Burning out ure clutch?
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From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
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2 minutes? I think I'm doomed. I hope that people are still looking at this post...So... If I've "balanced" my car's position on a hill (with clutch somewhat depressed and gassing enough to get 1500 rpms) for a couple minutes a couple of times, have I done serious damage to my clutch? If so, how will I know when I have to replace my clutch? and How long does a knowlegable and careful driver's clutch last in 1000s of miles? I usually put it in neutral while I'm stopped, but sometimes I haven't. I won't be doing that any more though.
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From: Oakland, California, US
Rep Power: 0 You can smell clutch.
You can hear clutch.
Heck, you can even feel clutch.
Chickenwings: Your name is awesome! And your clutch is fine. You're wasting your brake pads by braking in neutral. Just down shift... and get your foot off of the clutch.
The clutches in our cars are known to take quite some abuse. I remember a guy saying himself and 3 other people learned how to drive a stick on his Civic. It's gonna last you at LEAST 50,000 miles.
I cannot believe the dealer told me that I might need a new clutch soon after learning how to drive a stick on my own car. That was B.S.
You can hear clutch.
Heck, you can even feel clutch.
Chickenwings: Your name is awesome! And your clutch is fine. You're wasting your brake pads by braking in neutral. Just down shift... and get your foot off of the clutch.
The clutches in our cars are known to take quite some abuse. I remember a guy saying himself and 3 other people learned how to drive a stick on his Civic. It's gonna last you at LEAST 50,000 miles.
I cannot believe the dealer told me that I might need a new clutch soon after learning how to drive a stick on my own car. That was B.S.
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From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Rep Power: 0 WHEW! I just got this car, and despite some small annoyances I like it alot. It's my first new car even though I'm 23 and I know I'm being paranoid over a lot of ****. But this is the first time I've shelled about 20K total out for anything. I'm not very car smart even though I'm trying to become a little more versed on the them. I've had 2 other used cars (a 1980 Ford Pinto - auto and 1991 Mazda 626 - manual) but they were both really crappy, high mileage, cheap and I wasn't too concered about them.
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From: Boston, Massachusetts, US
Rep Power: 0 That's strange...I just got my car and learned manual on it - doing the hill balance thing instead of breaking, hard shifting, misshifts, etc...Just got done with a 21-point inspection, and the mechanic took it around the block. He said it felt fine...
And it's got 65K miles on it too [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]
And it's got 65K miles on it too [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]
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From: Detroit, Michigan, US
Rep Power: 0 Um.......... ok well i'll say this again but i've said it before in another post, forgot where......
ANY time that your clutch pedal is not ALL the way up (engaged) or ALL the way to the floor (disengaged), you ARE doing damage to the clutch. "Riding the clutch" is anytime you are in between these two positions. Now obviously, it is not possible to not do this, you need to move through this area every time you shift, and especially when you first start. but ALWAYS keep it to a minimum!
My dad's '92 Stealth (Twin Turbo
) has over 150,000 miles on it and has the ORIGINAL clutch! On the other hand, a friend of mine who drives like a moron had his clutch replaced at his first oil change. It is ALL about how you drive, and how much you ride the clutch. If you are in the habit of doing this, DON'T!
Another tip to longer clutch life: NEVER downshift and use engine breaking (when you shift down and let the clutch out w/o giving any gas) to slow down!
New breaks are cheap, new clutches are expensive!
ANY time that your clutch pedal is not ALL the way up (engaged) or ALL the way to the floor (disengaged), you ARE doing damage to the clutch. "Riding the clutch" is anytime you are in between these two positions. Now obviously, it is not possible to not do this, you need to move through this area every time you shift, and especially when you first start. but ALWAYS keep it to a minimum!
My dad's '92 Stealth (Twin Turbo
) has over 150,000 miles on it and has the ORIGINAL clutch! On the other hand, a friend of mine who drives like a moron had his clutch replaced at his first oil change. It is ALL about how you drive, and how much you ride the clutch. If you are in the habit of doing this, DON'T!Another tip to longer clutch life: NEVER downshift and use engine breaking (when you shift down and let the clutch out w/o giving any gas) to slow down!
New breaks are cheap, new clutches are expensive!
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From: Ventura County, California, US
Rep Power: 0 someone help me here:
Many people here (probably a majority) downshift when they come to a stop. The point of that is to reduce wear on the brakes, yes? Could someone tell me the proper way to downshift for purposes of slowing down to a stop? Everytime i try it i have to use the brakes anyway because i'm not slowing down fast enough.
Also, what's the proper way to downshift for purposes of accelerating faster?
Thanks in advance
Many people here (probably a majority) downshift when they come to a stop. The point of that is to reduce wear on the brakes, yes? Could someone tell me the proper way to downshift for purposes of slowing down to a stop? Everytime i try it i have to use the brakes anyway because i'm not slowing down fast enough.
Also, what's the proper way to downshift for purposes of accelerating faster?
