What Is Double Clutching? Don't Granny Shift! 

The amount of gear shifting in that movie during a drag race was hilarious 😂

Of course grandma was right all along, she is F A M I L Y.

As a truck driver double clutching works very well because trucks are non synchronized however if you can match rpms you can do what's called floating or not clutching between gears

I remember that first drag race in Fast and the Furious. I remember I did some math using an average speed of 110 mph and the time of the whole drag race, and I found that the road that they were racing on was something like fifteen miles. It's hilarious.

Always double clutch when going into 19th.

One tip that will definitely help you when shifting in a street race is that every fourth gear you get a leap-gear.

Fun fact: a Unimog 406 with the "big gearbox" option has 20 usable gears (not counting reverse). To shift from "18th" (5) into '19th" (L6), you need to operate two of the six gearsticks at the same time. Also no synchro-mesh - but an experienced driver *can* shift without double-clutching.

Huh, I’ve been doing that in my own manual since I bought it; it makes rev matching so much easier. It’s nice to know that this is what it’s called.

Guy: "Why do you guys shift so much?" Toretto: "Family"

The best is when you're tached out at 9000 rpms, and then downshift from 19th to 11th to blow by the car next to you!

I always double de-clutch my Jaguar XK120 when going down the box because it has the old Moss g/box. It always snicks in nicely, if I don't I sometimes get a grawnch. Also, when over in Normandy for a D-Day com event, I once had to drive a old Morris 5 tonner 50 miles back to our campsite because the normal driver was a tad drunk. He said the secret is change gear by going into neutral, count 9 seconds then slip into the next gear. OK, I said, I started off, from 1st into neutral, double de-clutched and instantly into the next gear and we got up speed and we drove home without any grawnching but lots of double clutching up and down the gear box. A very interesting day out that was.

I learned to double-clutch in 1972; used it a lot on my Lotus Europa. and a whole lot more in my F350 work truck on packed snow mountain back roads. It's all about getting everything go shift smoothly together: engine, gearbox internals, wheels.

The gear shifts in F&F actually represent how many movies they're going to make on the franchise.

“shifting all the way to nineteenth gear“ killed me😭😭😭💀

Wild. I learned that as "Rev matching" in my 2001 VW Golf. At the time, I was told that "double clutch" was an old type of manual engine that required you shift into neutral to give it gas then shift into the desired gear

I've only driven standard transmission cars since I started driving with a license (and before) for almost 50 yrs now, I'm so happy they have synchromesh gears.

Save your synchros, wear your throw bearing

Remember, when you're in a race and going as fast as possible, it's ALWAYS possible to change into a higher gear and win the race... but only when the camera is on you.

For ANYONE who has ever driven a manual, look up "twin stick 18 speed". I learned to drive manual in a 1976 Mack dump truck, with one of these. By the time I got into my first "modern" 18-wheeler (10-gear Eaton-Fuller), I was "floating" without ever having to touch the cluch while gearing up (aside from when at a dead stop). It was REALLY fun when a friend of mine let me drive his bored-out '99 Trans-Am on a drag strip. Not only did I beat the heavily modded Mustang next to me, but my run was the smoothest the race coordinator had ever seen in his 40 years of working drag races. 😂

My father taught me double clutching even though all the cars we had featured synchronized transmissions. His reasoning was it would save wear and tear on the synchronizers, and a clutch is cheaper to replace than a transmission.

Answered a question we've all had for 23 years. Bless you sir

lol I remember asking my dad (who used to race) about this when I first saw the movie, and his response was "I have no idea what they're talking about" 😂

I used to study from your videos in my engineering college days. I missed you. Thanks for appearing on here again!

This is the best explanation I've heard thus far. 👏

As a trucker, that was probably the easiest to understand how to Double clutch I've seen. Everyone wants to make double clutching out to be some epic mystery. Without a Sync you just float them anyways. Clutch is for stopping and starting

When Vin Diesel drives he doesn't shift. He just place his hand on the shifter and the gearbox shifts for him.

My first car was an 84 Mazda 626 and when I learned manual on it I always double clutched as it's good for the condition of the synchros on old cars.

In old-school cars (when throttles were mechanical and there was no computerized rev matching), double declutching from 3rd to 2nd made for a smoother change even with synchromesh. We're also talking about old-school 5 speed gearboxes with a big rev jump from 3 to 2.

I don't know how many times I've had to explain that to people but what gets me the most is when they ask "how does that make you go faster" and it's aggravating to have to explain that it's only for downshifting and it does not come into play when drag racing like they was in the original Fast And Furious scene.... It's mainly used in time trial racing or track racing to keep the engine revs high and to keep your transmission from trying to eat itself.

Double clutching is a useful skill to have if your synchros are fubared and you need to get home, or if you want to drive an old tractor.

Thank you! I've always heard about this, but never knew what it was!

