Shifting gears in Alfas

[Simon Favre <simon@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Roger's advice is sound, but I think a few more details are in order.
Just to expand on his good advice, here are Simon's rules for shifting
gears in Alfas:

1) Never, ever, EVER slam-shift an Alfa.  For all other rules, when in
   doubt, see rule #1.  This kind of rude behavior should be reserved
   for "Rock-crusher" trannies.  Alfa trannies aren't THAT robust.  You
   can definitely tear one up doing this.

2) When the light turns green, never, ever, EVER just stomp on the
   clutch and slam it into 1st.  Most Alfas only have 1/2 a synchro on
   1st.  You get NO synchro action doing this.  Contrary to other
   published views, you should also NEVER use 2nd gear to stop the
   moving parts in the tranny before slecting 1st.  2nd gets enough
   abuse as it is.  When the light turns green, step on the clutch, wait
   a second, then select 4th, THEN select 1st.  The same applies to
   Reverse.  Step on the clutch, wait 1 second, put it in 4th, THEN
   select R.  If you do it this way, you'll never hear a crunch.  See
   rule #1.

3) On upshifts, all it takes is timing your shifts.  You'll find that if
   you don't rev the motor up enough, upshifts can be balky.  It's
   probably a bit silly to rev the motor all the way up to redline in
   heavy traffic, or buzz along in 2nd at 5000 rather than upshift, but
   you should get the motor up to at least 4000 before upshifting.  In
   "normal" traffic, I shift up between 4 and 5000.  If you're trying to
   get ahead of a cement truck dropping goop all over the road, then by
   all means redline it.  Alfas were made to do that.  A normal upshift
   only requires a slight pause in Neutral before selecting the next
   higher gear to make it smooth.  See rule #1.

4) The exception to #3 is the first 1-2 upshift in the morning with a
   cold gearbox.  This is usually quite balky, less so with synthetic
   gear lube, but still balky.  You should really baby a cold box.  In
   order to allow extra settling time on that first upshift, I will
   sometimes blip the throttle in between gears (with the clutch pedal
   still depressed), just to make me take extra time on the shift.  I
   also shift at lower RPMs until the car is warmed up.  Again, because
   low-RPM shifts can be balky, allow extra time.  See rule #1.

5) Downshifts are the most controversial part, and more tricky to do.
   The technique of keeping your foot on the gas, stepping on the
   clutch, and selecting the lower gear as the RPMs rise to the right
   point works well on the freeway if you're going uphill and need a
   lower gear to maintain speed, or if you're just forming up with a
   large convoy.  I've tried it.  It does not work if you're slowing
   down in a big hurry.  For that, you really need to do the classic
   heel-and-toe downshift.  The procedure only sounds complicated.  Once
   you get into the rhythm, you'll find it makes it easier and smoother.
   Heel-and toe really refers to the action of blipping throttle to
   match the RPMs before all the parts engage with each other to make
   things smoother while ALSO keeping pressure on the brake pedal.
   There is a related, and usually complementary technique called double
   clutching (double de-clutching across the pond).  This refers to the
   action of taking your left foot off the clutch pedal while you blip
   the throttle in order to make all the connected parts in the tranny
   speed up to the right speed for your downshift.  Here's the
   step-by-step:

   Do your braking with your big toe and the ball of your foot.  Keep
   your little toe poised to blip the throttle.  It helps to align the
   pedal height to make this comfortable.  As the RPMs drop to your
   shift point (around 3000 or 2500 on a street motor, much higher for a
   race motor), step on the clutch.  Move the shift lever to neutral and
   NEAR the lower gear you want to engage.  Release the clutch pedal.
   Blip the throttle.  Step on the clutch and the gear shift lever
   should just drop into the lower gear with very little pressure.  All
   of this is done WHILE braking.  Release the clutch AND brake and make
   the turn, or whatever it is you needed to downshift and brake for.
   See rule #1.

6. Lastly, another somewhat controversial point.  Should you downshift
   for a stop sign or red light?  Probably not.  The brakes on most
   cars, especially Alfas, are more than powerful enough to stop the car
   under any circumstances unless you were going too fast, following too
   closely, etc.  If you KNOW you have to come to a complete stop, just
   step on the clutch and use the brakes.  Remember, brake rebuilds are
   a lot cheaper and easier than clutch and tranny rebuilds.  
   See rule #1.

7. When in doubt, see Rule #1. ;=)

As a data point, I've been babying marginal synchros in the same 2 Alfa
gear boxes for 15-20 years.  Neither one has degraded to the point that
I just can't bear not rebuilding them yet.

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