How to drive a stick? The finer points?

[Erin]

It is time for a new car. Since I am tired of problems that come with automatics, I am thinking I should go with a manual.

I do know the basics of driving one but here are a couple questions –

With this “engine braking” (downshifting to help slow the car during a real slow stop, as I understand it) to slow a car down, wouldn’t that just be hard on the trans and clutch? I would think it would be WAY easier to replace even the worst brakes (like captive rotors) than trying to change a clutch or transmission. Yeah I know the pads should never get low enough to tear up rotors but you get my point.

Suppose you are exiting the highway on a really long off-ramp and approaching a red light or other stop, would it be hard on the transmission to put it in neutral and just the let car coast down mostly to a stop (until braking is needed at the last few feet)?

Next, is it true that a worn clutch tends to show it’s wear when it “grabs” suddenly no matter how gently you ease off the clutch pedal?

Finally, aside inconvenience and the learning curve, are there any other disadvantages overall to owning a manual that I should know about? I am just sick of having problems with automatics.

Topic

[Jonathan Stiver]

In a nutshell, NO, other than just that, there are only mechanical advantages to a manual transmission. They are much more reliable, efficient, and in my opinion, enjoyable, than 98% of automatic transmissions. I would highly recommend it to anyone. To answer your questions, though….

Engine braking, in my opinion, is more of a performance activity than something I would encourage as a habit for daily driving. You’re right, brakes are cheap and easy, a trans rebuild isn’t. I almost always coast in neutral to a stop, except for sometimes when I know a turn is coming, particularly a higher speed turn like an on-ramp, I’ll go ahead and downshift to an appropriate gear for exiting the turn. Technically, you want to enter every turn already engaged in the gear you want to accelerate out of it in, but I don’t do daily driving like that. Like anything, it comes down to preference, but I personally like coasting when possible, it’s the least stress on the drivetrain.

So for worn out clutches, in my experience, it is quite the opposite, and will slip plenty. It’s almost like, no matter how fast you bring up the pedal, it has such a large friction point it’s almost impossible to stall. The best way to test for a worn / slipping clutch is drive 20-30mph in a higher gear, like 4-5th, and push the accelerator pedal to the floor while watching the RPMs to see if they go higher than the gear ratio should be. This would indicate the clutch is slipping or allowing the engine to rev faster than the transmission by not transferring 100% of the power.

[Erin]

stiv625, that does help a lot. Now I know how to test the clutch when I test drive my next car.

I guess i could go ahead and ask this too –
Do clutches show signs of wear gradually or are they more like automatics where you go out one day and the stupid thing is just dead or something lets loose while driving.
Like if i drive a stick today and it seems OK,can i most likely count on getting a lot of use before problems happen?
Anyone who has owned an automatic knows what I am talking about – Go out one day and the stupid trans does not want to go into gear or slips badly, even though it was just fine the day before.

[Jonathan Stiver]

So the clutch disc itself is a wear item – it has friction material, similar to brake pads, and will eventually wear out. Near the end of its useable service, there is only a portion of friction material, so the clutch slips. You can baby even a badly slipping clutch along for a long time, years even, or it could completely fail within a few miles. The life expectancy of a clutch in general is VERY dependant on driving style & conditions. But generally speaking, a clutch going out is a very slow, gradual process. However, there can still be problems with clutch hydraulics, shift mechanism, internal parts, or the throw out bearing that are rather instantaneous, like you blow out a seal in the master or slave cylinder. But problems like these are very rare other than the hydraulics, and replacing them is only like an hour or two job for $30-100, and usually they will just slowly leak when they go bad and you can get by with adding fluid and bleeding them for awhile. Eric has several videos about clutch hydraulics, definitely good info to know. But to summarize, no, very rarely will a manual transmission be rendered useless without substantial warning. Most of the common problems, worn clutch disc, leaking hydraulics, or worn synchros are gradual, wear and tear, type deals, and even in bad shape will still get you home.

[Erin]

Good to know. I suppose anything on a car CAN fail suddenly but it is nice when there is plenty of warning.
Unlike my old 97 Acura with an automatic – One day i go out on a nice day, put it in gear, and it took like 4 seconds to engage. Things just got worse after that. You know that feeling like your insides are melting? Like when you cannot find your wallet? That was what happened during those 4 seconds.

As far as MY driving style – I am not one to burn out the tires, race or abuse my car. I am too old fro that nonsense.

[Nicholas Clark]

I wanted a stick shift for a long time, and when my last car had to sacrifice its life to save my wife (not her fault and she is OK) I vowed I would get a stick. I was going to get a base Mitsubishi Lancer with a stick. The dealer wouldn’t come down at all so I said bye even though I wanted the car. I looked on Craigslist and found my 2007 F-150 with a stick. I have never regretted it. It’s such an enjoyable and unique experience. Since I got it in September, I have tried very hard to master my technique, as I already knew how to drive one. Trucks are different from cars. Trucks are heavier, and you have a lot of options with rear end ratios that can make 1st gear a granny gear or a gear necessary for every start.

Anyway, with my truck, it’s impossible to heel-toe even with my size 13 shoes — the pedals are too far apart. It is a truck meant for work boots after all. On a long downhill grade I will clutch in — downshift — rev match– clutch out. That minimizes clutch wear. The RPM’s are already matched to the gear so it’s seamless when you let the clutch out. Most normal times I just use my brakes to get me stopped. Brakes are indeed cheaper than a clutch replacement. Some people will tell you that if you’re really good and you do blah blah blah you will barely have to touch the brakes blah. Whatever. Perhaps they are super special and their clutch hasn’t been replaced even at 350k miles.

My point is this: Master the basics of the machine and don’t abuse it. You will get far.

If you have any questions respond to the thread or PM me. I’d be happy to help.

[Jonathan Stiver]

^^^^ This – you can definitely down shift without causing unnecessary wear, and on steep hills, esp with a heavier vehicle, you will need to downshift at speed sometimes. Once you learn a particular car, it becomes 2nd nature to match the revs shifting up or down. If you can’t tell already, I’m not a fan of automatics, although the ones in both of my Mercedes are pretty good. They can definitely fail without warning, ESPECIALLY on Hondas, I will never buy a Honda with an auto again but I LOVE my Element with a 5-spd.

[Author]

Replies