RDowner's right. I've been clutchless shifting for a while. As long as you are not grinding andit is not clunking or slamming into gear. If is "clunking" it is putting too much pressure on the rest of the drive train. But you can also do that using the clutch. So I guess the word is -don't force it and don't slam it. I think downshifting is a whole 'nother story. It is much harder to time it and it is almost always a slam to the drive train. On the other hand, downshifting is the easiest on the clutch wear. Now if I could only figure out how to start out in first gear ........

FJMunky