(Please read and help!! i'm a noob in need
)
yea, my 04' civic dx is my first 5-speed and the second manual transmission car i ever drove. btw, i've only driven since last summer so not a complete year yet. but yea, ever since i started learning stick, i was always wondering if i drove correctly since i had a constant fear of burning the clutch. my engine is about to hit 15k miles and nothing wrong as of yet (am i doing good so far?? heh...)
but yea, sometimes i am forced to ride the clutch (only in 1st or 2nd) when in traffic since there's a lot of slowing down and stopping and going. is this normal?? i mean i can't help it because if i don't press down the clutch, i feel the engine shaking since the rpms are low. btw, i have a dx so i don't have a tachometer (btw, i want to get one, what's a good aftermarket brand?)
another thing that bothered me was downshifting....there's always debate on this and i never found peace of mind in this topic. basically there were 3 ways to slowing down:
1) leave it as is and just use the brake and press the clutch when reaching a stop
2) put the car in neutral and brake
3) downshift to help the car slow down and brake
for some reason i always do #3 since it helps me the most when slowing down. also, i never downshift to 1st; i usually downshift to 3rd but i sometimes go to 2nd when i need extra stopping power. however, i think i'm wearing out the clutch faster by doing so. doing option #1 and 2 wear out the brakes faster too. but i think i should do those instead since brake pads are cheaper than a new clutch....
but yea, is downshifting bad??? well when i downshift, i press the brake a little bit and then downshift and release the clutch slowly so it doesn't jerk or redline (i don't have a tach so i can tell its redlining by the sound)
but yea, i would like to know some helpful advice from experienced drivers on how to use the clutch effectively and efficiently....
also, i gas a little when shifting from first to second so i don't jerk. for gears 3-5, i let go of gas completely. however, i think gassing when shifting improves the acceleration right? but then it will burn the clutch faster....(i'm so confused!!!)
so does anyone know a good aftermarket clutch? i always seemed interested in those sports/racing clutch kits since i assumed they can take a lot of punishment. and since i don't drive my car hard or race it, it might last long....
but yea, TECHNINE's experience just showed me that i have to be more aware of my driving and i need to learn how to replace a clutch on my own because 900 dollars is insane. yes, i'm a teenager and a minimum wage job won't get that kind of money fast....haha.
thanks in advance for the advice
, and grandma dies in an accident because she wasn't prepared to deal with a burned clutch doing 60 on the freeway, whose fault is it? Grandma's? Nope...you can bet your ass that Honda would take it in the butt in court because the specs were too stringent for an economic car. Why take that liability? While your at it, might as well make the civic only run on 110 octane racegas, otherwise it explodes.
