Bullitt

Took my car to the service department at the dealership with this very specific complaint:

Gears grind when shifting from third gear directly to fifth when above 4000 rpm.

Their reply was equally as specific: "Don't do that."

Hrm.

Furthermore, my clutch is slipping they tell me. At only 17k miles. And it costs $2000 to replace. Those of you who have driven with me will not be surprised by this, but it doesn't make you right. I've driven clutches like this on many different cars in many different countries and some with far more mileage. But apparently, once again, I'm foiled by the South Koreans who have an undocumented 'don't skip shift' policy.

We each have our own reasons and our own stories about the first time we saw Bullitt with Steve McQueen. My own is because I own a 1968 Dodge Coronet 440 and watched it with a man who owned a 1969 Dodge Coronet 440 Superbee Hemi. While we were watching this movie, this man - a wealth of automobile information - outlined everything we were seeing and hearing. This was the first time I was introduced to "double-clutching."

In the movie, the Mustang's sounds was dubbed over using a Ford GT40 race car, which had an unsynchronized transmission, which requires hitting the clutch twice - once to disengage the transmission from the engine, and again to reengage it in another gear. Highway cars use synchronized transmissions, negating the need to double-clutch; however, in doing so, you can keep a higher powerband (bonus), but more importantly lessen the wear on the clutch (and in fact the entire drivetrain).

So I've been learning how to double-clutch my car. I must say, when done properly its as smooth as an automatic. Harder is double-clutching while downshifting, as that requires the engine to be revved to an approximate engine speed to match the new lower gear and takes not only quick calculations of velocity and intended gear to hit expected revs, but also removing your foot from the brake to tap the accelerator if you don't heel-and-toe it; another skill utilized in double-clutching.

And while this would be just as effective in some 4-banger econobox, its just downright fun in my Tiburon GT.