Downshift or brake in neutral

I usually push the clutch in at the same time as the brakes, and downshift while using brakes. But dont always let the clutch out to engine brake.

 

Pop to neutral and brake. I only downshift and engine brake in ice/snow or when trying to maintain speed downhill. 160K miles so far and no problems with the powertrain.

Brake pads don't cost anything. I also aim high and coast a lot when coming up to lights to avoid braking. Stop-and-go fwy traffic is my nemesis.

Park it in any gear. I usually throw it in third because that's straight up. It's a backup in case your parking brake fails.

 

Actually, the higher gear you put it in, the more likely the vehicle will still be able to roll (turning the engine over as it goes) if the parking brake fails. This is why you use a higher gear when you are poor and have to pop the clutch to start the car until your next paycheck after your starter dies. Safest practice is to use either 1st gear or Reverse as a backup to your parking brake.

 

my 83 toyota sr5....ha ha ha!

 

Have any of y'all ever actually had to replace a clutch in a stick? I've got about 225k miles on a 2000 z28 with factory clutch in it still. And that's with downshifting some times. And of course a few donuts along the way

 

Yes, swapped it alongside the jdm counterpart 1.3B turbo engine along with tranny on my '87 rx7 (rip somewhere). Personally unless I was doing time trials I always throw the clutch in and brake. Never engine break - use that only when your brakes are shot or you're driving a semi. That puts unnecessary stress not only on gears/clutch/crank/piston rings (or apex seals if you're a rotorhead like myself) but also motor mounts. Which are for the most part a b1tch to change.

 

Put a clutch in my son's car after he "taught" his girlfriend how to drive stick... Replaced a clutch in my 75 VW bus after the needle bearing disintegrated. You are right about motor mounts... I'd rather have a sister in a whore house than change motor mounts.

 

Im 50yo and have never owned an automatic. Even took my driving test with a manual way back in 1983. Pretty sure I do both, one ore two down shifts depending on speed then pop it out of gear and brake once i'v slowed down a bit.

 

Got 230K miles out of the clutch in my 92' Mustang 5.0. Wife killed a Boss 302's clutch in less than 100 miles, which was what I got for buying a car she couldn't drive. Banking on her not learning to ride a motorcycle.

 

Fyi, i have never had to replace a clutch in any vehicle I have everowned in 32 years. Have one I use as a beater now with 350,000 miles and the clutch is like new. Have seen cars go into the shop for a new clutch, come out perfect nad a year and a half later need another new clutch. Some mechanics dont know how to properly set a clutch anymore and for some reason the failure rate on new clutches is high. If any of my vehicles needed a new clutch it would be time to sell imo.

 

I feel the same way, you really have to suck at driving a stick to burn up a clutch in most cases, I mean you really have to do a number on it. If you know what you're doing it shouldn't go out on you unless it's defective to begin with or installed incorrectly.

 

Clutches on most newer cars don't have anything to set or adjust (hydraulic self-adjusting). If the clutch fails againe soon it's either caulk quality chinese parts or, more likely, the driver. Fact is, some people just can't drive.

 

Thanks.

 

bull phckin shyt all u guys saying u got 300k miles and never had to replace a clutch lol.my guess is u got the car with a couple hundred thou miles on it and the clutch was already changed.

I never owned a new car,all hoopties and had to replace a clutch once.they wear out a lot faster than a torque converter.they do go tho,like every other car part

 

I have a scion xa with 350,000 miles. Bought it new in 2005, its tiny, miserly on gas and runs like a top. Never changed the clutch, no sign of any issues. I drove that thing to Florida, to Maine and all over new england to the Mid atlantic. I use it as beater now and drive back and forth to the beach when I dont want to be bothered by customers in my marked truck.

Its funny, when I was out today I thought about this thread and tried to remember to pay attention to how I use my cluctch and brakes. Everytime between remembering and when I had to stop i forgot and was scratching my head trying to remember what I just did. Its so second nature its like trying to remember how you go about blinking your eyes its almost impossible.

 

my Honda Crx went to 225k on original clutch, my toyota Tacoma is now at 210K on original clutch.

 

Bro you should not have just admitted this. On street cars (that is, normal horsepower levels for the vehicle) the clutch is not a wear item. Plenty of old people will tell you they never wore out a clutch, and they are not lying. It is a weak link, but it's not designed to "wear" like a brake pad.

Funny thing is that people that wear clutches tend to do it really fast, like say burning through one in the <1 - 20000 miles range. Even a moderate driver should get 100000+ miles out of a clutch.

You can destroy a clutch in a about 5 seconds that's why I said less that 1 mile.

 

Also all you neutral coasters need to switch to automatics, pansies

 

The z28 was purchased new in 1999 by my parents and driven by them. both my older sisters and I learned how to drive a stick in this car. Never had a single issue with a clutch going out. I believe we were taught to use engine braking too, coming from a motorcycle background family.

 

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