Myths of Driving a Manual Transmission
- Thread starter bkbenjy
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It's not bad, but I disagree with myth #1 a little. I think you should minimize the time you have your clutch pedal down (clutch disengaged). Sure, it's not putting wear on your clutch plate but it puts wear on your throwout (release) bearing. I've read of countless people having to get a clutch job simply because they burned up their throwout bearing.
I am a strong believer of myth #3. Use the brakes, not the clutch to slow down. Brakes are much cheaper than a clutch.
Almost all of my cars have had manual trannies, and I've never worn out a clutch. My current Honda S2000 has 166,00 miles and I've had two cars with more miles than that and still had the original clutch when I sold them.
I am a strong believer of myth #3. Use the brakes, not the clutch to slow down. Brakes are much cheaper than a clutch.
Almost all of my cars have had manual trannies, and I've never worn out a clutch. My current Honda S2000 has 166,00 miles and I've had two cars with more miles than that and still had the original clutch when I sold them.
This sounds like my wife & her xB-I'm constantly telling her to leave it in neutral and stay off the clutch at red lights until she sees that the light is about to change-in a clutch replacement the labor is usually more than the parts-a $30 throwout bearing takes $5-600 in labor to replace it!
The second I see the light turn yellow, I will put the trans in neutral and start lightly pumping the brakes.
A clutch should last 300K miles if you drive it with care.
A clutch should last 300K miles if you drive it with care.
Originally Posted By: webfors
Nothing wrong with engine breaking.. meaning leaving the gear engaged and just letting off the gas.
Yup. That's what I typically do. When I see light turning red or stopped traffic ahead, I just stay in whatever gear I'm in and let off the gas. It saves gas and you don't have to use your brakes as much either.
Nothing wrong with engine breaking.. meaning leaving the gear engaged and just letting off the gas.
Yup. That's what I typically do. When I see light turning red or stopped traffic ahead, I just stay in whatever gear I'm in and let off the gas. It saves gas and you don't have to use your brakes as much either.
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: webfors
Nothing wrong with engine breaking.. meaning leaving the gear engaged and just letting off the gas.
Yup. That's what I typically do. When I see light turning red or stopped traffic ahead, I just stay in whatever gear I'm in and let off the gas. It saves gas and you don't have to use your brakes as much either.
Exactly.. injectors are shut off when doing so. I put the clutch in when I hit 1500 rpm and finish off with the brakes.
Originally Posted By: webfors
Nothing wrong with engine breaking.. meaning leaving the gear engaged and just letting off the gas.
Yup. That's what I typically do. When I see light turning red or stopped traffic ahead, I just stay in whatever gear I'm in and let off the gas. It saves gas and you don't have to use your brakes as much either.
Exactly.. injectors are shut off when doing so. I put the clutch in when I hit 1500 rpm and finish off with the brakes.
Kestas
Staff member
One habit I used to prevent wear on the synchronizers - when coming up to a red light - I shift into first just before the car comes to a full stop. The synchronizers seem to engage with less effort than if I do it at a full stop.
I learned to drive the steep streets of San Francisco by using the hand brake. It didn't take long to coordinate the gas, clutch, and hand brake all at the same time when accelerating uphill from a dead stop.
The clutch in my 85 Omni was still original and in good shape when I sold the car at 165K.
I learned to drive the steep streets of San Francisco by using the hand brake. It didn't take long to coordinate the gas, clutch, and hand brake all at the same time when accelerating uphill from a dead stop.
The clutch in my 85 Omni was still original and in good shape when I sold the car at 165K.
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: webfors
Nothing wrong with engine breaking.. meaning leaving the gear engaged and just letting off the gas.
Yup. That's what I typically do. When I see light turning red or stopped traffic ahead, I just stay in whatever gear I'm in and let off the gas. It saves gas and you don't have to use your brakes as much either.
Not to offend but when the car behind you doesnt see your brake lights,they dont know that you are slowing down,that is dangerous.When a car in front of you isnt giving any kind of signal that they are slowing or about to stop,you have little if any warning of what they are doing.This happens even if you are following at a correct distance from the car in front of you,no brake lights warning you of a change in speed can get people hurt or worse.
Brakes are not usually that expensive and they may save the life of the person behind you.Use your brakes.
Originally Posted By: webfors
Nothing wrong with engine breaking.. meaning leaving the gear engaged and just letting off the gas.
Yup. That's what I typically do. When I see light turning red or stopped traffic ahead, I just stay in whatever gear I'm in and let off the gas. It saves gas and you don't have to use your brakes as much either.
Not to offend but when the car behind you doesnt see your brake lights,they dont know that you are slowing down,that is dangerous.When a car in front of you isnt giving any kind of signal that they are slowing or about to stop,you have little if any warning of what they are doing.This happens even if you are following at a correct distance from the car in front of you,no brake lights warning you of a change in speed can get people hurt or worse.