Thanks in advance
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From: Detroit, Michigan, US
Rep Power: 0 ok well i just said it but i guess since i'm in a nice mood i'll say it again for you. downshifting to a stop is BAD. disengaging the clutch and using ONLY your brakes is GOOD. New brakes are cheap, and a new clutch is really expensive!!! If you REALLY want to do it, though........ Clutch in, drop down a gear, and slowly let the clutch out, you will feel it catch and the car slow down a good amount. Before you do this, you should be fairly low in the RPM range of the gear you are currently in, otherwise you will kill your engine (it can't just catch up to your wheels that quickly, that's how engine braking works in the first place: your engine isn't fast enough w/o burning gas to catch up to your wheels when you downshift, so your wheels have to slow down). Also, never EVER downshift into first as you come to a stop!!! The ONLY time you downshift into first is when under like 5 mph, and even then, only to speed back up, NEVER to help you stop!!
A short summary: Brakes=cheap, clutch=expensive, therefore put the wear on your brakes and just get new ones instead of killing your clutch! When you see a red light or a stop sign, just disengage the clutch, and then brake! I usually shift it into nuetral so I don't have to hold my foot on the clutch, but that's just cause i'm lazy. (BTW, when you guys do this, do you always tap the stick to the side every couple of seconds to make sure the car is actually in nuetral? I do that all the time, whenever I'm in nuetral, not really as a consious thing tho.......)
Downshifiting to accelerate, now THERE'S something that's usefull [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG] . Clutch in, drop a gear, GIVE IT GAS as you let the clutch out and you'll pick up some speed.
A short summary: Brakes=cheap, clutch=expensive, therefore put the wear on your brakes and just get new ones instead of killing your clutch! When you see a red light or a stop sign, just disengage the clutch, and then brake! I usually shift it into nuetral so I don't have to hold my foot on the clutch, but that's just cause i'm lazy. (BTW, when you guys do this, do you always tap the stick to the side every couple of seconds to make sure the car is actually in nuetral? I do that all the time, whenever I'm in nuetral, not really as a consious thing tho.......)
Downshifiting to accelerate, now THERE'S something that's usefull [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG] . Clutch in, drop a gear, GIVE IT GAS as you let the clutch out and you'll pick up some speed.
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From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Rep Power: 0 thanks for the welcome. this site is neat-o. the ford pinto was a bomb on wheels, something always broken...but it did turn a lot of heads (even if it was for the wrong reasons)
twilightX, do you downshift to stop? if you've got 64K on your civic and no need to replace the clutch (and I'm assuming you didn't need to replace the brakes) you must be doing it right.
how about others? engine braking + standard... or just standard?
and SpacemanBob -- what's the price comparison for parts and installation on brakes and clutches?
twilightX, do you downshift to stop? if you've got 64K on your civic and no need to replace the clutch (and I'm assuming you didn't need to replace the brakes) you must be doing it right.
how about others? engine braking + standard... or just standard?
and SpacemanBob -- what's the price comparison for parts and installation on brakes and clutches?
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From: P-TOWN, OREGON, Oregon, US
Rep Power: 0 so wait.... if u press the clutch all the way to the floor and keep it there (say ure at a stop light and its in first) this wont do any wear to the clutch? cause i always thought that whenever the clutch is pressed ure wearing it out thats y i press the clutch put it in nuetral and stop, then when the light turns green i press the clutch again put it in first then im off? please clear this up for me cause if REALLY wanted to know the answer to this question!!
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From: Detroit, Michigan, US
Rep Power: 0 Chickenwings: I don't know the exact prices, but I'm guessing to get your clutch replaced would be at least 5x the price of getting your brakes replaced, it's a MUCH better idea just to use the brakes.
supsoop: It won't do any damage to hold the pedal in, and it also won't do any damage to put in in neutral. The only time any damage is done to the clutch is when you stop moving the pedal anywhere in between completely engaged and completely disengaged. When it's engaged or disengaged, there is no wear being caused, except maybe on the spring on your clutch pedal [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG] . As long as you use a smooth, fluid motion when you start and when you shift, you are also doing little to no damage. Damage is caused when you "ride" the clutch, i.e: holding it part way between engaged and disengaged. BTW when you are driving, rest your left foot on the dead pedal, that's what it's there for. If you rest your foot on the clutch pedal, you ARE riding the clutch, even if it doesn't seem like it. that is BAD!
That whole paragraph summarized as an answer to your question: No, holding it ALL the way in will not do any damage, but the process you described will also do no damage; that choice is just a matter of preferance as to whether you want to hold in the pedal or shift to neutral and then shift back into gear.
supsoop: It won't do any damage to hold the pedal in, and it also won't do any damage to put in in neutral. The only time any damage is done to the clutch is when you stop moving the pedal anywhere in between completely engaged and completely disengaged. When it's engaged or disengaged, there is no wear being caused, except maybe on the spring on your clutch pedal [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG] . As long as you use a smooth, fluid motion when you start and when you shift, you are also doing little to no damage. Damage is caused when you "ride" the clutch, i.e: holding it part way between engaged and disengaged. BTW when you are driving, rest your left foot on the dead pedal, that's what it's there for. If you rest your foot on the clutch pedal, you ARE riding the clutch, even if it doesn't seem like it. that is BAD!
That whole paragraph summarized as an answer to your question: No, holding it ALL the way in will not do any damage, but the process you described will also do no damage; that choice is just a matter of preferance as to whether you want to hold in the pedal or shift to neutral and then shift back into gear.
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