Clutch wear?
 

This may very well be my first manual transmission and I was wondering how fast the clutch might wear out on the BRZ. I expect to at least spend an hour or so just driving a friend's manual transmission but will otherwise be torturing my car learning to properly drive a stick. Any expectations of how short my clutch's life might be?

I would not drive my brand new RWD peppy car in around a city with only an hour of practice.(one full week, yes) If youre not a speedy/attentive learner you can screw things up easily.

If you're driving a manual transmission every day, you'll get very comfortable with it very quickly. The bigger indicator to clutch life is, how often do you plan on dropping the clutch at 3000 RPM trying to do burnouts or drag race? Limit that, and there's no reason your clutch shouldn't last as long as you own the car - 80k-100k miles or more. And given that this is a RWD car, I'm no expert but it should last longer than say, an AWD car. My WRX clutch lasted about 80k miles - no drag racing, but spirited driving. Also, this isn't exactly a high horsepower car, which brings up the other variable...depends on how beefy the clutch is.

In the end, totally depends on the driving style.

I'll probably try to get more practice. I am just worried I may end up doing most of the damage during the first couple of weeks. A valid concern or am I worrying too much

You will become proficient at driving stick long before the extra clutch wear becomes consequential. Just try to avoid developing bad habits and dropping the clutch quickly from high RPM and you/the car will be fine. The clutch is made to take some degree of abuse and this car doesn't have much torque at the low end to damage things if you do screw up.

Try to get more practice than 1 hr if you can. I don't really see 1hr to be enough to be comfortable and realistic of what your daily use is gonna be like. As stated, just don't be aggressive with it, it will be forgiving. Personally, I wouldn't want to "learn" manual in the BRZ, I beat myself up when learning in my 95, wouldnt want to do the same for a brand new car...

i drove a manual for about 15 min before i bought my first manual car :D

I'm planning on getting a cheap MT car to improve my MT skill because I haven't driven a MT car for 5 years. I suggest you do the same. Don't screw up a nice car.

I really don't see the need for actually buying another manual car just to practice. An hour or two in a friends car should be plenty. Its not rocket science, its controlling two pedals with your feet. The big part of just starting out with a manual is knowing your limitations. Don't drive up any roads that will require you stop on a steep incline and for gods sake don't attempt to turn right in front of anyone lest you stall and stop in front of them.

Learning to drive a clutch is by no means going to wear out a clutch on a new car and if you really are that rough on it while learning you probably shouldn't be driving a manual ;) A good gauge for how you are doing is how long it takes you to learn the scent of a burning clutch. My first time smelling clutch was when I accidentally found myself on what seemed to be a 45 degree incline at a red light. I panicked because the person behind me was so close I was worried I would roll back and hit them.

I personally learned to drive a manual in my dads DeLorean with its original clutch when I turned 16, gotta love my dad, and I've been driving manual ever since. The only clutch I've ever replaced was in my Cherokee and only because the master cylinder went out and the clutch had to come out anyway :P

You will be damned if you're like me. Most of my friends don't own any MT cars, one of them own GT500, and I wouldn't want to test drive that thing. Getting a beater to learn how to drive manual is good because you never know if you ever make a mistake. I don't want to take that risk on a brand new car, even I used to drive a stick car for a year or two (5 years ago :bellyroll: ). I know how to operate any kind of bikes since I was 14, and they have the same principles as manual cars, but I still don't want to take any risk at all. That's why I'm suggesting OP to get a beater just to learn how to drive stick. He can always trade it in anytime.
If people around you have no time to teach you, you have 0 hour a week to learn how to drive a stick car. That's the problem I have right now. Some people are just busy on digging gold. :bellyroll:

When I bought my brand new 2007 STi I had to drive it off the dealer lot (never test drove it) without any experience driving a manual. I had some embarrassing moments stalling but it was fine. 5 years later and the clutch is still in good condition. Don't worry about it.

I agree.

I don't think that's necessary. I learned in capsules when I was younger. At first I shifted for my mom while she would drive me to school. Once I got that and understood the basics of going from 2nd to 3rd and from 4th to 5th (and not accidently down shifting to 1st or 3rd) I was good for the next step.

Second capsule, I would try driving by simply going forwards and backwards in the driveway, just to figure out the "point of friction", or basically when the wheels start moving as you slowly lift your foot off the clutch (don't know the terms, english is my second language).

Lastly, driving around the neighborhood to match shifting and driving all while keeping my eyes on the road (and not on the stick).

I know all of that sounds like baby steps for idiots (keep in mind I was 15 at the time, and didn't have a permit yet), but those exercices never took me more than 15 minutes. The point is if you're concentrated on your learning, you ought to be ok. I rarely stall my car, but it still happens. If you pressure yourself into being perfect, you'll stall IMO. Just remember not all cars have the same "friction point".

Are there any other parts of the car I should be worried about damaging if not the clutch?

not really, figure replacing the clutch within 50-100k miles. given that this is a RWD you should be able to replace it with a stocker or mild aftermarket clutch including labor for about 1K so it's not exactly an expensive part to go out either. (assume 3-4 hour shop time and 5-600 in parts/fluids). learning isnt hard either, just dont try to do it on a busy road. go out for a ride in the country, its really not difficult once you get the feel for the engagement point of the clutch (where it starts to grip). best way to practice that is to move the car around a shopping lot without using the gas.