Brakes are not usually that expensive and they may save the life of the person behind you.Use your brakes.
Injectors only shut off above a certain [rather high] RPM.
You are most likely using MORE gas when engine braking or slowing down in gear.
With the pedal down, you increase wear on the throwout bearing, and where it rides on the pressure plate. Also, the thrust bearing in the engine.
Engine braking is pretty useless today - it's more of a feel good thing. It also screws up the ABS or traction function in marginal conditions.
Brakes have 500 HP, and this is overwhelming compared to the 15 HP or so engine braking [more if you are at really high RPMs].
You are most likely using MORE gas when engine braking or slowing down in gear.
With the pedal down, you increase wear on the throwout bearing, and where it rides on the pressure plate. Also, the thrust bearing
Engine braking is pretty useless today - it's more of a feel good thing. It also screws up the ABS or traction function in marginal conditions.
Brakes have 500 HP, and this is overwhelming compared to the 15 HP or so engine braking [more if you are at really high RPMs].
It always surprises me that following drivers just can't seem to figure out that you're slowing down unless they see brake lights.
You would think that the back end of your car getting larger in their windshield would be a pretty good clue, but maybe people don't notice that when they have a phone glued to their ear, or they're texting.
You would think that the back end of your car getting larger in their windshield would be a pretty good clue, but maybe people don't notice that when they have a phone glued to their ear, or they're texting.
Even with a 4 speed automatic trany in our 2001 Impala with 3.4 engine, going down the long hills of Pittsburgh PA I often use second gear on 35 or 40 MPH zoned hills, and third on long highway hills.
But what really helps is turning on or off (AC unit and/or lights) (in the winter I use defrost with heat to use AC loading)to add additional load when required. With this fine tuning of engine breaking I can often get the car to maintain a proper speed while going down a long hill without using the brakes.
I have the trany fluid and filter including a complete drain of the torque converter, changed every 20 to 30 K miles depending also on how many years it was used.
But what really helps is turning on or off (AC unit and/or lights) (in the winter I use defrost with heat to use AC loading)to add additional load when required. With this fine tuning of engine breaking I can often get the car to maintain a proper speed while going down a long hill without using the brakes.
I have the trany fluid and filter including a complete drain of the torque converter, changed every 20 to 30 K miles depending also on how many years it was used.
Originally Posted By: motorguy222
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: webfors
Nothing wrong with engine breaking.. meaning leaving the gear engaged and just letting off the gas.
Yup. That's what I typically do. When I see light turning red or stopped traffic ahead, I just stay in whatever gear I'm in and let off the gas. It saves gas and you don't have to use your brakes as much either.
Not to offend but when the car behind you doesnt see your brake lights,they dont know that you are slowing down,that is dangerous.When a car in front of you isnt giving any kind of signal that they are slowing or about to stop,you have little if any warning of what they are doing.This happens even if you are following at a correct distance from the car in front of you,no brake lights warning you of a change in speed can get people hurt or worse.
Brakes are not usually that expensive and they may save the life of the person behind you.Use your brakes.
Not to offend you, but if someone is only looking as far ahead as the next car in front of them, they should not be driving. If they don't see the red light and can't figure out why the car is slowing down that means thay are tailgating or yapping on a cell phone or most likely both.
Also, who cares why the car in front is slowing down? Maybe there is something laying on the road, maybe someone is illegally crossing the street, the point is that the car behind is responsible to keep a safe distance and be ready for an emergency stop.
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: webfors
Nothing wrong with engine breaking.. meaning leaving the gear engaged and just letting off the gas.
Yup. That's what I typically do. When I see light turning red or stopped traffic ahead, I just stay in whatever gear I'm in and let off the gas. It saves gas and you don't have to use your brakes as much either.
Not to offend but when the car behind you doesnt see your brake lights,they dont know that you are slowing down,that is dangerous.When a car in front of you isnt giving any kind of signal that they are slowing or about to stop,you have little if any warning of what they are doing.This happens even if you are following at a correct distance from the car in front of you,no brake lights warning you of a change in speed can get people hurt or worse.
Brakes are not usually that expensive and they may save the life of the person behind you.Use your brakes.
Not to offend you, but if someone is only looking as far ahead as the next car in front of them, they should not be driving. If they don't see the red light and can't figure out why the car is slowing down that means thay are tailgating or yapping on a cell phone or most likely both.
Also, who cares why the car in front is slowing down? Maybe there is something laying on the road, maybe someone is illegally crossing the street, the point is that the car behind is responsible to keep a safe distance and be ready for an emergency stop.
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Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Injectors only shut off above a certain [rather high] RPM.
About 1200 rpms in my car. Once the rpms drop down to this level, I can see my instantaneous fuel consumption starting to move away from 0.
