How do you drive your manual car?

Pink_Floyd · Feb 7, 2004

I just learned how to drive the stick a few weeks ago and really love it. When my dad was teaching me he taught me to downshift when I'm slowing down at a stop light or a stop sign. To keep doing this thru the gears. He said it helps a lot on the wearing of the break pads if you downshift and let the engine slow itself down. This does make a lot of sense but I've noticed that a lot of my friends and other people just shift the car into neutral and proceed to break.

So does it really make a difference? How do you shift when you're coming up on a red light?

frolf · Feb 7, 2004

it depends. because if you blip the throttle, then do it. but if you are just slipping you clutch, then i dont' htink i would. brake pads are a lot cheaper to replace than a clutch.

just my uneducated $0.02

Kirby · Feb 7, 2004

I don't have a manual shift car right now, but when I did, I always downshifted to slow the car. It does help to reduce brake wear.

If you live in a hilly/mountainous area, it REALLY saves brakes to do this on a hill, especially a long one. And the same applies for an automatic. When I tow my boat with my Suburban, I go down a 2 mile hill in 2nd gear and have good, lightly brakes all the way down.

Then I see people in minivans pulling a little popup camper. They ride the brakes all the way down, and they have no brakes and lots of smoke at the bottom of the hill.....

jrt67ss350 · Feb 7, 2004

I agree with both Dan and Kirby. If you don't rev-match on your downshifts every time you come to a stop, you are going to put a lot more wear on your clutch then if you just stopped using your brakes. Brakes are a hell of a lot cheaper and easier to replace than a clutch (about $600 to have a clutch in an E30 replaced by an independent shop, about $750 at the dealer) or other drivetrain parts. I just use the brakes to stop routinely at traffic lights and stop signs. It's easier, less overall drivetrain wear, and I'd much rather replace brake pads than drivetrain parts.

But, when going down hills in mountainous areas, definitely downshift and use the engine's compression to help slow the car. It's much easier on your brakes, saves lots of wear and is much safer - keeps the brakes cooler and ready to work well in case you really needed to use them all of a sudden. I have learned first hand how important this is - I love to drive my Camaro on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the mountains of NC in the fall, but with four-wheel drum non-power assisted brakes, you must rely on engine braking if you don't want to go careening off a cliff!!

Glad to hear you are enjoying rowing the gears yourself - I love it, too! [thumb]

MrElussive · Feb 7, 2004

I always downshift when coming to a stop. I always try to downshift to 2nd (i.e. if I'm in 4th, I'll downshift to 3, then 2), then I use my brakes and push the clutch in when I've almost stopped. It really does save your brakes, but I love to do it because it's fun to downshift and it gives me a really nice feeling of control...it's like the car isn't going to run away or anything...the engine compression helps keep it under my ocntrol, especially on long downhills, if that makes sense at all. Sometimes if I'm going like 50 in a 40 zone and the light turns yellow and I have to stop for it, I will downshift straight from 5th to 3rd, and then maybe to 2nd if I have time (time is a big issue when this happens). Or on the highway, if traffic is coming up and I am going 70 in 6th gear, I'll downshift from 6th to 4th, then 4th to 2nd, and then slow down to a stop. In any case, I don't hesitate to use my brakes...I love feeling the stopping power of my Brembos. [:D]

a3ternus · Feb 8, 2004

Yeah,it really saves your pads,but f***s up your clutch and synchronizers (nobody here has messed up their 2nd gear synchro EVER ?!?).Both,are pricier than a clutch !
A3TeRnuS

frolf · Feb 8, 2004

i down shift a lot, but i always double clutch, even in my neighbor hood. so hardly any synchro's required.

bahnstormer · Feb 8, 2004

if u just throw it in neutral and brake then god forbid u have to accelerate to avoid an accident, then good luck throwing it in teh right gear fast enough

always keep the car in gear

Bmw 325i 7803 · Feb 8, 2004

bahnstormer said:

Thats true, believe it or not but many times Steering and accelerating is a better option than braking to avoid an accident (Take the highway for example). Aside from that I drive an automatic and even I enjoy downshifting, BMW offers a very pleasureable downshift, I recommend everyone try it.

Average Jae · Feb 8, 2004

bahnstormer said:

here here über mod!

when i first got my manual, i'd just put it in neutral while braking, but wised up and stated to engine brake.. now i try to blip and match the rpm while downshifting. (still a work in progress..) heel toeing is hard but i'm gonna get it one day!!

epj3 · Feb 8, 2004

Heel toeing is difficult, I've been able to do it smoothly 3 or 4 times, but other than that I end up having to slam on the brakes because i enter a turn too fast. I'll figure it out someday.

bahnstormer · Feb 8, 2004

hehe if u think its hard on the street, try it on the track, with cars around you going
about twice as fast as normal

i can only imagine heheh haven't tried it yet myself, but i got it down on the street =]

535iracer · Feb 9, 2004

brakes are very inexpensive and very easy to change... drivetrain components are not.. just put the car in neutral.

SoonerE39 · Feb 9, 2004

I downshift but I don't double clutch. I need to work on that.

frolf · Feb 9, 2004

its pretty simple. just look at what rpm's your car is at in each gear at a single speed, memorize that, then you just need to get the footwork down, and heel-and-toeing just takes a little time. one thing that can help is by just sitting there, and rev your engine from idle to a certain speed, just so you can get used to how hard you need to hit it to achieve a certain speed. this is a good idea to practice, because i noticed when i was first figuring it out, that you need to let the clutch out the instant you hit hte right rpm, you can't really slip it, and if you miss the right rpm, you'll notice a jerk that can be pretty big if you side step the clutch at the wayyyyy wrong speed.

MrElussive · Feb 10, 2004

Double clutching and heel-and-toe downshifting are both unnecessary skillz. Double-clutching is a thing of the past, and heel-and-toe downshifting...traffic is really never aggressive enough for me to need that (IMHO), but if you can do it and you like to do it, then more power to ya. [:)]

Personally, I am good at downshifting, but I can only do heel-and-toe downshifting when I am braking pretty hard.

bahnstormer · Feb 10, 2004

simply rev matching is all you need for street use and when u are braking
and downshifting you don't have to use your engine to slow you down
simply, brake, and then downshift, keeping the car in gear

salvo · Feb 10, 2004

I know that this a stupid question...but what exactly is double clutching and heel-and-toe shifting???
thanks

salvo · Feb 10, 2004

Also...I am trying to figure out if I am slipping my clutch...I have driven manual for 12+ years...but never really paid much attention to how i disengage the clutch. ANyways...from a complete stop I think I am too slow in disengaging the clutch...Although, if i disengage any faster it will jerk and if i give it some more gas, then i chirp...or i am making a big deal about NOTHING...which is entirely possibe.

sketch · Feb 10, 2004

salvo said:

drifting site:
http://www.driftsession.com/drift_techniques/heeltoeshifting.htm

double clutch site:
http://www.driversedge.com/dblcltch.htm

a site on both:
http://www.triumphspitfire.com/healtoe.html

that should help

How do you drive your manual car?

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