[zerovisual]

First off I am not car/tech savy at all.

So I just got my 2016 M6 SS yesterday. I have been playing around with all the features and one I particular kinda like is the active rev match. What I noticed is that you always have to enable it when you start the car. It does not seem to auto enable it from before. So is there anything wrong with using this all the time? Or should this feature only really be used on the track? I am curious as to what impact this feature would have on the engine if any over constant use. I normally would down shift in a car coming up to the light because I love the sound, however with the active rev match I never even have to really engage second, just go into it.

Is there anything wrong with using this feature almost every time you drive the car?

[zr1chris]

I use it all the time. Don't think there is a problem with that. In fact I would think it's probably recommended since it's giving you a proper shift every time thus putting less strain on the transmission.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by zerovisual

Is there anything wrong with using this feature almost every time you drive the car?

Don't think so. There are several members here who leave it on all the time. And yes, you need to activate it with every start. There is no default to "on."

Originally Posted by zerovisual

I normally would down shift in a car coming up to the light because I love the sound, however with the active rev match I never even have to really engage second, just go into it.

Not sure what you mean by "don't have to engage second, just go into it." Does that mean shifting into second without using the clutch?


At any rate, you can continue to slow the car by downshifting and enjoy the sounds. I personally would never do this on a regular basis because: 1) downshifting only uses 2 wheels to slow the car, whereas brakes use 4 wheels; and, 2) downshifting like this will save the brakes at the expense of prematurely wearing the clutch. This is the fundamental reason not to downshift: brakes are much cheaper to replace than a clutch.


I have traded my last four manual cars all with over 150,000 miles on their original clutches. My wife's father taught her to downshift, and years ago we traded her Sentra at 90,000 because the clutch was shot. I subsequently broke her of the downshift habit.

[zerovisual]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

Don't think so. There are several members here who leave it on all the time. And yes, you need to activate it with every start. There is no default to "on."



Not sure what you mean by "don't have to engage second, just go into it." Does that mean shifting into second without using the clutch?


At any rate, you can continue to slow the car by downshifting and enjoy the sounds. I personally would never do this on a regular basis because: 1) downshifting only uses 2 wheels to slow the car, whereas brakes use 4 wheels; and, 2) downshifting like this will save the brakes at the expense of prematurely wearing the clutch. This is the fundamental reason not to downshift: brakes are much cheaper to replace than a clutch.


I have traded my last four manual cars all with over 150,000 miles on their original clutches. My wife's father taught her to downshift, and years ago we traded her Sentra at 90,000 because the clutch was shot. I subsequently broke her of the downshift habit.

I use to downshift in my civic SI all the time coming up to lights. I knew I was putting more wear on the clutch. However with the camaro when you are coming up to a light you can push in the clutch, use the brake to stop you, go into second and get that nice rev sound. You won't get the grumble slow down until you of course let off the clutch, but at the point you are using the clutch to slow you and ideally you don't want to do that. So I kinda get the best of both worlds with the rev match. I get a nice rev tone if I want when I down shift coming up to lights, and as long as I do not let off the clutch I am not wear it.

Sound right?

Wow 150k on the original clutch, nice. I really doubt my clutch is going to last the life of the car. I am sure I will have to replace it as some point. Plus my wife is learning to drive stick on this :( . She knows we bought the car for me but she feel in love with it and so wants to drive it. I figure it is her car/money also. She has done an amazing job so far around the high school parking lot .

[Boosted_ST]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

Don't think so. There are several members here who leave it on all the time. And yes, you need to activate it with every start. There is no default to "on."



Not sure what you mean by "don't have to engage second, just go into it." Does that mean shifting into second without using the clutch?


At any rate, you can continue to slow the car by downshifting and enjoy the sounds. I personally would never do this on a regular basis because: 1) downshifting only uses 2 wheels to slow the car, whereas brakes use 4 wheels; and, 2) downshifting like this will save the brakes at the expense of prematurely wearing the clutch. This is the fundamental reason not to downshift: brakes are much cheaper to replace than a clutch.