1) ENGAGEMENT POINT! thanks!
2) Without the gas: I second that! Best way to learn to know your clutch. Ideally, find an empty lot with a slight incline (when you're ready) so that you can learn to start off an incline and to get used to the feeling of having your car back up while on an incline (girls I try to teach freak out at that point and floor it. Not saying you're a girl or wtv if you freak out.). Learn to use your handbrake in those situations to free your foot from the brake pedal.

What does move the car without using the gas? Wouldn't the car not move then? I'm a bit confused. I'm a complete manual noob.

At the engagement point, the car starts to move. Not fast, something like 5 km/h (3 mph) maybe? That's basically ur cue to input some gas, but it must be done gradually.

As you release the clutch at a certain point the driveline begins to connect to the engine. its at the point the power starts getting transferred which is the "engagement point". Basically once you're decent with it you can get a car rolling (slowly, think idle speeds) using no gas. once you get this down driving a manual is easy as getting the car moving is the hardest part. its easy to shift once moving, all you do is push in pedal then pull out of gear and put in new gear. the part a lot of people have problems with is stalling out while trying to get the car moving.

Basically what the others are saying is the best thing to do the first time you start driving a NEW(you haven't driven that particular model)manual car is to not use the gas at all and find the engagement point of the car with nothing but the clutch. Once you get that down and are able to get the car rolling every time without gas you'll be good to go.

this thread is premature to say the least.... ugh...

My AE86 was the first manual car I owned. I even had a friend drive it home for me because I didn't know how to drive it yet. It took me a few months to get really confident on hill starts and not doing accidental burnouts at stop lights, but a manual car is far more rewarding to drive than an automatic. Good luck.

Don't forget that driving schools offer Manual driving course, they even teach you in a performence car. Here in my area you can pay about 120$ to 200$ depending on how many hours and they teach you in a mustang or Corvette. It's not so bad because you can haggle the rate and the instructors are professional former race drivers it seem worth it. Check around in your are for performance driving schools.

Mind giving me some names of places in MD? If I find a good and cheap school, I wouldn't mind driving that way from VA to get some good teaching.

Well, there are only 3 major parts which can be destroyed if you insist:
1. The clutch. Eventually, you will have to replace it anyway (much cheaper than replacing an automatic gearbox).
Just remember, don't keep the clutch partially depressed - as this means wear. Don't keep the clutch fully depressed, either. Never drive with the foot on the clutch pedal. Practice handbrake starts when uphill. And that burning smell means you're doing it wrong :)
2. The gearbox. Always fully depress the clutch when changing gears. Never force the lever into a gear, especially if you hear grinding noises.
Come to a complete stop and wait just a little before engaging reverse.
3. The engine itself. Be careful not to downshift from 5th to the 1st :)

Not using the gas pedal (on plane surfaces, and not in traffic) is indeed an excellent method of learning about the "engagement point" (but not a driving technique!). Release the clutch very slowly, and don't forget you can actually press the clutch pedal back if the engine wants to stall.
One should be able to do it even in 3rd gear, with a low power car.

Can you even get the gear into first gear in most cars now a days? I know in some of my old cars you would have to be decelerating and be below 30 or so for the shifter to even go into first.

Shit for $120-$200 I'll teach you how to drive standard in less than 30 mins guaranteed.

I'll do it for $100. ;)

Lol it's a bidding war you want eh?

You'll be fine. Clutches are tough. You'll kill it spectacularly embarising ways. If a good looking gal is looking your way it will surely be even more spectacular, but it'll be fine. Going up hill will be fun at the beginning too :)

Just don't ride with your foot resting on the clutch. That will cause it to slip a little all the time, and will burn up your clutch quickly.

my first manual car also.
 

Like the poster this will be my first manual car ...
since my current car is also a VW and DSG...
Since this will be my first manual I am not going to lie to you or myself,
I expect the first clutch to go anywhere from 30K and on ...
but I have a feeling after the first replacement I will be a very competent
stick shift driver.
(( I have a grand total of 5 hours of stick shift experience thus far))

:word:

Well for all you that are learning stick on a BRZ, at least you won't have to worry about hill starts. The BRZ has a hill-holder clutch, so the car automatically engages and disengages the parking brake so that you don't roll back. Once you get a feel for the engagement point you'll be fine.

:party0030::party0030:You are the man! I got my license 10 yrs ago when I was 18 with a manual car. After my license was issued, I have been driving AT car for 10 years. Now I feel I really should learn MT. Life is short and learn it while you can.

OP : Go for it bro, and I bet you are not really that suck at driving manual.
Don't get a beater. I'm assuming you have an AT car now. Make some practices for few days, and oh yeah maybe youtube is a good source to learn stick :D

One thing I do on hill starts is that when I know my light is going to change I let out the clutch just a little so that it catches and will hold the car when you go from the brake to the throttle. Never had a clutch wear issue in any of my vehicles in 12 years of driving. You will get a feel for the clutch rather quickly.

Is that a sure thing? I have been wondering if it was a hil hold manual but there was no confirmation anywhere. I think that was what most of us were concerned about.

Edit: most of us new to manuals

Is it confirmed?

yeah... 1-2 seconds

Ok buying a cheap used car to learn manual is financially stupid IMHO. Just buy the brz or frs and you'll learn to drive it in a few days. It's not like your revving this shit out of it. I think dropping the clutch at 5k in a drag race is more abusive than some dude trying to drive it.

Some people here need to calm down. It's not a Ferrari folks. Hell fly to California and I'll let you learn on my Z. It had a super hard clutch. The brz-frs clutches sounds light so it'll be easy to learn to shift.

:word:

I'm already in Cal :bow:... this is gonna be my first manual too.