Downshifting to First Gear q - new boxster owner

[Topless]

When I teach it in performance driving, I suggest using 1st from a dead stop only. You could h/t downshift to 1st while rolling but it is unnecessary input. Minimum input is smooth and smooth is fast.

I use the same logic when approaching a corner going from 5th to 2nd. Instead of busying yourself running through the gears, apply full braking and h/t downshift to select only the gear you need for corner exit. Get your business done and be in the right gear before entering the corner so your foot is on the gas at apex. Minimum input, maximum focus on corner entry. These same techniques work well in traffic at a "less intense" level. Just building and practicing good driving habits that become second nature.

Disclaimer: These are only suggestions. It is your car and ultimately you can shift it any way you want. There will always be different opinions on this.

[fatmike]

Originally Posted by Topless

When I teach it in performance driving, I suggest using 1st from a dead stop only. You could h/t downshift to 1st while rolling but it is unnecessary input. Minimum input is smooth and smooth is fast.

I use the same logic when approaching a corner going from 5th to 2nd. Instead of busying yourself running through the gears, apply full braking and h/t downshift to select only the gear you need for corner exit. Get your business done and be in the right gear before entering the corner so your foot is on the gas at apex. Minimum input, maximum focus on corner entry. These same techniques work well in traffic at a "less intense" level. Just building and practicing good driving habits that become second nature.

Disclaimer: These are only suggestions. It is your car and ultimately you can shift it any way you want. There will always be different opinions on this.

Topless is giving you good advise. Work on heel-toe, it will make you a smoother and safer driver.

[Ghostrider 310]

Originally Posted by fatmike

Topless is giving you good advise. Work on heel-toe, it will make you a smoother and safer driver.

Tag this onto the good advise, buy a cheap barely running beater manual to practice on. Tearing up a Porsche box on the learning curve is an expensive education, you don't get too many oopsies where as the 50's era VW I learned on could be nearly brutalized and still shift.