down shifting and grinding gears

[sam william]

its been 6 weeks and i am still having trouble on down shifting the instructor told this week if i am not improve i well be down grade me to D licen which relay got me upset after all the hard ship and the money invested and the time it come to this is there any way that i can improve my down shifting up shifting is excellent according to him and most time when i down shift i go to the wrong gear and grind the gear . other thing he said i drive too slow for the traffic .
i am starting getting really cranky i don't know what to do
please help
thanks

[Lunker]

Downshifting is the hardest part for me too, so don't feel bad about it. Just remember, you have to speed the transmission up by accelerating with the transmission in neutral and the clutch out. Pay attention to what speed you're going and what gear you should be going into. I saw a tip here that helped greatly. If you're going 15mph 1 + 5 = 6th gear, 25mph 2+5 = 7th gear, 35mph 3+5 = 8th gear, 45mph 4 + 5 = 9th gear. This all dependent on how fast you're losing speed if going uphill. By the time you're in neutral, you may lose enough road speed to be going down 2 gears instead of 1.

[doug33]

Anyone who says they do not grind the gears is either lying or driving an automatic. Lunker just take your time and everything will be alright.

[Jackrabbit379]

Anyone who says they do not grind the gears is either lying or driving an automatic. Lunker just take your time and everything will be alright.

I might scratch one every once in a while.

[marylandkw]

other thing he said i drive too slow for the traffic

That made my skin crawl. YOU are a student. YOU are learning. HE/SHE/THEY should never say or do anything to get you to operate outside your comfort zone.

Bad things on the road happen really fast. IMHO, drive a bit slower, let the world pass you by. Once you get used too everything the speed will come. But don't let too much speed come, then you get a whole other set of problems.

[millersod215]

I can understand his concerns about your downshifting, if you're not downshifting correctly, or are not able to downshift at all, you pose a threat to the traffic around you. Downshifting is essential to getting yourself slowed down properly, i tried to train a guy a few weeks ago, and he had no idea at all how to downshift, and with all my mentoring, he still couldn't get it, i sure hope you're not in the same situation, and that you pick up on it quickly. There's really nothing tough about it, until you learn to hear the motor, look at your RPM's, it's as simple as that, as far as going for the wrong gear, i don't really understand that, just go backwards the same way you go forward through the gears, main thing is "take your time", and don't get so worked up when you miss a gear that you end up stopping in the middle of the road, i have a vague idea this is what your instructor might be hinting on when he says you're too slow for traffic, if you're so focused on missing your downshifts, you'll eventually end up doing things in traffic you don't even realize you're doing, Ex:driving, and opperating too slow in traffic :sad: Give it time, and listen to what your instructor has to say, and do your best to learn the little tricks that will make it easier for you.

[jnk2001]

its been 6 weeks and i am still having trouble on down shifting the instructor told this week if i am not improve i well be down grade me to D licen which relay got me upset after all the hard ship and the money invested and the time it come to this is there any way that i can improve my down shifting up shifting is excellent according to him and most time when i down shift i go to the wrong gear and grind the gear . other thing he said i drive too slow for the traffic .
i am starting getting really cranky i don't know what to do
please help
thanks

you'll get it. In the mean time, grind a pound of round for me, will ya?....

[serbie]

I can understand his concerns about your downshifting, if you're not downshifting correctly, or are not able to downshift at all, you pose a threat to the traffic around you. Downshifting is essential to getting yourself slowed down properly, i tried to train a guy a few weeks ago, and he had no idea at all how to downshift, and with all my mentoring, he still couldn't get it, i sure hope you're not in the same situation, and that you pick up on it quickly. There's really nothing tough about it, until you learn to hear the motor, look at your RPM's, it's as simple as that, as far as going for the wrong gear, i don't really understand that, just go backwards the same way you go forward through the gears, main thing is "take your time", and don't get so worked up when you miss a gear that you end up stopping in the middle of the road, i have a vague idea this is what your instructor might be hinting on when he says you're too slow for traffic, if you're so focused on missing your downshifts, you'll eventually end up doing things in traffic you don't even realize you're doing, Ex:driving, and opperating too slow in traffic :sad: Give it time, and listen to what your instructor has to say, and do your best to learn the little tricks that will make it easier for you.

Good advice. If possible, explain to your instructor what the issue is. See if they are willing to show you one more time, so you can see what is happening when it works.

[WorldPax]

The thing that helped me was realizing I had to control the throttle much more precisely than I do when downshifting my car. When you attempt to downshift, press the throttle gently until it hits the rpm you want and try to hold it there while pushing in the clutch and shifting into the lower gear.

Are you rushing the shift maybe? If so then give yourself more time to shift, ie slow down sooner.

Has your instructor given you any more feedback as to why he thinks your downshifts are not working out for you?

[sam william]

thanks to all of you and i well do my best Monday because tomorrow we will have about 1 foot of snow on the ground and heavy wind so no school
by the way the instructor is the best in town among many school 23 years exp. and great guy i really like him .
down shifting is going to be solve and i will be with the other team
i will keep you update once again thanks to all

[Fozzy]

there are two primary problems with the "new guy" and downshifting. The most common is not using the brakes effectively enough to get and KEEP the rpm down for the downshift. Be a little more firm on the brakes and GET the pm down. sometimes people "scrub" the brakes until their rpms drop a little and then go for the shift in a hurry.. they usually are not really in control of the truck, gravity is. Use the brakes and DRAG the rpms down and then make the shift. Use the tachometer! All downshifts are made at the exact same rpm. It's not progressive, like up shifting. EVERY shift is (for example) can be made at 1000 rpm.get the rpm down tap into neutral, RELEASE THE CLUTCH, WICK the rpm up "smartly" and when the rpm are around 300 rpm (1300) tap the clutch and quickly drop into the next gear.

