they dropped shifting it into 9th.

To really learn my speeds and proper gear to be in I used two worksheets that would give me a certain MPH and I would have to put in the Gear I would go into. A couple of hours just doing these worksheets over a few days and you really start remembering speeds you are at and gear you need to shift too. There are probably about 80 MPH speeds (repeated but shuffled of speeds I listed above) in columns with a blank space to the right where you put in the gear you should be in. And the other worksheet gives you the gear and you put in the MPH you should be in. Contact me and I can send by email both worksheets, it will help you get the speed and gears in a day or two. Just keep printing out a new worksheet and work on it til you know your speeds/gears in your sleep.

The 80 MPH above just means there are 80+ choices on the worksheet page of the basic 45,30,25,20 etc MPH speeds so you are doing it over and over just not in any order.

Drive an Eaton Super 10, you only need to clutch (or float) every other gear, i.e. between the evens and odds. It's a sweet transmission.

Drive an Eaton Super 10, you only need to clutch (or float) every other gear, i.e. between the evens and odds. It's a sweet transmission.

I forgot, you don't need to move the stick in between them, either.

My trainer taught me to downshift by making me drive through rush hour traffic out of NY. A two hour trip took me 7 hours, but i learned how to downshift! lol

What REALLY screwed me up... the second trainer tried to get me to float, and although I was ok going up, i couldnt do it going down. The next thing you know, i was grinding gears worse than my first day.. so i gave up on that lol