[Drivingforfun]

I watched a video encouraging you to keep the throttle on a little bit while changing up a gear, just like when changing down, and to slow down the gear change; this is to make everything smoother

I can do it changing down but can't seem to do it when changing up a gear. I think the issue is blipping the throttle when changing up a gear seems stupid; and the goal anyway is just to slow down the drop in RPMs while changing up, as opposed to increasing them

Is this necessary in a modern car??

[Rolebama]

I like to think of myself as a mechanically sympathetic driver, so I always try to match engine speed to the road speed in either event of changing up or down. To be honest, I don't think it absolutely necessary, but I learnt to drive in non-synchro gearbox vehicles, which if you fluffed too much you would broadcast to the world via gearbox grating.

[NMNeil]

The joy of an automatic transmission is that it does all the work for you.

[olduser]

Originally Posted by Drivingforfun

I watched a video encouraging you to keep the throttle on a little bit while changing up a gear, just like when changing down, and to slow down the gear change; this is to make everything smoother

I can do it changing down but can't seem to do it when changing up a gear. I think the issue is blipping the throttle when changing up a gear seems stupid; and the goal anyway is just to slow down the drop in RPMs while changing up, as opposed to increasing them

Is this necessary in a modern car??

A car on the move, not in gear is out of control (same as coasting) so gear changes need to be made quickly.
Changing gear whilst learning is a conscious thought but with sufficient practice becomes a reflex action.
Most drivers manage to learn to make smooth changes without thinking about it, I would advocate leaving it at that.

If you think about what is going on it is complex, say we are going up through the gear's with passengers aboard.
Low gears need more care because we can get violent acceleration due to changes in throttle position, in higher gears this reaction becomes less violent - we compensate for this automatically.
Before changing up into the next gear, we must stop the acceleration by easing off the gas, timing declutching when the engine is neither pulling nor being pushed - as we declutch we continue lifting off the gas until the peddle is on it's idle stop (a fixed point reference point).
As we feel the clutch slipping (due our declutching) we go for the gear change leaver - ideally with no drive through clutch, when we are changing the gear, synchromesh taking care of difference in gear RPM, though we have reduced it somewhere near.
With gear stick in new position (next gear) we start to engage the clutch smoothly simultaneously picking up the throttle to get engine and driven clutch plate at same RPM as they engage, within reason the clutch will slip to absorb any difference in RPM.

Whilst in writing it looks impossibly complicated, it eventually becomes a reflex action!

To help this along, when I was teaching my children to drive. (on a disused airfield)
I would let them get into top gear at 30 - 35 MPH and get them to change up and down from top to 3, to 2 and back up, as they got better, 2 to 4 or, 4 to 2, keeping speed constant all the time, the latter to break the idea that gears had to be used in order.

Hospital transport, has a driver who declutches while still accelerating, it's very uncomfortable, and another driver who does the equivalent when changing down.

As to doing special tweaks to gear changing on modern cars, if you could get it 100% correct every time, you may prolong the life of the synchromesh or even the clutch but not a lot.

[Drivingforfun]

Thanks everyone

It looks like the logic speaks for itself but sometimes it's just nice to do things properly for the pleasure of doing it right, if that makes sense? I fully accept I'm not likely to save money or make my clutch last twice as long.

Similar note r.e. automatic gearboxes - I don't dispute they're better - in fact I'm often the one to try to educate older (non-enthusiast) drivers on that. Again I guess it boils down to whether an auto eliminates a chore or a pleasurable activity from your life?

[hugo8]

Hello!
In a modern car, this is usually not necessary. When shifting to a higher gear, the engine speed should naturally decrease, and the driver’s task is to synchronize the clutch and gearbox, not to apply throttle. Lightly maintaining the throttle is sometimes used to make the shift smoother, but it is not essential and offers little benefit in modern synchronized manual transmissions. Rev-matching is much more relevant when downshifting than when upshifting.
With an automatic, it really comes down to perception. For some, it removes the tiring routine of driving in traffic; for others, it takes away the sense of involvement. It’s not so much about technical superiority as it is about what actually brings enjoyment to a particular driver.