The second most common problem is trying to make these shifts with the clutch in or while going too deep into the clutch! You have to act like the clutch pedal is a hot iron. you TAP the clutch, these things shift pretty easily without the clutch so it's usually a problem with clutch miss-use rather than anything else. The only time you push the clutch in further than a few inches is when you are almost stopped, or when you are stopped trying to get the truck into gear. Once the truck starts to move, pretend that the clutch pedal is an hot iron.

Also.. TALK TO YOURSELF! Set up a "chant" and follow it through. IT WORKS! It may seem silly, but it does work.

[millersod215]

This is going to sound strange, and i wouldn't recommend it as a procedure you use in school, but i'll tell you anyway.........Here goes, hopefully i can make sense with it. When you get on your own, and begin to feel confident, and learn how to "float" your gears, try braking with your left foot, this will allow a nice steady braking, and use your right foot for accelerating out of gear and in turn raising your RPM's to make the downshift, i see so many guys trying to rush the downshift, using your right foot to accelerate out of gear, hoping like hell you get it in first try, and then if not you rush over to hit the brake to slow you down, and then you try the process all over again. I know it might seem weird, but i came across it in an "old timers" article over on layover.com, and i've been using this method of controlled braking and downshifting ever since, i don't clame to be perfect at what i do, but i sure know that it smooths everything out. Maybe some others out there are using this technique also, and can let me know of more success stories.

[Kranky]

The method I use is I put my right foot half on the brake and half on the throttle, and while using the brake to slow down, I work the throttle at the same time. I don't use the clutch, just break the torque and bring the shifter to the desired gear while braking & adjusting RPM's, and it slides right in, smooth as silk. Repeat as necessary to work your way down thru the gears.
Sounds just like an automatic downshifting.

Try it, you'll like it!!!!

[Fozzy]

Those techniques are probably not going to be anywhere near acceptable to the instructors or the state examiners. You have to show an ability to properly operate the controls.. and that ain't it!!!

[Gorrillasnot]

If you mean shifting into the wrong gear as in this example..Say your in 5th gear and you want to go to 4th. You press the clutch, shift to neutral, raise rpms and then move the shifter to far over and accidentally try to go into 2nd instead of 4th.
If something similar to that example is what your having problems with see if the instructor will let you practice on the range for about an hour or so of nothing but repeated upshifting and down shifting. I'll bet it won't take long for you to get the feel of how far to move the shifter between the gears.

good luck

[Kranky]

Those techniques are probably not going to be anywhere near acceptable to the instructors or the state examiners. You have to show an ability to properly operate the controls.. and that ain't it!!!

It's the proper way for me!!!

[Fozzy]

Your not trying to learn how, nor are you trying to gain the knowledge to pass the skills test.

[autohauler06]

its been 6 weeks and i am still having trouble on down shifting the instructor told this week if i am not improve i well be down grade me to D licen which relay got me upset after all the hard ship and the money invested and the time it come to this is there any way that i can improve my down shifting up shifting is excellent according to him and most time when i down shift i go to the wrong gear and grind the gear . other thing he said i drive too slow for the traffic .
i am starting getting really cranky i don't know what to do
please help
thanks

Well if your truck has either a nine speed or a ten speed if you can go by that advice the other person said on here 15mph 1+5=6th gear, 25mph 2+5=7th gear. That works only for the high range of gears. It seemed to work better on a ten speed but it also did the trick for a nine until you get use to how your truck drives. ALL TRUCKS DRIVE DIFFERENTLY. Welcome to trucking. Good drivers miss gears bad drivers cant find them. Don't get overwhelmed with RPM's it seems like everyone just out of school thinks you need to get the rpm's perfect, IT IS ALL TIMING. Take for instance when downshifting I could rev it real high but as long as your timing is right you are all good. Here is a little secret to diagnose the problem. Someone on here said you are shifting too fast I would say that is incorrect. If you downshift and it grinds it means one of three things your going to the wrong gear, your road speed, or you missed it. Well if you miss the gear you didn't get it to the hole quick enough. So either rev it up more or shift quicker or a combination of both. Don't give up on it. It is always better to get it to the hole quicker especially when getting a feel for the truck. Remember this if you go to downshift you clutch to neutral pump the throttle, clutch again if you give to much rpm's or get it to the hole to quickly the lever will shake slowly usually it will slip right in after a sec when the rpm's come down, if you miss the gear it will grind and the lever will shake quickly so pretty much pump the throttle again and give it another shot also make sure you are going to the proper gear. You have to make sure you are at the right road speed. When you up shift pay attention to the speed you shift at and remember it. Will make downshifting easier. Don't give up just yet some people take longer than others too learn. It will get easier. Hope this helped you out.

[autohauler06]

And another piece of advice unless someone is helping you diagnose the problem taking other peoples advice on what RPM's to use is WRONG. Everyone has their own style of shifting take forinstance I shift quicker so I use a lower rpm cause i get it to the hole quicker some people may use a higher rpm cause they shift slower. Timing, timing, timing. The only way to fix the problem is to diagnose it, use what I had told you and try some diffrent things you will figure it out.

[geeshock]

best idea to take from this is take your time and try and relax. I know it's stressful and all but you might be surprised what you can do if you just relax i little.