Engine How to minimize clutch wear ?

How to minimize clutch wear ?

Hi, as a new 5spd driver, what are some things I should avoid in order to prevent the clutch from wearing out too fast ? Any tips would be appreciated...
Eg. should I put the car into neutral when at a stop light ?

haha

just keep it in first gear, and foot off the clutch.

yep, keep you foot off the clutch.
-dont do the friction point thingy that lot of so called "ricers" usually do when stopped at a red light.
-avoid extreme downshiftings.
-let the clutch pedal go all the way up between shiftings.
-make sure your foot is off the pedal whenever any gear is engaged. a lot of people tend to leave their foot unintentionally on the pedal.

Re: haha

how do you keep the car in gear at a stop w/o stalling?

My advice? When coming to a stoplight, take the car out of gear (neutral). Don't creep - meaning riding the clutch at a light to keep the car in one position while on a hill or letting the car roll backward and then catch it with the clutch and engine and then creep forward again. The less you ride the clutch the better as far as wear goes. Learn how to shift smoothly and match revs when downshifting

LMAO

LMAO

Proper rev-matching when downshifting goes a long way to minimize clutch wear and well as a quick take up when starting from a stop. Riding the clutch excessively will wear out the clutch faster...obvisouly.

At a stop, I usually have it in neutral and with the clutch up. Otherwise you are using the throwout bearing which rides on the fingers of the pressure plate to keep the clutch away from the flywheel. You might save clutch wear, but wearing the other 2 components, while if you are idling in neutral, it wears nothing. I then look and see when cars start moving or the lights for the other side of the intersection, when it turns yellow, I put it back in 1st and am ready to go.

for me at stop lights, when its those short stop lights, i leave it in gear and juss press the pedal all the way down. is that bad?

No worries about leaving it in gear with the clutch in at short lights. Only when it because longer that I would have an issue with it....of course its just me.

there is no clutch wear when the clutch is FULLY depressed or FULLY up. if ur at a light an u have the clutch pedal all the way to the floor there is no wear b/c the flywheel is not tryin to grip or anything.

But there is wear on the release bearings and springs when the clutch is depressed. Very often these wear out before the clutch plate does.

The best way to reduce clutch wear is to use the clutch only when starting from a complete stop. Shifting into 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th doesn't require use of the clutch if you can get the engine speed right.

clutchless shifting is hard if u dont have experience doing it, and if u dont do it right, u could break off a tooth or crack something. id rather replace throw out bearings, clutch plates, etc rather then replace an entire tranny

Read up on how a clutch works. There are more components to a clutch system then just the clutch disc. There is the pressure plate and the throw-out/release bearing as well. These are in use and spinning and wearing into each other when then the clutch is engaged, aka, when the pedal is fully depresed. (Look at http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch2.htm for more info) True there is no clutch disc wear, but wear is still occuring. Make your choice.

Clutchless shifting is really not required. If your speeds are right, the clutch and the flywheel should be rotating at the same speed and engagement should be flawless with no slipping...aka no wear. That's the best way to shift, but I still use the clutch...just in case I didn't synch them up right.

Re: haha

lol.. I was wondering the same thing... wouldn't the car stall at a stop ?

So on a hill, would you use the emergency brake technique for starting from a complete stop ??

For the other posts...thanks... I guess like any mechanical device, the less you have the parts moving and working... the less wear... ! So use them only as necessary

Re: haha

Yup.. when the light is about to turn green and you are on a hill, push the clutch in, shift to first, and pull the ebrake. When the light turns green, move your right foot from the brake to the gas. Give it enough gas for it to not stall while tryng to climb the hill, and slowly release the clutch. When the clutch starts to grab, lower the ebrake.

Downshift only when you need too.....

Also it is generally not the best idea to downshift to slow the car down, for example when coming to a redlight or stopsign. It's very cool to hear the engine rev, esp. with an exhaust, but if you think about it what is your most expensive brake? Your engine, and also your transmission :cry: . Just use your brakes, pads are cheap, and downshift only when you need to be in the right gear.
rr

Downshifting has to be the hardest habit to break. I've done it ever since I first started driving and don't think I'll stop anytime soon.

that is why i'm lazy hehe i got the auto and the performance i still love



especially on hills :wink:



but i do miss my stick driving tchniques hehe even the stupid double clutching hehe
i do leave it in neutral... when about green full clutch put 1st gear theen gas till
6000 rpm then quick shift to 2nd try to maintain the 5500-6000rpm them 3rd gear hehe
just kidding... that is not safe but hey u save clutch lol