It's been quite a few years since I owned MANUAL but I've got an MCS manual on the way.
My first car and I lived/worked in the NYC area. I went through 2 clutches in 100k. I'm guessing I must have been riding the cluch more than I should have.
I'd like to avoid going through cluches so quickly in my new car.
Can anyone (seriously) offer cluch/manual driving advice.
It might be a stupid question but I have read other people here are going with a manual for the first time and if they read this it might be helpful to them as well.

 

I went through 2 in about 100,000 in my 88 Honda. Mostly highway miles. It may not have been you that was the problem. When the first one went out after 42,000, I babied the second and it still didn't last til 100,000.

 

I had an Acura Integra with a manual and I tried not the ride the clutch when on a hill, which is probably not a problem if you have DSC (Hill Assist), and during a red light. I just use the handbrake technique on hills. I've seen some people engage the contact point of the clutch and then let go to make them feel like they are ready for the pounce at the light. I tend to just be in neutral at a stop light and put it into first when it's about the turn green. Also, most of the time I engage the clutch past the friction point when shifting. Hardly do any heal/toeing anymore . Altogether I sold the car at 124k miles without replacing or even servicing the clutch. So use the brakes when you can but downshifting isn't too bad if you rev match. Oh and practice to clutch and shift gears smoothly. Take this with a grain of salt since I have no idea now the MINI components compare to an Acura. Hope this was worth reading!

 

But you know how it all works right?

The best tip I can give you is; NEVER let you're foot rest on the clutch-pedal (or how you call it) or hold the gearshifter when you're not changing gears.

The rest is just about getting the feeling again. (Dump the clutch, select first gear, a little throtlle and at the same time release the pressure on the clutch. 2nd gear is; release throtlle, dump the clutch-pedal and select 2nd gear. As you know the rest of the gears is the same as the 2nd gear)

(sorry for my bad English...)

 

There are people on here who could talk your ear off about certain things to do and not do. I can only generalize.

1. Don't use your clutch to stay stationary on an up-hill.
2. Stay off of your clutch as much as possible. Instead of keeping the stick in 1st at a red light with the clutch in, pop the stick to neutral and leave off the clutch.
3. Get off the clutch quickly but smoothly when changing gears. Don't drop it like it's hot, but also don't feather it to death either.
4. Don't rev the RPMs too high when in first from a stand-still.

That's just a cliff-notes version that I've picked up on.

 

I agree with shankrabbit.
40 years of driving a standard shift. Only had one clutch replaced and that was a car with less than 500 miles and the pressure plate was deemed defective (bad springs, allowed slip even with the clutch completely released).

 

WOW great advice, I was embarassed to ask this question -- thought it was dumb but apparently I had been kinda lax about keeping my foot off the cluch pedal. I know I often rested it there and occasionally was guilty of all the other negative items listed.
Thanks all!

 

All great advice! I especially agree with putting it in neutral while at a stop light, or similar. Not only does it protect the clutch, but it also saves the throw-out bearing, which is a real cheap part in an expensive repair. I've never had to replace a clutch--I have 190,000 on the current car (BMW). I'm praying for something similar on my R56-to-come.

 

I put 300K (KM) on my VW GOLF, and never did a clutch... doing similar to what was discussed previously.

 

The thing that scares me is that they had clutch problems with the groups of MA's out in Phoenix this week. Granted some of them were unfamiliar with clutches, and they were flogging the poor beasts, but still...

 

Also avoid coasting round corners and riding the cluth to prevent stalls. Clutches these days last a very long time if treated right.

 

I would think that starting off from zero MPH is what puts the most strain on the clutch disc. My cars don't see too much traffic and I tend to avoid stopping were possible by slowing down earlier. I have had good clutch life. One person could easily do 3 times as many starts as another in their typical driving and thus cause the clutch to wear 3 times faster.

 

Comments above pretty much nailed it, but I'd add:

Try to find the sweet spot between gears when shifting in/out of gear is the smoothest. Ideally, you can shift between gears WITHOUT a clutch when in that sweet spot. Of course that's just an emergency techique, but having had to do that a couple of times I know it's very possible. If you are "rubbing" the clutch into each gear then you're using the clutch too much. When driving gently, lift off gas and step on clutch at nearly the same time, find the spot where it takes minimum force to shift into the next gear, and let the clutch out while adding as little gas as it takes to quickly but smoothly enter the next gear. If you understand that the clutch is a friction source, and you make an effort to avoid that friction, you'll get it.

