Hey everyone, I've had my car for about a year now and this is my first manual transmission car. I've never been taught other that what I've seen on youtube and I am a little concerned. My shifts have improved significantly and I am comfortably smooth (except with the occasional first to second gear change).

My only concern is when I would drive my car hard months ago I would smell clutch. Now when I drive hard, I feel like I've improved but I am deathly afraid of ruining my clutch. I am not riding it when I drive, I just think that I hold it in a little bit too long or two deep when shifting into the next gear. I don't smell clutch like I did before unless I literally go stick my nose in the grill of the car or pop the hood and sniff by the engine. Again, this is only when I drive hard; I am very comfortable and functional (lol) driving at normal speeds and in traffic and what not.

Please let me know if this is normal or what I am possibly doing wrong. All advice is appreciated! Thank you everyone!

 

When shifting up, release the throttle, push the clutch pedal to floor, move the gear selector, release the clutch pedal, apply throttle. These are distinct steps which should not overlap to cause slipping of the clutch as is necessary when starting off from a stop.

 

I understand that much. I use that as a basic shifting technique and I understand how to downshift as well. Is there anyway to shift more quickly when driving hard? Is it the exact same steps but just faster?

I've gotten into a habit of quickly releasing the clutch until just before the engagement point and slowly easing off from there as I roll on the throttle hard. I just don't know if what I'm doing is correct or if I am hurting my car.

 

If you're smelling hot clutch matter, you'll be replacing it before it's time. Besides hsautocrosser's advice, unless in the process of shifting, keep your foot off the clutch pedal - period!. When at a stop sign/light or just sitting at idle for any reason, take it out of gear and get off the clutch. Otherwise, unnecessary wear in the gear box is taking place.
A real good resource for some hands on experience would be to join a local SCCA chapter and get some one on one. They may have access to a track as well for some real fun.

 

I am also aware of the foot off of the clutch rule I think your bit about getting some one on one is a great idea. I have a friend who races in SCCA, I'll make him ride along with me and hopefully he can give me some pointers. I want to track my car at an event but I want to get this sorted out first. Thank you Brick!

 

Do yourself a favor. Take the time to learn why Indy Cars, F-1 and most top end exotic cars have automatic transmissions. If you want to improve your driving skills buy yourself an automatic which you can enjoy when you feel like being laid back, smelling the roses and how you can drive it more efficiently than any manual when you feel like being aggressive.

 

This is my first year with a manual - but i'll take a shot at this one...

releasing to the engagement point and giving it gas should only be done, if at all in 1st -> 2nd or if for some reason you're going from coasting into 2nd for example. Otherwise you're just prematurely wearing out your clutch, especially if you're getting on the throttle hard - while the clutch is even slightly depressed.

The clutch outside of starting from a stop should really be treated like an on/off switch. Fully engaged or completely off.

 

But you obviously you can't just dump it after you change gears? I like the thinking of the on/off switch I think my throttle to clutch ratio and timing needs work.

I take it slow (releasing the clutch) when starting from first and when changing to second or else the car jerks a little (not to the point of stalling). After 2nd I can change gear pretty quickly

 

"Is there anyway to shift more quickly when driving hard? Is it the exact same steps but just faster?"

Yes you can shift faster. At higher revs you can indeed simply shift faster without crunching gears. Mine is touchy going into second under normal driving. At redline it is completely smooth with a swifter movement of the gear lever. If you can sense where the clutch begins to engage and where it is fully engaged you can eliminate time and attention paid to the extra travel of the pedal. However, if you misjudge you may miss a shift or damage some gears. The other benefit of knowing when the clutch has engaged is that it is possible to apply some power while the clutch is engaging. But if you are smelling burnt clutch you need to stop applying excess power before the clutch is engaged enough to handle it. You're not only wearing out the clutch but you're accelerating slower than you would be without the clutch slipping so much.

There are other techniques for faster shifting but they are all hard on mechanical parts both in wear and strain when you do it right and in higher risk of catastrophic failure if you get it wrong. Give the drive train a break and concentrate on how much power the tires can handle after the clutch is engaged. There be much greater rewards available in that endeavor.

For that balky second gear try using your fingertips only to move the gear lever back.

If any of this works for you, pay it forward.

 

So does this follow what I was saying before about depressing the clutch all the way to get into the next gear then letting it out quickly until the grabbing point then feathering it out slower while applying the throttle? Great advice, thank you! And of course I don't expect to power shift or hard shift

 

Work on learning how to drive smoothly and properly before trying to drive fast.

Also, see if you can find a friend to ride around with you and give you some pointers.
Judging how well you're doing by how much you can smell the clutch burning will be a very expensive way to figure out you're doing it wrong.

Drag-style launches are the hardest thing on your clutch. Then again, you won't be winning many drag races in your Mini, so why bother cooking your clutch trying??

 

By "hard", do you mean full throttle? Otherwise maybe NFSW.

Full throttle won't induce a clutch scent unless it's already slipping, which is the engine revving noticeably quicker than the car is accelerating.

The more important tip for keeping the clutch in good condition is to stay off the pedal. Obviously never rest your foot on the pedal, I'm sure you know that. Automotive clutches are "dry" in that they're not bathed in oil like a motorcycle clutch, so they're less tolerant of slippage of over let's say about one second.

 

It sounds like you did most of the damage when you were starting out, which would make sense. Hopefully, you have meat left on the friction surface and you'll get good use out of it before it wears out. Otherwise, you'll have to pony up for a new clutch at some point in the future, but you've learned how to drive stick, and that's a good thing. It takes some pain to make Varsity, but you've done it, so go enjoy your car and don't worry.

 

Check out these links. Definitely helped me initially as I've only been driving a manual for less than a year.

http://www.standardshift.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6

http://www.standardshift.com/forum/v...php?f=6&t=6552

 

One little clutch pedal point I forgot to make a few posts back: ALWAYS depress the pedal ALL the way to the floor. It's not just clutch plate wear you have to keep in mind, the throw out bearing needs careful consideration as well.

 

After 14 yrs of driving MT only, I bought my MINI. I found that the two items below were very good to have for improving shifting quality.


http://www.waymotorworks.com/powerfl...7-r58-r59.html


http://www.burgertuning.com/clutch_s...ni_cooper.html

 

I drove an MCS with manual for 7 years. I never smelled anything clutch-like. But the 2014 AT is great, I'm glad I have it now.

 

This was the first mistake I made, I did it for about one day and immediately felt like garbage after reading about it on the internet.

 

That's not to say that you will quite often have to modulate the clutch to match RPM and torque to a very slow wheel speed without lugging or even stalling the engine when having to start slowly like in traffic or backing carefully out of a spot.

 

On that topic, when you reverse from a spot do you ever fully come off of the clutch?

 

99% of the time when I'm backing out of somewhere. I'm doing a "gas-less launch". Slowly bring the pedal up until you feel it "grab". Your MINI should start moving by then.

 

...and then modulate the clutch and throttle by feel for whatever else you need to get to your shift to 1st position.

 

Exactly. ^^

 

It's all about finding that sweet spot, which will come with time. If you're driving every day you should get better and better. Do you have a friend that drives a clutch that could possibly help you out? Doing/seeing is much more helpful than reading. My mother stopped me on a 45 degree incline when I was learning how to drive a clutch. Was torture! But I learned quickly.

-Luccia

 

I do, I'm having a friend sit in with me tomorrow