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by wtallis 2351 days ago
> like pre-engage the next gear so the switch is faster -- I have no idea how that works

I think you're referring to dual-clutch transmissions: odd gears on one clutch, even gears on the other. So the transmission can switch from eg. gear 2 to 4 with the even-numbered clutch disengaged while transferring power through the odd-numbered clutch in gear 3. When it's time to move up to gear 4, one clutch is disengaged as the other is engaged, instead of having to leave a single clutch disengaged while the gear change happens.