Teach me how to drive standard, will ya's?

[Fly320s]

Driving a stick: when staring to move froma stop, use just enough gas and clutch so that the engine almost stalls. That will extend the life of your clutch.

I was listening to The Car Guys on NPR when they had a caller who burned out the clutch in a new truck in one day.

[PTK]

Wow. That's... impressive. I can't imagine standing on the clutch that long. 

[mtnbkr]

Driving a stick: when staring to move froma stop, use just enough gas and clutch so that the engine almost stalls. That will extend the life of your clutch.

I was listening to The Car Guys on NPR when they had a caller who burned out the clutch in a new truck in one day.

I got 157k and counting on a 5spd Camry I just sold.  My 4Runner has 7yrs and 115k of my wife's driving on it and it's still going strong.  She cut her 5spd teeth on that 4Runner, so it has seen a lot of abuse.

Chris

[Tallpine]

The clutch was about the only thing not wore out on my old log truck. 

I did have to change the TO bearing once.  It had the old style open bottom bellhousing & dustcover, and I just slid the transmission back far enough to slip the bearing over the end of the input shaft.  Since I never mucked with the pressure plate and disc, it slid right back into the pilot bearing without any trouble.

There is a sweet spot in a clutch where the vehicle will start to move but it doesn't kill the engine.  You have to pause there a moment while the wheels catch up to the engine and then let it all the way out.

[zxcvbob]

When teaching my daughter how to drive a stickshft, I had her stop on a hill in a deserted parking lot and learn to hold the car from rolling by using just the gas pedal and the clutch.  (worked better in Reverse than it did in 1st gear)  You wouldn't want to do too much of that, but it's a good way to teach your foot where the clutch let-off point is.

[mtnbkr]

I taught my wife by taking her to the local HS parking lot and having her practice getting the vehicle rolling.  Roll..stop..roll..stop until she got it down and was smooth.  Then we progressed to shifting from 1st to 2nd and back down again.  After she mastered that, we hit the open road.  After driving us around for a couple errands, she was good to go on her own.  It took me 2-3 practice sessions to go from "no ability" to "good enough to get to work".

Chris

[Balog]

Just don't let them use first gear until they get the others down smooth.

I was always told starting in second was bad for the clutch. Is that not true? Because I'm honestly smoother starting in second...

[Tallpine]

I was always told starting in second was bad for the clutch. Is that not true? Because I'm honestly smoother starting in second...

Yes, no, and maybe.

My old pickup you never start in first/low unless you are on a really steep hill, have a huge load, or you're in a rough spot.  That low gear is nice as it is a 2wd (no low range).

Most newer pickups don't have a "granny gear" like that so you start in first.  I've never heard of starting a car in anything but first.

Exception: if you're trying to get going on a slick surface, starting in one gear higher than normal often does the trick but you have to be really careful about it.  You have to just almost kill the engine.

It does wear the clutch a bit, but still might be better than calling a tow truck.

[charby]

Or coal bucket in eastern KY..

Or a farm tractor pulling doubles with 1280 bu of corn.

[Scout26]

I was always told starting in second was bad for the clutch. Is that not true? Because I'm honestly smoother starting in second...

I drive a 2001 Saab 9-3 5spd.  In winter I frequently start in either 2nd or 3rd depending on well, depending......

I downshift to save on brake pads, and I've got 141K on the original clutch with no signs of needing a new one.  (Yep, I just doomid-ed myself).
 
I average 32-35 mpg combined city (well, suburban) and highway driving.

[Tallpine]

There are a lot of advantages to driving a manual transmission in the winter 

[gunsmith]

for some reason, I'm great on a motorcycle, terrible on a stick shift.
my plan is to someday buy a beater with a stick and get better.

[KD5NRH]

I downshift to save on brake pads, and I've got 141K on the original clutch with no signs of needing a new one.  (Yep, I just doomid-ed myself).

Heck, last time I had a manual that was worth doing much work on, my transmission guy charged about $150 to do a clutch job.  My most-other-stuff mechanic charged $100 for all four brake pads. (PITA brake job, not worth the hassle to do it myself)  Not really enough difference to worry about.

Then again, I ran that car hard, and only averaged around 75k miles per clutch, so maybe I got a bulk discount :)

[roo_ster]

I got 157k and counting on a 5spd Camry I just sold.  My 4Runner has 7yrs and 115k of my wife's driving on it and it's still going strong.  She cut her 5spd teeth on that 4Runner, so it has seen a lot of abuse.