Rented a moving truck once to help a friend. The information placard instructed to double-clutch, which I’d only heard of and never did. I had no trouble with that big old slow truck. I’ll bow out of any speeding with any vehicle whatsoever!!

Got thrown on a manual dump truck at work, we borrowed it from a different department, ours were all automatic. They all said the clutch was shot and it wouldnt shift right. 5 minutes on google taught me how to double clutch and not to put the clutch to the floor when shifting and it soon became the favorite truck to drive.

Finally someone who mentions the shifting in F&F... the way I see it 1/4 mile was 4 ½ minutes @167 mph in 97th gear.

Back when I was right outta HS in 04, I bought an 86 CRX (Carb not EFI). It was a manual transmission and I only had to use the clutch to go into 1st gear. I could upshift and down shift with just the accelerator blip. it was a fun little 2+2 seater and I always threw people off not using the clutch that much. Someone actually accused me of having an automatic transmission and that the clutch pedal and the stick shift were for looks. haha

Cool! That’s awesome to know. I only know the old school ways of manual clutch shifting so, this is great to know about manual transmission vehicle’s driving.

Double clutching is mostly used when drive manual semi-trucks.

As a former rally driver, I've only heard it called double DEclutching. (Somewhere, probably in the US, the self-explanatory part of the phrase got dropped.) Very useful when simultaneously braking & downshifting in a car without traction control, to stop one or more of the driving wheels breaking traction when the lower gear is engaged.

I learned how to drive manuals in the Canadian army, then moved up to 18 wheelers. I'm retired now but I have great memories of double clutching and the sound of the Jake Brake.

I'm an apprentice diesel mechanic. Because of that I get to drive crashbox manual where you have to double clutch, or not clutch at all and float gears. But often Volvo's with sincro boxes will have a plaque stating, double clutching, floating gears and quick gear change cause excessive wear to the sincros. So basically don't do it in a sincro box.

Had a chance to drive a 1929 Model A (edited, not a T) just before it ended up in a museum. It was my brother’s and he was quite surprised that I knew how to double clutch. It’s actually not hard to do if you’re not racing. The scary part was the mechanical brakes, no hydraulic brakes in those days, amazing how much force it takes to use and how poorly they function.

When I was a kid there were old trucks from the 40s or 50s still in circulation and my father told me to listen carefully when they drove past because you can hear the double clutch. I used to double clutch for fun when I had just gotten my driver's licence, although it wasn't necessary

Finally, someone summed it up clearly and simply 👍 I hope the number of videos advising people to shift faster by double-clutching decreases 👀

learned to drive trucks in school and we had both ZF (syncro) and eaton fuller (non syncro) . floating the gears is even better

It is necessary on some big trucks, used to have a dump truck with a split shifter. Had to double clutch every gear

Blimp to rev match which helps on down shift, but double clutch is something you do in a car from the 1940s and below normally. Some of those older cars had square cut gears as well.

Great to see such a realistic explanation. Double clutching only belongs in 18 wheelers, but their clutch pedal is more of a foot rest, once the truck is moving. Its all good, these double clutching Fast and Furious fools haven't got a clue and they become easy to beat in a race.

It works very well, back when i used to drive an OLD soviet UAZ you need double clutching when going from 1st to 2nd and vise versa

Damn, Bro, almost blew the welds off your intake with that one!

Worked with mechanic who had a 1966 Ford Cortina. The car had a cyncromesh box. But he always double clutched as that was what he was thought in the 1930s.

I actually found a useful reason to double clutch in my mid 2000s saab 93. There was a little clip that kind of returned the clutch pedal back to where it was and it broke. For a period of time I found that double clutching every shift was actually the smoothest way to shift the car. Once I replaced that little yellow piece in the clutch pedal, regular shifting became smoother than double clutching, and I stopped doing it.

This whole video is gold

That's really only used in straight cuts, but you can float them too. Ask any truck driver, they only use the clutch when starting, stopping or reverse. Other than that, we just float gears.

They still teach this in CDL schools, if you're learning manual. Also you don't press the clutch and then move the shifter, you do it at the same time. Press and shift, then release the clutch, then press and shift, then release the clutch to engage the gear. If you do it with the right rhythm you barely need to tap the throttle to engage the next gear.

Looked this up just because I was curious and wanted to know. Seems like it'll definitely make you slower double clutching.

