This one will be short and sweet.

Today, I learned how to do clutchless shifting! It felt like a little bit of a eureka moment. I think the main takeaway is that I underestimated how long it takes the engine to rev down. The clutch really speeds up the process of going from 2000-2200 down to 1500-1700 RPMs.

Interestingly, the rev-down time seems to be intentional; I read that many modern manual cars implement rev-hang. One source said that it was primarily for EPA regulations. Either way, it’s clear that a computer decides when it happens, as about 1 in 10 times, the engine immediately dropped revs, making waiting-for-revs-to-fall time inconsistent, which is a little annoying. Also, I’ve noticed that it the car lets the shifter slip into gear as the revs are falling into the correct range, and not when they’re already there. In modern cars, I’m not sure what’s the result of physics and what’s the car’s little chips deciding things.

But, as they say, some things are only fun in novelty. Conditions really have to be ideal to clutch shift frequently - no big hills, no traffic, no need to accelerate quickly, along with some others that I haven’t realized yet. Still, it’s really nice to know that I can do it in my dad’s very forgiving Subaru Impreza.