Your thoughts on clutch-less gear shifting.

[fdcg27]

If you rev match perfectly up and down, you won't do any harm.
Some cars are really easy to drive sans clutch, like our old Civics and my old MGB.
Others seem darn near impossible, like our Accords and my BMW, although I've not made any real effort with the BMW.
Do it right, and shifts are even smoother than they would be with proper clutch work.
Remember to never try to force the lever into a gear, and the clutch must obviously be used from a standing start.
Still, in a properly running car with the clutch releasing and engaging as it should, you should be able to drive smoothly using the clutch for all shifts.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
If you rev match perfectly up and down, you won't do any harm.
Some cars are really easy to drive sans clutch, like our old Civics and my old MGB.
Others seem darn near impossible, like our Accords and my BMW, although I've not made any real effort with the BMW.
Do it right, and shifts are even smoother than they would be with proper clutch work.
Remember to never try to force the lever into a gear, and the clutch must obviously be used from a standing start.
Still, in a properly running car with the clutch releasing and engaging as it should, you should be able to drive smoothly using the clutch for all shifts.


This^^^^^^^^^^

I've driven lots of vehicles without using the clutch mostly for the novelty but it can save your [censored] in a emergency...

I've driven a Ford van back to the shop without a clutch and that included stopping and paying a toll... Slipped it out of gear as I was coming to a stop, cut the engine, back in 1st, restart in gear and away I went...

 

[rslifkin]

Shifting clutchless with synchros isn't too good for them. It's too forgiving, at the expensive of wearing the synchros quickly if you're not dead on rpm-wise when you pull it into gear. In something like a big rig transmission with no synchros, it's fine to do, as it just won't go into gear until you get the revs right (and it's either that or double clutch every shift).