Car Question

[hockeydude30]

So I recently burnt out my clutch after 15k miles on my brand new car, probably partly to due with I raced it some, but I have some questions for when I am driving around town.
1) Can I give it gas between shifts? Not power shifting(revving the rpm's way up in between shifts) but rev them up a bit? This makes my shifts a lot smother, I just wanna make sure that I am not doing damage.
2) I should be in neutral at a stop light right?
3) Basically I guess could some one give me a detailed description of how to shift? I know how to do it and all I just want to make sure I don't burn my clutch out again.
4) Is downshifting good for the clutch? and if yes how do you do it?(I am doing it now by breaking and then when I get to about a good speed for the gear that I am going down to I press the clutch in all the way and then downshift, then slowly let out the clutch in till it engages. Other wise it shakes the car)

Thanks, and +rep for good answers.
Please only people who know how to drive manual, not some one who learned by reading off line or by playing video games or think they know how to.

[DontKnowMe]

Burned clutch after 15k
I'm at 63k and I haven't burned it yet.

1). I would not recommend doing that because that can wear out your clutch faster.
In a nutshell the clutch is made from two friction plates( One from the engine, one from the transmission). When press the clutch petal it down the plates separate. When you give it gas while they are separated, the plate from the engine turns faster than the one from the transmission. When the plates are moving at different speeds and they come in contact, they grind against each other, causing clutch wear. Don't do it too often.

2). No just have brake pedal and the clutch pedal down.

3). My method just for shifting:
get off the gas
push clutch all the way down
change gears
release clutch
give it gas again
Timing is everything

4). Slowly releasing the clutch can cause clutch wear. By shaking, do you mean that the car jerks foward
Also when you downshift you might be going too fast for the gear that you are shifting to.

[hockeydude30]

Burned clutch after 15k
I'm at 63k and I haven't burned it yet.

1). I would not recommend doing that because that can wear out your clutch faster.
In a nutshell the clutch is made from two friction plates( One from the engine, one from the transmission). When press the clutch petal it down the plates separate. When you give it gas while they are separated, the plate from the engine turns faster than the one from the transmission. When the plates are moving at different speeds and they come in contact, they grind against each other, causing clutch wear. Don't do it too often.

2). No just have brake pedal and the clutch pedal down.

3). My method just for shifting:
get off the gas
push clutch all the way down
change gears
release clutch
give it gas again
Timing is everything

4). Slowly releasing the clutch can cause clutch wear. By shaking, do you mean that the car jerks foward
Also when you downshift you might be going too fast for the gear that you are shifting to.

Okay thanks I knew how the clutch works but I didn't know if giving it gas would get everything up to speed with each other or not.

For the stoplight, I heard that this, over time ruins the break out bearing, or something like that and that it is better just to have it running in neutral? When you give it gas when you are shifting do you give it any gas before you are all the way off? And yes I mean jerks forward, couldn't think of the right word when I typed the OP.

[Scotracer]

You burned out a clutch at 15k miles? Hmm, not so good. May I ask what kind of car it is?

The simplist thing you can try is to basically slow down the time between shifts, as (just like fight_music described) the normal car clutch is made of 2 main parts - the main clutch housing and the friction plate. The longer the time is (more gradual the addition of power - lifting your foot off the clutch pedal), the less the impulse of the force is (I'm an automotive engineer - bare with me ) so it will reduce the chances of clutch wear and failure.

At a stop light, there is no harm in leaving your car in gear and using the clutch to stop the drive. The only thing this will do is slightly wear the clutch springs - an unavoidable consequence).

Upshifting

When driving on a regular road, you aim to use the torque of the engine and not the outright power (BHP is calculated from Torque x Angular Velocity), this makes the driving less stressful on the main components of your engine/transmission because you are shifting less often.

If your car is a petrol car (Gas, as you know it), the peak torque tends to be higher up the rev-range but not anywhere near the red-line! I'd suggest picking away slowly, not trailing the clutch (many new drivers do this because it makes the pick-away seem smoother but you are significantly wearing the clutch out). Be as gentle as you can be with the throttle, this isn't Gran Turismo afterall! When picking away too, you want to find the biting point (you can feel this as it's the point where the car is just about to start moving but not quite). This is your gauge that you will judge all launches from. Get used to where it in your car, because this will help you get smoother pick-aways - resulting in less wear of your clutch. As I've already said, be as smooth and gentle with the clutch as you can be (make love to it, don't **** it!)...if you can, drive around in a section of waste-land just getting used to dead slow driving.

Downshifting

There's so many different approaches to this that I really don't know where to start but since you are looking for a safe and sound way of doing it, I will give you a straight answer.

The engine/clutch/tranny is under much less stress when decellerating so you don't really have to worry so much but the actual downshift can cause alot of damage if you are too violent with the clutch.

Since you aren't trying to win any Grand Prix's, I really suggest that you change down as late as possible (lowest speed you can get away with for the specific gear). This reduces stress considerably and will make the ride much smoother to boot. This can be further exemplified by not downshifting at all; say you are coming up to a junction (intersection, state-side) and you see there's a red light. Instead of going down through the gears until you reach a stand-still, just put the clutch in and coast (although you aren't gaining any engine braking - the inefficiencies of the transmission can be used to slow the engine...but only when racing) using the brakes to slow the car. This will cause very little wear as you aren't doing anywhere near as many shifts per journey/decelleration.

