Re: Synchros and double clutching

[James Montebello <jamesm@domain.elided>]

On Sun, 11 Aug 2002, C M Smith wrote:
> There are other types of modern boxes, using just dogs with big sloppy
> teeth and no synchros to allow sequential selection of gears, no skip
> shifting is possible. Motorcycles and rally cars use these.

As do nearly every type of racing car except strictly production based
cars and some endurance racing cars.  Such "dog ring" gearboxes don't have
to be sequentially operated, and many weren't until relatively recently.
The common Hewland four-speed used on Formula Fords for decades, for
example, is a dog-ring 'box with an H-pattern shifter.  These gearboxes
are also constant-mesh, although they typically use straight-cut rather
than helical-cut gears (noisier, but less power loss).  The dog-ring
mechanism itself is also noisier, which is why it's not used on street
going cars.


> So, double clutching is no longer necessary, and as one post has it, unless
> you are driving really hard you need not heel and toe either. But it's fun

Unless your synchros don't work anymore, or you want to reduce wear on
them so they continue to work.


james montebello
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