Stick shift question?

Question

I dont like to down shift, i just put it in neutral whenever i want to slow down... Is it more wear & tear on the clutch if i hold it down all the way until i have to brake for the stop, or if i push it in once to take it out of gear, and then push it in again when it's time to brake? Basically does it wear more on the clutch when it's pushed in & out or when its held in?

To answer "talon" you have to push the clutch in before you break because it has to be down in order to break...

Answer 1

Don't forget that you can coast while in gear to slow down too and you can put your brakes on while the car is in gear. That's what you do when you drive a car with an automatic transmission anyway. When you slow down to where the engine revs are low, then put it into nuetral

Once you have put your gearshift into nuetral, there is no need to hold the clutch in. Put your shifter in nuetral, let the clutch out and use your brakes. Leaving the clutch pedal pushed in all the time will make your leg tired! - I don't know if it will cause any extra wear to the throw-out bearing or not as others have suggested. You don't need to push the clutch in to use your brakes. You can also take your car out of gear without pushing the clutch in as long as you are not accelerating and you won't cause any harm to the clutch or transmission.

Brakes are much cheaper to work on than repairs to your clutch. If you shift properly (even downshifting) you should be able to get 100k miles on your car before having to replace the clutch.

Another hint, only put your car in first gear if you are at a total stop. If you are moving at all, just pop it into second gear and go. First gear is only designed to start you moving.

Answer 2

Sorry, this is bad practice and a sign of a poorly trained driver. I won't mention the perjorative phrase that this practice used to be called in Australia as it might offend some folk. With your foot off the accelerator the car will eventually slow down by itself to a few mph or even stop by itself. So that actually assists the brakes. When you put your foot on the clutch or shift to neutral the engine loses connection with the driving wheels and the vehicle actually becomes less stable and does not slow down as much by itself. A relative of mine does this and you can sometimes actually feel the car lurch as he de-clutches and then brakes.

Apart from that it wears out the clutch release or throw-out bearing more rapidly and puts unnecessary strain on the clutch springs if you do it with the clutch.

Correct practice is to brake with the car in gear, not in neutral and not with the clutch depressed. When the car has slowed a fair bit, either change down to the next lower gear or just dump the clutch as the car almost halts to prevent stalling the engine, depending whether you are going around a sharp corner or stopping. When stopping , put the transmission in neutral and your foot on the brake, or pull on the hand/ emergency brake if you want to keep the engine running.

Keep your foot off the clutch pedal unless changing gear.

Answer 3

Extended running with the clutch held in puts excessive wear on your throw out bearing. If you are shifting into neutral, you can let the clutch back out and the engine and transmission will still be free. You also don't have to engage the clutch to brake if the transmission is in neutral. You can wait until you are ready to start going again and want to shift into gear to engage the clutch for the shift.

Answer 4

Why would you push it in when its time to brake if you allready took it out of gear? Downshifting only causes more wear on the clutch, brakes are cheaper to replace than clutches By the way, Werge. Riding the clutch will wear out the release bearing long before the clutch plate needs to be replaced, usually between 80-100 k kms.

Answer 5

ken e knows what hes talking about, keep your foot off the clutch if your not changing gear. downshifting to slow down doesnt hurt the clutch or the engine and keeps the strain off the breaks, when coming to a stop keep it in gear, break and when almost at a complete stop put the clutch to the floor and take it out of gear

Answer 6

No, Talon is right. If you are in neutral, why would you push the clutch in to stop? That's ridiculous!

After you have stopped, you have to push the clutch in to shift into 1st gear to go again, but you do that when the light changes. Hello?

Answer 7

if you are in nutral you dont have to use the clutch to brake...but you should not brake with your foor off the clutch and not in nutral because that is bad for the clutch but if your not pushing on the gas just keep your foot on the clutch

p.s. riding the clutch is when you let go of the clutch to slow that is bad for the clutch, and dont down shift to slow down that is bad

Answer 8

It will only cause more wear to your release bearing, but the effects are minimal if you only push it when you are stopping.

The brakes however can be spared quite a bit by downshifting. There is however, the arguement that downshifting causes more wear and tear on your engine.

I'm sure you won't hurt it, so just keep driving it the way you are comfortable.

Answer 9

i've got had a stick shift for some years now. i've got consistently like that extra suitable than an computerized - yet i become older now and sweetness whether I ought to get an computerized. the 1st one I owned nevertheless - some years in the past - I tore up the gears or something like that.

Answer 10

It hurts your car to ride the clutch (meaning when its held in). It wears it out.