I developed my own form for shifting which is a hybrid of double clutching, normal shifting and floating the gears. Now this is only used once the car is moving. This works for upshifting or downshifting. First thing is to get the car into neutral without using the clutch at all. First put a slight pressure on the stick in the direction of neutral. Ever so slightly ease up on the gas. This releases all load and torque off the transmission and the stick will slide right into neutral like butter. If downshifting blip the gas and while putting a slight pressure in the direction of the next lower gear and press the clutch in. Slide the stick into the lower gear and let the clutch out. For upshifting put first put a slight pressure on the stick in the direction of neutral. Let up on the gas ever so slightly and the stick will slide into neutral. Put a little bit of pressure on the tick in the direction of the next gear up while letting up on the gass a little more and push the clutch in. The stick will slide right into the next gear up and let out the clutch. What you are really doing is floating the gears but using the clutch to make everything smooth. Big semi trucks with large engines have a lot of momentum. So when in neutral the trucks don't lose that much speed while costing. The rpms don't slow down as fast either. So matching the rpm of the engine to the rpm of the transmission is easier. So floating gears you don't need a clutch at all and just use it to get the truck rolling. Cars slow down a lot faster when costings in neutral. Therefore it has a much smaller window to hit as the rpm of the transmission is slowing down much faster. Believe me you are practically just taping the clutch. It is in and out very fast.

For anybody that missed the detail, double clutching is supposed to rev match your transmission, not just your engine.

Nah just summon a million gears while yeeting your charger off a dam

Church once had a GMC 4104 coach driven by a Detroit 6-71. 4 speed tranny, double-clutch up and down. It is not an extremely fast shift, and it also isn't that hard to learn. You COULD single when shifting up - unless you got it wrong. Amazing how well that clutch (and shift) linkage worked all the way to the back of the (rear-engined) bus.

When I was a truck instructor we used double clutch method and it was standard practice and also it was needed to pass your driving test instead of no clutch just gas pedal shift most drivers use and its true that for older vehicles 🚗

I watched Initial D when I was 17, got drivers licence and learned double clutching. Now I'm 32 and still only double clutch. It just gives me a good feeling every shift I do, the gear just falls perfectly into place. Also my car now has 407.000 Km, just recently had to change it's clutch. It was still the factory clutch... I guess it saved some of my clutch having to grind a little less every shift.

This video was incredibly useful to me. A friend bought an 88 Camaro with a 5 speed. While test driving it before buying he was having trouble getting it into gear while sitting still. Remembering this video, I told him to try letting the clutch go while in neutral. Did the trick! It might have synchros, I'm not sure, but that specific time everything was catching and double clutching was actually useful.

Best person to be stuck on yt with

I'm a trucker. Double clutching is what the CDL handbook says to do but most drivers float the gears. Though nowadays automated manuals are taking over so many new drivers don't know how to do either.

You only needed to double clutch the old crash box trans when you actually were sliding the gear teeth together. The synchro mesh trans did away with that as the gears are always engaged, and you just engage the shift dogs, which are much more beefer than the gears themselves. You can upshift and down shift a syncro without ever touching the clutch. It also made power shifting a reality.

Double clutching is useful in synchro gearboxes when the synchros are worn. Especially when downshifting. Can avoid some nasty grinding that way.

This was a good video. Although I think it added confusion. Double clutching uses neutral in between shifts, and throttle blipping does not. Throttle blipping is still necessary for modern transmissions on a fast downshift into 2nd or 1st gear when at speed, but the newest most expensive vehicles, the computer does the RPM "blipping" for you. On a motorcycle you'll grind 1st gear without a hard throttle blip when you're attempting a fast downshift from 50 mph.

Now that he mentioned, I realised I do it every time I drive in city traffic, or sometimes on the highway when not accelerating hard.

I think it's where you shift straight from 4th into R (turbo mode), aptly named because it shifts two spots on the knob

Most important video of our generation. It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning is winning

I counted all the gear shifts in one of the FF movies once, and it was actually pretty accurate for the most part. They downshifted a few times and they cut from one car shifting to the bwxt pretty fast so it just felt like endless clutching up

In some parts of Italy we call this "doppietta" (the translation means "double barrel shotgun"). Essential If you have an old Fiat 500, in the oldest ones you had to do this while upshifting AND downshifting

Finally someone understands the differences in transmissions and why double clutching doesnt work in a conventional passenger car manual transmission

On my 08 Civic SI I bought the Hondata tuner. It has a no-lift shift option. It works great!

I have been getting recommended this for weeks now and I finally cracked and watched it solely because the thumbnail had me concerned.

We call it a synchro-clash transmission in my family. IDK if my grandpa made that up or if it was a common term. I have an old dump truck that's not synchronized that has to be double clutched unless you're good enough to float the gears. I float gears on pretty much everything, but not that truck, it's a sob to get right. Usually non synced great teeth are straight cut and can break really easily if ground, so I'm careful with it. On top of the 4 speed, my grandpa swapped in a 2 speed rear, which is great, except he put it on a shift lever on the left side of the cab. So operation involves shifting the 4 speed with your right hand, the 2 speed differential with your left hand, all while double clutching and wondering if you remembered to top off and bleed the brakes... Lol! I was driving this thing fully loaded when i was 14.