Chris

168K miles on my 1997 Nissan PU, with original clutch.   Even taught my wife on it  No sign it needs work.

250K+ on the original clutch in an Audi 4000S driven by first owner, dad, self, dad, last owner we kept track of.

[sanglant]

new clutches aren't much like the old ones. we have much better materials for friction pads now.

since we've gotten to brakes i thought i would post this link, not the brand but if you have a not quite sports car(or a truck) you need to try out a set of this type of brake pads. they squeak some, but not much dust and i haven't gotten them to fade, yet. here's the all encompassing brake pad guide

[mtnbkr]

I have to wear out a friction disc, but I did have a pressure plate fail on me once.

Speaking of brakes, the brakes in my 4Runner (175k miles) haven't been changed at least since we bought the truck.  That was 8 years and 115k miles ago.  Every inspection, they say fronts look good.  It still stops well, though it pulses and shudders a bit now.  The rotors are probably warped.  So, there is somewhere north of 115k miles on the front brakes of this midsized SUV.  It's a manual, so engine braking probably extended the life, but still...

I have new rotors and pads in my basement so I can do a brake job soon

Chris

[zahc]

I downshift to save on brake pads

I deliberately shift my corolla into neutral without clutching and coast in order to save my clutch. I also never use the clutch for upshifting and often not for downshifting. Got 189,000 miles on it so far.

[sanglant]

there is another cause of brakes "pulsating and shuddering", some pads will leave buildup of friction material on the disk. if it's this find a safe place to get up to 55-60 or so, and break firmly to 25 or so 2 to 3 times and it will quit. oh and the pads i linked to, don't grip good for the first hundred miles or so.

[sanglant]

oh if you can see the brake rotors and get the most offending wheel in the air, you can check buy looking at the rotor and turning the wheel. just watch your fingers.

[mtnbkr]

there is another cause of brakes "pulsating and shuddering", some pads will leave buildup of friction material on the disk. if it's this find a safe place to get up to 55-60 or so, and break firmly to 25 or so 2 to 3 times and it will quit. oh and the pads i linked to, don't grip good for the first hundred miles or so.

This is Northern Va, stops like that are all too common.  Actually, the last time it was in the shop (I needed rear brakes and I refuse to work on drums), the tech said the fronts were getting pretty thin, so I'm just going to do it all and be done with it.  Besides, with at least 115k on the brakes, I'm sure the rotors are getting thin as well.

Chris

[Tallpine]

I'm sure the rotors are getting thin as well

I doubt that.

[sanglant]

in that case, there are some pretty nice(and beefy) cheap rotors out there. i'm running these right now. doing good. so far.   my last pads were leaving deposits ended up warping the rotors.

[mtnbkr]

I doubt that.

Something has to be wearing for the pads to have lasted this long.  It's not as if it doesn't stop.  Doesn't matter.  It's getting pads and rotors this Spring.  I have the parts, just waiting for time.

I had the rear drum brakes done this Fall.  The drums were getting thin, as were the pads.  It failed inspection because there was such a lip caused by wear they couldn't get the drum off for inspection.  I took it home and got it removed and saw I had a largish ridge at the edge of the drum and the shoes were less than 1/8" thick and cracked.  New drums and shoes and I'm all good for the rear.

Chris

[Perd Hapley]

Driving a stick: when staring to move froma stop, use just enough gas and clutch so that the engine almost stalls. That will extend the life of your clutch.

Every time I succumb to that mindset, I stall the truck.  I don't know if that indicates some problem or peculiarity with my old beater, or if you just happen to be wrong.   

[RoadKingLarry]

The clutch on my daughters '97 Dodge truck went out 2 days ago. The truck only has 248,000 miles on it.
It failed at her grandmothers house in the country. She made arrangements with a local mechanic to get it repaired ( I don't have the time).
The trick was getting it there. She really can't afford to get it towed and thre was no one available I trusted to drive it while I pulled it with my truck.
Yesterday I went to see what I could do. The truck has a clutch interlock on the starter. The pedal wouldn't even go dwon far enough to start it. Easy enough to start it by jumping across the selenoid, except the starter is so far back I had to sue a 3 foot long piece of rod to do it.
As luck would have it she had stopped at the top of a small rise so after I got it running I had her push me  to get rolling and I managed to jam it in gear and was able to speed shift up and down.
12 miles of county road, crossed 1 4 lane divided highway, and ran 5 stop signs but I made it to the mechanics shop without stopping.