Quote:
Originally Posted by paulca
I've said it before, I'll say it again. A lot of you are so hyper-sensitive about your clutches. It's probably as in the US 90% of people drive auto and only petrol heads drive manual. Manual is like a special thing and you feel you need to learn every little tiny detail about how to save the clutch and baby the clutch.
Over here 90% people drive manuals and very few people give a F. Clutches last a LONG time even when beat on. I'm not going to provide estimated life in miles as it really depends on what those miles are. A single clutch will last millions of miles on a freeway, but burn out in a few tens of thousands if all you do is drive in stop and go traffic up steep hills.
The only time you should be worried is delivering high torque through the clutch (such as launches and clutch dumps) or obvious prolonged careless beating on it.
By the way. Sitting on the clutch on a hill at lights and rocking the car forwards and back IS the best way to learn the bite point. Granted 1k rpm is probably better, but while learning 1k is too easy to stall, 2k isn't that bad. Half a minute isn't going to remove much off your clutch life.
Also, if you want to learn to drive "stick" properly, DONT sit on the brake and then pedal dance to move off on a hill, this is retarded. The "fever lever" is NOT, repeat NOT an emergency brake. It's a "hand brake". It's job, asides as a parking brake, is to secure the car so you can use the clutch and accelerator without needing 3 feet and the brake as well. Sit on the brake on a hill here and you would fail your driving test.
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You're absolutely correct. If manual transmissions were a norm and everybody drove one then it probably wouldn't be such a big deal. But because most people don't drive one daily most don't know the courtesies surrounding manual transmissions. And since manual transmission drivers here in the States are typically enthusiasts they tend to treat them with higher care because they aren't all over the place and are more rare.
It's like when you were a kid and you collected Transformer toys. Sure you played with them and all but you typically took care of them enough that you didn't bite at them or got them too dirty. Then a cousin comes over and your parents force you to let them play with them and they take it into the sand box and mud. They also leave them laying around and you find new scuffs that they didn't have before. Now the toys are slightly different from when they left your possession and cannot be returned to their original state from which you lent them out.
I can admit that I am a pretty picky person by nature. I grew up in a large family and you didn't get much because the wealth and needs had to be spread out to everyone as evenly and as fairly as the parents saw fit. So when you actually got something you VALUED the hell out of it. You made it last. Even though I've gotten to a point in my life where I can provide for myself and my wife well enough and can replace wants and necessities as they come I still bring the same mentality I had as a child with me. I like having nice, high quality stuff. It makes my little consumerism mind happy. I like having things that work the way they should work for as long as possible. I hate having to do something round about to get something to work the way it's supposed to.
So what if I baby my stuff? I use it the way I want it to be used and when someone does it differently that can possibly lead to premature wear then I feel, as the owner of said item, justified in stating why I do it the way I do it and how I came to those conclusions. I feel it's more than reasonable when using other people's stuff to treat it with as much care and respect as the owner does. When I ride in other people's cars I might mention a thing or two but I also throw in, "But it's your ride. Do whatever makes you comfortable."
.... Wow, my wife puts up with a lot of my shit.