Had to learn how to do this in a retired Military Willy’s Jeep from the early 1900’s

I love Rev matching and the feel of the next gear just pulls you into the gear. Grew up on a drag strip and heard about 10 names for the method

it’s fun, it’s the first steap in learning hell-toe, floating gears, makes you understand the car, if your syncros or clutch is dead it makes it easier to shift

Did it in my class 8 trucks. It was easier to do that than replace the clutch after 100,000 to 200,000 miles. Saving the bottom line cost.

Double clutching is primarily used in heavy trucks. Although many experienced drivers will not use the clutch at all and just listen to the sound of the engine and know when to shift. The throttle blip the video speaks of is especially necessary when down shifting.

I only ever double clutched when learning how to drive a big rig... in a very short period of time, I learned the timing of the engine by the feel and was able to float gears, meaning you don't have to clutch at all to shift a truck. In fact, I got so used to floating gears, I lost my ability to double clutch smoothly and felt odd when trying to double clutch. In cars, because of the synchronization, you can't really float gears without destroying the gear box.

My grandma told me I should only double clutch anything modern when it's very cold, since that aides a smoother transition when the gearbox fluid is still extra thick due to temperature. By cold: I mean below 10°F or so.

My old job had a 1994 UD wrecker with a manual. We bought it used without knowing much about it. I figured out double clutching on my own, and it was real easy to drive. We hired a friend of mine who was big into street racing to drive it for a while, and he couldn't stop grinding gears. I showed him numerous times how to shift it, but he refused to double clutch. Eventually we had to fire him when he backed one of the trucks into a fence post at the yard.

The reason for double clutching is to match the speeds of the transmission intake shaft to the output shaft. That’s so when up shifting you give both shafts the time to match their own speeds, but when down shifting you need the extra time and clutch in so you can blip the throttle to match the speeds between the shafts. Mostly in big heavy duty trucks that have no Syncro to match the shafts speeds. Or you can do it to help the life of the synchronizing mechanism that’s built into each gear.

Лучшее, что я видел за последнее время)

Thank you for explaining it all, humorously, in a minute 😂

Great video, as always, and hilarious😂😂😂

Double clutching is taught to you when getting the cdl A. But then you just float the gears when on your own driving the 18 wheeler saving your knee and the clutch. At my first driving job the technician told me not to double clutch and just float them gears.

When you are down-shifting through multiple gears, e.g. 5 to 2, it actually helps to engage the gear smoothly. You barely need to touch the clutch when shifting into neutral, blip with clutch depressed, and then clutch in fully. Happens almost instantly and doesn't take any extra time when you are used to it.

Yes, the synchro rings really made a different to the manual. So much so, that's its easy to drive a manual with a snapped clutch cable. The trick is feathering the throttle at just the right amount to allow a gear change up. A throttle blip works for a downshift.. The fun bit, is having start the car in 1st gear at traffic lights, on a hill! 😂

Look at this guy Granny shiftin not double clutchin like you should You almost had me? 😂 You neva had me…you neva had your car

all we do is rev matching. before changing gears, clutch in then blip then gear shift then clutch out. works like a charm. slight blip while up shifting, slightly more while down shifting.

Always hear that on old big trucks and old jeepneys , reving before up shifting and down shifting

It's not only for old transmissions. My car had two dead syncros when i got it. Now it has different transmission, but for the time I trained myself to smoothly downshift without synchros.

I like double-clutching, especially if I'm skipping gears. You feel the shifter twitch when you're at the right RPM. Just give the clutch a tap and it goes right in perfectly matched and smooth every time. Also, if your transmission is a bit slow and clunky, it'll be smoother and take less force on the shifter when double-clutched. Incidentally, most manual semi trucks don't have synchros, and we are taught NOT to double-clutch on downshifts. Clutch out of the gear, then let off the clutch, quickly get the shifter to the next gear, bring the revs up, and hold a slight pressure on it until it falls in. If you try that with a car, the synchro will be unhappy about that pressure-holding business. Also, cars rev up and down fast enough that the RPM window tends to come and go before the shifter can physically move into place, so you miss gears a lot if you try to float it. A lot of truckers simply use a change in throttle to get out of gear, never touching the clutch at all except for starting from a stop. Double-clutching is usually a bit faster than floating, but causes more wear. Sybchros are faster than either, and a dogbox (motorcycle style) is faster still.

In an unsynchronized transmission it's faster to use the clutch only for starting. If it's an unsynchronized transmission you can just float the gears which means not having to deal with that pesky clutch

I've never driven a big truck with synchros, and the clutch is only really used for starting out. Just have to match the revs when shifting up or down. Pretty easy in something like a modern Eaton, a bit more complicated with an old truck using a main and auxiliary box.

It's the synchros that wear out first and this is the best way to make sure that happens as soon as possible.

My dad taught me this. Was very useful in our 1985 Saab!