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It's honestly not really necessary unless you're on the track.

I will say I blip rev-match downshift on the street almost all the time, that's definitely useful for smooth driving in most scenarios.



I hope every manual driver does this. Forcing your clutch to rev match for you on every downshift seems like unnecessary wear. Plus it's so satisfying to just give a little blip and slip it in.


My first car was a manual, but my parents never taught me about rev matching (probably didn't know themselves), so I had no idea. (This was in the 90s, before the modern internet!) Drove for years like that, until stumbling upon this "heel toe" thing online about 15 years ago. So I started just practicing on the street every time I drove. Which ended up being awesome, because around 5 years I got into track days, autocross, and time attack, and it ended up being an extremely useful skill. Once the muscle memory's there, it's almost easier on the track than on the street since you're deeper into the brakes. (Good on the street too though, to make your clutch last though.)


And fun to practice getting them just right on the street anyway. It's something to do, if nothing else.


what do you guys mean by "blip"? I'm not familiar with that term.


A quick stab of the accelerator to get the revs up to match the gear you're shifting into. The closer your "blip" gets your engine rpm into the right range for the gear you're shifting into, the smoother your shift will be.


it means, in this context, to tap the accelerator (gas) pedal briefly to increase engine rpm's.


With the clutch pedal pressed to match RPMs on a downshift.




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