I have traded my last four manual cars all with over 150,000 miles on their original clutches. My wife's father taught her to downshift, and years ago we traded her Sentra at 90,000 because the clutch was shot. I subsequently broke her of the downshift habit.

Wait, what?

Downshifting with active rev-match will NOT cause your clutch to wear out fast. In fact, even without the active rev-match on, if you're blipping the throttle then you're NOT causing any issues on your clutch or your transmission.

Downshifts should always be heard, never felt.

[torqueaddict]

160k miles on my original MS3 clutch and I downshifted all the time. If the shifts are matched right, there should be little wear. The auto rev matching does just that.


To answer the OP. No, it will not cause an issue using it all the time. It's actually better for the drivetrain, especially if you're a novice.

[Agent K]

My 370Z had this feature but it would stay on as long as you didn't disengage the button on the center console.

I wish GM would have made it where this feature would stay on even after restarts.

[DenverTaco07]

Originally Posted by Agent K

My 370Z had this feature but it would stay on as long as you didn't disengage the button on the center console.

I wish GM would have made it where this feature would stay on even after restarts.

i think GM had to avoid allowing this due to exactly that Nissan has some sort of patent or something that GM avoided by making driver engage it at every start. Not sure how valid, but i read it here before.

OP, to get that nìce rev, simply take it out of gear, into nuetral gate and tap shifter left (exactly to the 9 oclock position). I actually will tap it left twice quickly and get a nice double rev blip.

[samurai]

As others said rev match will cause no harm to the clutch since it's matching the shifts perfectly. You know that "pull" that you are feeling when you have not matched the rpm good when downshifting? That will cause harm on the clutch, rev matching makes it impossible to do that plus adding that awesome sound when going into 2nd.

On an additional note downshifting will also save you fuel since the engine will not add more fuel when you let the engine roll in a gear. So your fuel consumption is actually 0 while rolling, compared to roll with pressed clutch/without a gear where the engine still consumes the fuel it needs for idling.

[Lazerbrainz2k3]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

I personally would never do this on a regular basis because: 1) downshifting only uses 2 wheels to slow the car, whereas brakes use 4 wheels; and, 2) downshifting like this will save the brakes at the expense of prematurely wearing the clutch. This is the fundamental reason not to downshift: brakes are much cheaper to replace than a clutch.

A well executed rev match when downshifting will produce a negligible additional amount of wear on the clutch as compared to engine braking without shifting. The catch is you have to be very skilled to execute the rev match that well all the time when done manually, a level of skill the auto rev match feature emulates.

[DenverTaco07]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

2) downshifting like this will save the brakes at the expense of prematurely wearing the clutch. This is the fundamental reason not to downshift: brakes are much cheaper to replace than a clutch.

I'm trying to think of the scenario where you slow down but don't engage the clutch at some point, whether you are coming to a complete stop, or now you need to be in a lower gear to accelerate, in which case how is the clutch wear and tear reduced?

oh, is it just because one more clutch engagement? I guess over enough miles that could do something, IDK though, I've never replace a clutch in the several manuals I've had.

[NW-99SS]

Originally Posted by samurai

On an additional note downshifting will also save you fuel since the engine will not add more fuel when you let the engine roll in a gear. So your fuel consumption is actually 0 while rolling, compared to roll with pressed clutch/without a gear where the engine still consumes the fuel it needs for idling.

Uh - no.

Downshifting requires a throttle blip - active rev match does that for you. Throttle blips are adding fuel to the engine, and regardless of coasting or downshifting, the engine will use some fuel.

The truth is that coasting to a stop will likely use less fuel than downshifting to a stop. But it will be so close that the difference is negligible.

[drperry]

Active rev match will not cause extra wear on the clutch, except when comparing to a vehicle that coasts in neutral to every stop.

There's no clutch slip on a proper RPM matched shift.... Up, or down.

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[ctrlz]

I do not dispute that rev match will minimize clutch slip for any up- or downshift.
The OP mentioned downshifting to slow for every stoplight. I think downshifting has its place, but should not be the primary means to slow the car in everyday driving. Some people just get over-excited by the concept of downshifting.