A few general questions about shifting...

[7rain]

ok.. i know how to drive a stick, ive been driving one for about 4 years now. not to say that im the best driver, but its not all that important to me anyways. so mainly for the sake of curiousity, itd be great if someone had a few answers for me. i searched through old posts, and though these were mentioned... i couldnt find them addressed directly.

#1 - Should you push the clutch all the way in when shifting, or can you push it in just enough. Is it bad on the car either way?

#2 - When driving a manual, and slowing down to a stop from say 4th or 5th gear: is it better to shift into neutral, brake, come to a stop, shift into first, OR go through each gear, shifting so that each gear is at a high enough rpm that it helps slow down the car along with the brake?

#3 - And lastly (my friend and i got in a arguement about this today) if u were to race... a straight shot acceleration, would u recommend shifting without taking your foot of the gas. He said that everyone does it while racing, and i said i would never do, cuz it has to be hell on the clutch or tranny.

well thanks in advance for any replies... sorry if my post is too long

[Reed]

this is just what i do and im sure this is going to cause an argument cause this post always does.

1. i do not push the clutch all the way in. i push it untill it disengages, anymore than that is jsut aditional space between the clutch and pressure plate.

2. when slowing down from fifth or fourth i do downshift but i also rev match if i have enough time. i do not downshift without rev matching cause this just causes extra wear on your clutch and because brakes are easier and cheaper to replace. i also use the brakes while downshifting, obviously.

3. if your car has a rev limmiter then you can do this but if it doesnt have one and you miss a gear, you could over rev, over heat, and jsut basically F up your engine. it will cause a little extra wear on your clutch but unless you have a performance clutch it shouldnt do to much to your tranny.

i hope that is helpfull

[7rain]

hey thanks reed.

any second opinions?

[MagicRat]

Reed is correct, or the most part.

1. It is better to just push the clutch pedal down enough and no more. Extra travel just wears out the linkage and shifter fork unnecessarily. Pushing the pedal all the way down will give the pilot bushing a nudge. Thats okay, but doing it 100 times a day produces unnecessary wear.

2. Brakes are much cheaper than a clutch and synchro rings. If you ARE SURE you are coming to a stop, use the brakes alone and don't downshift.
Unless you double clutch, the transmission synchros experience more wear when downshifting than upshifting.

3. This shifting method is dangerous. Not only does it place severe wear on a clutch, but the repeated overstressing can weaken the clutch. Eventually it might come apart at 6000 rpm. At that speed, it will explode like a shrapnel grenade, and chunks of it may slice through the clutch housing and the floor of the car and into your feet.
If you think I am exaggerating, the NHRA insists all cars racing at their events, street legal or not, require a scatter shield or ballistic blanket over the clutch housing for any sub 13 second (I think) quarter mile car.