We used to call it "floating the gears". If you do it properly, the gears mesh up fine and no harm is done. I don't think it does much to save the clutch though, except perhaps it results in less wear on the throw out bearing. If you think about it, most wear on the clutch occurs when starting out from a stop. That's when the friction is at its highest.

 

yup them twin c/s transmissions had spur cut gears on them, and really the clutch is only used for going into first or reverse

 

i do all the time upshifting and downshifting. as long as you match your RPMs to your speed it will fall right into gear. ive never had any trouble or problems, might be because im used to driving a semi...

 

my truck was driven by a person that thought he was a truck driver and never used the clutch after he got going, when i got the truck syncros in third were gone and starting to go in 2nd and 4th, not sure if the powershifting was the cause but the local trans shop says it was.

 

^Interesting. Thanks for the info man. I've continued using my clutch again

 

The big deal with slip shifting a transmission not designed for it is that the syncros are actually absorbing all the difference in speed between the gears. No matter how good a driver a person thinks they are, they are likely not matching speeds in this lighter weight transmission. The gear sets just slow down way too fast compared to the very heavy clusters in the big rig transmissions. (Ever see a Road Ranger 13 speed?) Yes, it seems as if you are slipping from one gear to another, but in fact, your syncros are spinning at double (or more) the speed of the difference between the gears to catch up so you can drive like an "expert."

Like has been said here a dozen or more times, clutches are cheaper than transmission rebuilds, and more so, the clutch won't wear out from just shifting if you are not also slipping it to try to get it to act more like an auto.

Over my years of off-roading, I've seen a lot of REALLY bad stick shift drivers, and the guys doing off-road stuff are probably better behind the wheel than the average Joe -- they look for extreme stuff to conquer. When I see a stick shift rig bouncing to get up an obstacle, I can almost guarantee that the driver has his foot on the clutch pedal "just in case." If he has the stones to leave that foot on the floor, the truck will generally march right up the obstacle. I've also seen a lot of guys slip the clutch like crazy to try to build revs to get moving. Either of these practices will take tens of thousands of miles off the life of a clutch -- more so than just disengaging the momentum of the transmission for a second to slide a gear on a cluster shaft.

If you want to drive like you have a big rig, get a big rig transmission and see just how good you really are... I've been there for close to 2 million miles with liquid loads. I know of what I speak.

 

Hitting the nail right on the head

 

I use to do it and was told it is really hard on snycro's so I stopped. Also, When I replaced my clutch Peter at South Bend Clutch told me that the hardest thing on a clutch is to downshift so downshift only when necessary but never to slow the truck. So I stopped doing it I figured it is easier and cheaper to replace the brakes than the clutch.

 

Yeah, but clutches wear out just like breaks. That's the advantage of having a manual transmission is being able to use it to it's advantages which one of them is being able to downshift. You just shouldn't be downshifting when the gear you're dropping into is going to send you to more than 2500 rpms.
I agree it's hard on the clutch, but why have a manual if you're not going to use it for one of the best reasons to have a manual?

 

Throw in the fact that New Venture gear has been out of business for a few years and good quality parts(non-chinese)are hard to find and its a no brainer to me to use the clutch.

What I do not get is why they all want sticks but yet they want them to drive like a built automatic and think there is no chance of a problem to shift a stick like one.I say if they want full power,heavy throttle,big boost shifts then they need to consider a automatic or their wallets will be alot lighter trying it with a stick truck.You may be able to shift a stick under heavy boost and throttle once,but,when it does happen and it will,the carnage will be enough to make your wallet cry.