Your daily driving experience would be incredibly bumpy if you did not have any secret trips up your sleeves to keep the car in peak condition and reduce the frequency of visits to an automobile shop.
Out of all common techniques, floating gears car sparks the most curiosity. Why do every professional truck driver praise it? And are there any tips to ensure your floating attempt comes out successful?
Once again, you can trust Bryan’s Garage in this regard. Our insightful article will deliver all there is to know about floating gears in a car from A to Z.
An Overview Of The Floating Gears Car Technique
What Are Floating Gears?
What does floating gears mean?
Float shifting (also referred to as “bang shifting”, “dead sticking”, “slip shifting”, and, most commonly, floating gears) is the procedure of changing car gears in the non-synchronous transmission.
The trick here is to do that without engaging the clutch.
Still, sometimes, a synchronous manual transmission can be involved (especially after clutch failure) to keep the synchromesh with engine power intact and unharmed.
Skillful drivers can perform this technique by lowering the engine to its neutral RPM before completing the shift.
That’s clearly something only frequent practices can achieve – since improper movements might damage (worse, destroy) the transmission.
Most conventional vehicles are available for floating gears, but a quick observation reveals that it’s thriving the most among lorries /commercial trucks /semi trucks with higher gears.
Motorcyclists used to be obsessed with it, too, before quickshifters replaced it entirely.
How Does It Differ From Double Clutch?
As we have stressed above, “floating” means a clutchless shift.
Changing the gears without using the clutch will limit the tear and wear on the clutch system, allowing drivers to travel 100, 200, or even 1000 miles with just one or two times of clutch usage.
Double clutching, on the other hand, obviously involves clutches. (The term “clutching” clearly says it all!). As a result, it’s far easier and more convenient for novices to try out.
To perform the double-clutching technique, one must press the clutches and pop shifters into neutral before releasing them.
Then push the clutch pedals back (be aware of squeaky noises) before moving on to the second gear.
This strategy shines best when downward slopes force you to employ excessive speed. Those struggling up steep inclines also benefit from double clutching!
Unfortunately, there comes a price; contrary to floating gears, now you must depress the clutches twice as normal.
Also, in the case of older vehicles, their ability to drop the shifters smoothly into gears is no longer impressive, meaning double clutching is a necessity instead of a choice.
Floating Gears Car: How To Do It Successfully
How to float gears in a car? First, watch your surroundings to ensure nobody is in danger. Next, try to go from easy to difficult by mastering your upshifts before trying out downshifts.
Apply appropriate pressure (neither too little nor too much) and confirm the power shift lever is not being yanked. Lastly, release the car’s gas, slip your hand into neutral, and drop the engine RPM.
More detailed breakdowns are as follows:
1. Watch The Surroundings
The first tip to keep in mind when learning float shifting is to raise awareness of what’s going on around you.
This lesson is important – particularly for inexperienced drivers who have never performed the technique before.
We strongly suggest you avoid major highways for first-time attempts. Stalling might end in deadly accidents that leave you in a worse wreck than simple failures of shiting.
Also, here are other things to pay close attention to when you start to float:
- People. Make sure nobody is nearby when you’re driving on the road.
- Cars. Spot cars around you. Confirm none of them will suffer from damage if your attempt fails.
- Your self-confidence. A bit unrelated, but it is crucial. Do not feel ready yet? Then simply do not float. You need to understand what’s awaiting ahead before going all in.
All these tidbits are survival keys. Once you settle on the surroundings and confirm the area is totally safe, it’s time to start
2. Master Your Upshifting
Upshifting is much easier than downshifting – which is why you should try it first before getting on to more complex movements.
More specifically, practice floating gears with upshifting first, then start to try downshifting (still using the clutches). Only let go of the clutch when you finally feel comfortable.
One amazing tip is to increase to the normal velocity you often reach when shifting gears. You are already familiar with such speeds at this point, so finding them is not difficult.
Once you’re at this benchmark, jump immediately onto the next phase, pushing forward with your float gear shift!
3. Apply Appropriate Pressure
Start applying pressure on the levers toward your next-in-line gear (at your typical shifting speed). Do not go too harsh on this since excessive pushing might damage the car, limiting your shifting ability.
When using pressure, ensure:
- Nothing is forced to fit in their places
- The lever is not being yanked
- No unnecessary pressure is at play. Use just the right amount to have it done and successfully complete your float!
Once your hands are in the middle of shifting, enter the next steps: apply pressure once again to shift the lever into place after your floats succeed.
4. Release Gas Gently
Now release your gas. Please do not do it immediately or too suddenly. Instead, ease it off slowly, a couple times at one go – as you would with clutch-involved gear shifting.
After the gas has been released, your hands are still pushing. Now slip them into neutral; this placement is right in the gears’ middle.
Lastly, drop your RPM range. Congratulations! You have finished your very first float gears shift ever.
Conclusion
This post has discussed the most fundamental basics of floating gears car, from their essential components to tried-and-true methods for success.
Do not feel discouraged if some of your first attempts end up badly. Just keep practicing, and you will find yourself an expert in no time!
Remember that wrong gear alignments might lead to internal damage and misalignment between the gears and the power.
Hence, it’s important to check in at a service center every month, fixing issues (if any) in your current vehicle before things get worse!