The cluch slips against the pressure plate every time you push on the clutch pedal and then release it. When you put the tranx in N at a stop light and then engage to take off you are slipping the clucth against the pressure plate twice instead of once. Clutches need to be replaced more often than throw out bearings. Throw out bearings are usually replaced because you are in the transmission replacing the clutch, not the other way around.

Keep your foot off the clutch pedal unless you are shifting gears. Don't ride or touch the cp for a foot rest. Don't make a habit of dropping the clutch at 3,500-4,000 rpms. Don't slip the clutch anylonger than it takes to get your foot off the pedal when you are taking off on a hill.

 

Question.. When coming to a stop at a red light do you throw your stick into neutral and slow to a stop.. or do you slow from whatever gear your in (lets say 3rd) down to nearly a stop and hit the clutch down (which puts the car into a neutral mode) and then switch to first and wait?


My roomate presses down on the clutch to get the car into neutral but doesnt knock the stick into neutral (sorry new to sticks.. kinda wanna know whats good or bad)

He says throwing down the clutch pedal to put it into neutral w/o stick is okay since you aren't accelerating and the when you have the clutch pedal down both pieces are seperated on the inside of the car and you arent affecting it since u arent accelerating..

(Did I confuse you? :P)

 

Oh! I have a bumper stick that is Yellow and Black waiting to go on my new MY S when I get it. It simply says "GET OFF THE PHONE AND DRIVE!"
I think if cops can have radar guns they should have cell guns -- I thinks its much more dangerous to drive any speed on a cell compared to 5 - 10 mph pver the speed limit on an interstate.

 

When stopping in traffic, I leave the transmission in whatever gear it was in and depress the clutch as the rpms drop to around 1500 or so. Its difficult to explain but in the R53s you could feel this transition. Once stopped, I put the trans in neutral and release the clutch, Some will criticize this but it saves the throw-out bearing and it does lengthen your reaction time if you should need to move in a hurry.
When driving the R56 yesterday, I didn't notice the same 'feel' as the car dropped in rpm.
Some will use the engine to assist braking by continuously downshifting as they come to a stop. My philosophy on this is that Brakes are to stop the car, the engine to make it go. It is possible to blow the engine due to mechanical over-rev (no computer can prevent this from happening) and new brakes are way cheaper than a new engine.

 

wow, another "how to drive a stick" thread! these guys summed it all up nicely... do the above and you will be fine.

 

Vader: Exactly what my roomate does.. Sounds good.. I will start doing that.. It seemed easier to do what he was doing then knocking the stick into neutral when anticipiating a stop.

 

I had a '68 SAAB Sonett sports car once--the car dropped into neutral anytime you took your foot off the accelerator pedal. It was a blast to drive, and a real challenge sometimes to be smooth. We had lots of hills in St. Louis, and you could get screamingly wound up sometimes.