Quote:
You are most likely using MORE gas when engine braking or slowing down in gear.
How so? If I know I am going to have to stop ahead, I'd rather get there using no fuel than whatever fuel is used at idle.
Injectors only shut off above a certain [rather high] RPM.
About 1200 rpms in my car. Once the rpms drop down to this level, I can see my instantaneous fuel consumption starting to move away from 0.
Quote:
You are most likely using MORE gas when engine braking or slowing down in gear.
How so? If I know I am going to have to stop ahead, I'd rather get there using no fuel than whatever fuel is used at idle.
Originally Posted By: motorguy222
Not to offend but when the car behind you doesnt see your brake lights,they dont know that you are slowing down,that is dangerous.
You do realize that engine braking doesn't slow the car down as quickly as actually hitting the brakes? It's really not a whole lot different than in neutral or when you take your foot off the gas pedal in a modern automatic.
If you can't tell just by looking at it that the car in front of you stopped accelerating and is instead slowly reducing speed, then you're either tailgating or should not have been given a DL in the first place.
Not to offend but when the car behind you doesnt see your brake lights,they dont know that you are slowing down,that is dangerous.
You do realize that engine braking doesn't slow the car down as quickly as actually hitting the brakes? It's really not a whole lot different than in neutral or when you take your foot off the gas pedal in a modern automatic.
If you can't tell just by looking at it that the car in front of you stopped accelerating and is instead slowly reducing speed, then you're either tailgating or should not have been given a DL in the first place.
Quattro,
Didn't you once live in south FL ?
If you live in an area with lots of old folks you need to give the idiots behind you a clue that you are slowing down. Most people don't look at the traffic lights, just the car in front of them. Thats why I ALWAYS pump my brakes to get their attention.
Didn't you once live in south FL ?
If you live in an area with lots of old folks you need to give the idiots behind you a clue that you are slowing down. Most people don't look at the traffic lights, just the car in front of them. Thats why I ALWAYS pump my brakes to get their attention.
Yeah, I did. But seriously, I'm not talking about engine braking from 6-7k rpms where the drag slows the car down fast. I'm talking about 2.5k rpms in 4th or 5th gear where engine braking is very gentle and leaves the drivers behind you plenty of time to react.
About right for my cars.
You can actually observe this directly in my BMW using the "MPG" gauge, which is really an instantaneous fuel flow meter.
You can also both hear and feel it in any car, if you are alert.
Fuel flow resumes just above idle in almost any OBDII car, as well as many earlier ones, like my old BMW.
Coasting in neutral uses very lttle fuel.
Coasting in gear uses no fuel.
Further, using the brakes is a pure waste, merely conveting kinetic energy to heat, although a little less wasteful in a hybrid using regen, as long as you don't cross the regen threshold.
One of the entertaining things about driving a stick is that you can avoid using the brakes in most traffic situations.
You can actually observe this directly in my BMW using the "MPG" gauge, which is really an instantaneous fuel flow meter.
You can also both hear and feel it in any car, if you are alert.
Fuel flow resumes just above idle in almost any OBDII car, as well as many earlier ones, like my old BMW.
Coasting in neutral uses very lttle fuel.
Coasting in gear uses no fuel.
Further, using the brakes is a pure waste, merely conveting kinetic energy to heat, although a little less wasteful in a hybrid using regen, as long as you don't cross the regen threshold.
One of the entertaining things about driving a stick is that you can avoid using the brakes in most traffic situations.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: Kestas
One habit I used to prevent wear on the synchronizers - when coming up to a red light - I shift into first just before the car comes to a full stop. The synchronizers seem to engage with less effort than if I do it at a full stop.
I learned to drive the steep streets of San Francisco by using the hand brake. It didn't take long to coordinate the gas, clutch, and hand brake all at the same time when accelerating uphill from a dead stop.
The clutch in my 85 Omni was still original and in good shape when I sold the car at 165K.
I'll have to try that... I'd have thought the opposite. Even at low speeds, the engine needs to be spinning pretty quick to allow slow creep in first. That is not synched up just moving the lever... Are you double clutching to get back in?
One habit I used to prevent wear on the synchronizers - when coming up to a red light - I shift into first just before the car comes to a full stop. The synchronizers seem to engage with less effort than if I do it at a full stop.
I learned to drive the steep streets of San Francisco by using the hand brake. It didn't take long to coordinate the gas, clutch, and hand brake all at the same time when accelerating uphill from a dead stop.
The clutch in my 85 Omni was still original and in good shape when I sold the car at 165K.
I'll have to try that... I'd have thought the opposite. Even at low speeds, the engine needs to be spinning pretty quick to allow slow creep in first. That is not synched up just moving the lever... Are you double clutching to get back in?
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