 

The only time you need to slip the clutch is when getting the car moving from a stop (or very slow speed). I've seen people slip the clutch between every shift. It still feels pretty smooth and they really didn't know they were doing anything wrong. This causes increased disc wear.

Resting your foot on the clutch pedal or keeping the clutch pedal to the floor for excessive lengths of time puts wear on the release bearing (aka throw-our bearing).

-my 0.02

 

Apparently I did have lots to learn, more than I thought.
I take it "slipping the cluch" means easing in and out -- sort of babying the shift -- is something that I had been guilty of for sure. I always thought when people said don't ride the clutch they meant don't engage it over a longish period of time and my assumption was that once in awhile it's okay -- I get it better now. The less activity the clutch gets the better shortening the engagement should be my goal.
On another somewhat related topic -- shifting points -- RPMS/speed. I've heard reviews where the tester was on the highway in 3rd doing 60-80.
Seems like a low gear for highway driving. Is it better to be in a high gear -- 4th or 5th for highway speed?

 

80 in 3rd you'll be tapping the red line I think 82 or 83 is the max a stock 3rd gear will take you. That's a REALLY low gear unless you need to... um... "safely and quickly" pass some "kind gentleman" who is in your way.

Anytime you're cruising on the freeway over 60 it's best to be in 6th for your gas milage. (or 5th for non-s)

 

The last manual I had was a 86 Sentra meant for long communtes with a lot of stop and go freeway traffic (I lived in Southern California at the time). My clutch was replaced maybe every 85,000 miles or so. The car lasted until 276,000 miles before the rings and bearings needed replacing to pass smog. I gave it away at that point. I guess the moral of the story is stop and go driving can be hard on a clutch. Regardless, I'm getting a manual on my 2007 MCS.

 

How many of you pop the clutch into N at a stopsign or do you just knock it into first and ride the clutch for the couple seconds?

 

The best way to preserve the clutch is to leave the Coop in the garage. When I learned to drive in the 70's the best advice was use the clutch as little as possible. N @ lights and let the clutch out with just enough gas that the car won't stall. so far so good. Don't ever sit on a bike in N @ a light or you can't get away from a cager on the cell!

 

Carrot, mind translating that last sentence?

 

well, someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but in my 06 MCS I find I shift at 3,000 RPMs for each gear. So:
- start to 1st at 3k
- 1st to 2nd at 3k
- 2nd to 3rd at 3k

etc... Sometimes I rev between 3k and 4k before shifting and think that's okay. I know some people really like to go into higher revs, but I also think if you shift at 3k, your gas mileage is better.

question: I find that when I'm in reverse and backing up, I almost never can let the clutch all the way out because reverse seems so powerful and I'm often only backing up a little bit. So, I'm often letting the clutch out a little but not all the way and then back in. Isn't this riding the clutch? I don't see how to avoid it, though. When I'm parked on a hill, I just put it in neutral and let the brake off and coast back, unless there is traffic that needs to see my reverse lights.

 

You can destroy the clutch in any car in a few minutes if you abuse it bad enough.

 

As Dafodildeb said, by shifting into neutral and releasing the clutch pedal you save the throwout bearing. If your car has a carbon bearing this helps. If you have a roller bearing throwout bearing, it's much less important. I believe the MINI has a carbon-faced non-roller bearing.

Shifting to neutral at a red light is a good policy in two cases, IMHO,
1) when you know you've got a carbon throwout bearing and reason to believe that this is the weakest link in your clutch
2) when pedestrians are crossing directly in front of your car at a crosswalk (or your stopped behind a motorcycle) and want to give an added level of reasurrance against your foot accidentally slipping off of the clutch

 

My definition of "riding the clutch" is that many people get in the bad habit of resting their foot just a bit against the clutch pedal at all times. If the pressure is enough the clutch parts can start to wear. Probably the major issue would be the through-out bearing as it takes just a little pressure to push it against the rotating surfaces. So get in the habit of putting your left foot on the dead pedal when not actively performing a shift.

Feathering the clutch when reversing or any low speed precise driving is OK and hard to avoid.

 

He's suggesting that on a motorcycle that you leave it in gear and ready to get away from a cager (biker slang for car drivers ) on a cell.