When Shifting Up, Should You Press the Clutch First or Release the Throttle First?
3 Answers
When shifting up in a car, you should first release the throttle and then press the clutch. Below is a partial introduction to the operation of shifting gears in a car: 1. For downshifting, release the throttle and gently apply the brake to control the speed within the range suitable for the gear you are about to engage. Press the clutch, shift into the corresponding gear, and then slowly release the clutch. Downshifting is a deceleration process, but it does not mean completely ignoring the throttle pedal. After completing the shift and fully releasing the clutch pedal, you should immediately press the throttle pedal to achieve smooth power transition. 2. It is possible to complete the gear shift while pressing the throttle pedal, but this will cause excessive wear on the clutch plates, which assist in the engagement and disengagement of the clutch. The release bearing will also suffer significant impact, affecting its service life. 3. The standard procedure for shifting up or down is: release the throttle, press the clutch, shift gears, slowly release the clutch, and gently apply the throttle simultaneously.
As a seasoned manual transmission driver with over a decade of experience, I know this all too well. When preparing to upshift and accelerate, you must first lift your right foot off the accelerator pedal to let the engine RPM naturally drop, then immediately press the clutch pedal fully with your left foot to engage the gear. I remember once driving my family on a trip, hurriedly shifting gears while overtaking on the highway before completely releasing the accelerator. The car lurched forward abruptly, nearly causing the kids in the back to hit the seatbacks, giving us all a scare. A mechanic later told me this kind of operation forces the transmission gears to clash harshly, and doing it long-term would wear out the clutch plates prematurely. Now, every time I shift gears, I subconsciously remind myself: release gas, press clutch, shift gear, gently release clutch while applying gas – these four steps flow as smoothly as a dance.
Once when I was accompanying a novice friend for driving practice, he kept struggling with the gear-shifting sequence. I pointed at the tachometer and explained: 'See, when you want to shift to third gear at 50 km/h, first release the accelerator when the engine needle reaches 2500 rpm, and it will gradually drop to around 2000 rpm. Then press the clutch and shift gears—the car will glide smoothly. If you do it the other way around by pressing the clutch first and then releasing the accelerator, the engine will rev freely up to 4000 rpm. When you release the clutch after shifting, it feels like getting rear-ended—not only uncomfortable for passengers but also causing loud clunking noises from the transmission gears.' After half an hour of practice, my friend finally understood: it's like jumping rope—you wait for the rope to hit the ground before jumping, finding the right rhythm makes it smooth.