Remember, road cars are just to get you from A to B. I fully understand as a teenager you want to drive everywhere as fast as you can (I still do it lol) but that's not your aim here...so STOP IT! When changing down, don't think about if you'll have enough revs in the lower gear to out-drag the SUV on your inside...just think about where you are driving too...and the cost of a new clutch

If you are feeling really adventurous, you could always try a bit of the ol' heel & toe. This is a variation of "Blipping the throttle" from motorbike racing (something I'm very used to indeed). The intention is to allow you to change down at a higher RPM- thus allowing better power curve usage on acceleration after the corner. Not only that, but it smoothes your gear changes and puts less strain on your transmission.

In a car, it isn't easy by any means but the "basics" are:

-Coming upto a corner/point of decelleration
-Brake
-Clutch down (left foot), continue braking
-As you change down, use the heel of your braking foot to "blip" the throttle
-Lift the clutch pedal after the change and notice how much smoother it is

I love doing that, as it sounds excellent in my tuned car (backfires et al).

Hope that's of some use, if you have any more questions...ask away!

[DontKnowMe]

I don't start to give it gas until I am more than halfway of the clutch.
Jerking foward when downshifting means that you are too fast for the gear you downshifted to. (that is how it is with my car.)

[hockeydude30]

Alright thanks for all the help, yeah I used to race my car a ton and had some bad starts with it at times, also learned to drive on it and my mom tried to learn on it too, without my permission made me mad. Oh and I don't drive to fast any more after I got a 85 in a 55 workzone. Now I only go like 10 over.

The heel toe thing sounds interesting but also hard.

Just so I got it clear, you are saying that when I shift I should let the clutch out slowly? and what about giving it a little bit of gas while I am releasing the clutch after a shift? Thanks a ton

I don't start to give it gas until I am more than halfway of the clutch.
Jerking foward when downshifting means that you are too fast for the gear you downshifted to. (that is how it is with my car.)

What about from first to second? Are my RPM's to high or something? Because I can make it nice if I don't rev it as high.

Edit:Woops, forgot to mention its a '05 Mazda 6, and I love it, its my first car and I wouldn't rather have any other car.

[Scotracer]

If you are at the correct speed for the shift (in the lower end of the torque curve) you won't need to apply any throttle at all after a shift - if you're just skooting around town.

Can I ask what you drive? If I know, I can recommend a good rev-range

Ok, so you've got a Mazda 6. Not the car I would've chosen as my first (a rather large engined, large family car), but hey you've got a good car there!

I take it, it's a 2 Litre? If so, the torque curve will be pretty steep after around 3 thousand RPM. I recommend shifting at around 2-3 thousand. I know it seems like you're crawling but it's what you're going to have to do to save the clutch and make the whole experience less jerky.

Believe me, it takes alot of practice in your own car to fully get used to it, until them don't push. You'll either have broken parts or worse...you'll be in a ditch.

[hockeydude30]

Edit:Woops, forgot to mention its a '05 Mazda 6, and I love it, its my first car and I wouldn't rather have any other car.

[DontKnowMe]

Alright thanks for all the help, yeah I used to race my car a ton and had some bad starts with it at times, also learned to drive on it and my mom tried to learn on it too, without my permission made me mad. Oh and I don't drive to fast any more after I got a 85 in a 55 workzone. Now I only go like 10 over.

The heel toe thing sounds interesting but also hard.

Just so I got it clear, you are saying that when I shift I should let the clutch out slowly? and what about giving it a little bit of gas while I am releasing the clutch after a shift? Thanks a ton

What about from first to second? Are my RPM's to high or something? Because I can make it nice if I don't rev it as high.

Edit:Woops, forgot to mention its a '05 Mazda 6, and I love it, its my first car and I wouldn't rather have any other car.

Then try to keep the RPM's down.

[hockeydude30]

Then try to keep the RPM's down.

Well yeah thats what I started to do, but it still isn't smooth all the time, doesn't really bother me but if I have my parents in the car or my girl friend, they don't really like it. The only way I can make it shift smooth every time is by giving it a little bit of gas. I am just asking this stuff because I basically taught myself to drive stick, my dad taught himself and told me that he thought it would be easier if I just tried to teach my self and ask him if I had questions. I got it down pretty quick, in under 20minutes, but it wasn't perfect and obviously it still isn't if I burnt my clutch out after 15k.

If you are at the correct speed for the shift (in the lower end of the torque curve) you won't need to apply any throttle at all after a shift - if you're just skooting around town.

Can I ask what you drive? If I know, I can recommend a good rev-range

Ok, so you've got a Mazda 6. Not the car I would've chosen as my first (a rather large engined, large family car), but hey you've got a good car there!

I take it, it's a 2 Litre? If so, the torque curve will be pretty steep after around 3 thousand RPM. I recommend shifting at around 2-3 thousand. I know it seems like you're crawling but it's what you're going to have to do to save the clutch and make the whole experience less jerky.

Believe me, it takes alot of practice in your own car to fully get used to it, until them don't push. You'll either have broken parts or worse...you'll be in a ditch.

Its the 3.0 Liter V6. The smaller engine (around 2.3 I thought) is in the base model, but I got just about every package you could get.

Any ways is the torque curve still going to be steep around 3 or is it going to be higher/lower?

[DontKnowMe]

^^ I don't really have another answer for that one.

[Cyrann]

Would spinning doughnuts with your GF's car affect the transmisson...

Only two full circles?

[Scotracer]

Lol, it's more likely to affect your tyres than your tranny

The only way it can damage the transmission (this is a rather ambiguous term now but I mean from Clutch/Flywheel to the Wheel hub) is if you are vicious with the clutch and throttle to break traction at the rear wheels. 720 degrees of spinning shouldn't do much harm

[Cyrann]

it is a ford escape... its isnt even a cool car...

your theory still fit?