is it ok to slip my clutch often in 2nd gear when my rpm is below 2k?

[awhatzable]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

From a stop stay in first. Moving start turn, clutch all the way in if too fast through turn clutch out again at end of turn or this is the one time I may let it drop below 3000 but certainly not down to 1500 or less. 3000 rpm in 2nd is not all that fast.

So let say your doing a 90 degree sharp turn. You make a turn and your rpm drops. Do it drop below 2100rpm because that when it starts chattering or lugging. If your rpm is higher thats mean your turning at a speed of 18mph+ which is quiet fast for some areas. (areas with bad visibility or crowded area)

[Toyarzee]

This car is very stable at low rpm. Lugging only occurs when you are too heavy on gas pedal coming out of low rpm. It is a much heavier load on the motor when trying to push the car outside of its efficient torque curve, but the noise you're hearing isn't detrimental to the car.

I never have to think this hard about driving, when you're comfortable with stick you'll find the feel and forget about such minutiae. I'm in second gear driving 10 mph or below inside my apartment complex every day and come to a near stop at the drainage pathways and never have to leave gear. Maybe pop in clutch and then release if coming to a near complete stop. Cars are designed to function this way, as the old school rule goes, 1st gear is for when starting from a stop. All else use second...

When live tuning ecu on streets, I've had to drop into 4th at like 10 mph or below and slowly accelerate up through the power band to find the bottom end cells that need tweaking. At first you think you'll stall, but then be suprised and drive on.

[awhatzable]

Originally Posted by chaoskaze

When I roll forward in traffic I try to stay in 1st... but if u are just rolling forward in 2nd & gas it really slow I notice u can get by without lugging the engine at around 6-7 mile.

Really ????? There must be something wrong with my nerve on my feet cause I feel like im feathering it as light as possible and theres still some sort of noise :S have to try again tomorrow.

[awhatzable]

Originally Posted by Toyarzee

This car is very stable at low rpm. Lugging only occurs when you are too heavy on gas pedal coming out of low rpm. It is a much heavier load on the motor when trying to push the car outside of its efficient torque curve, but the noise you're hearing isn't detrimental to the car.

I never have to think this hard about driving, when you're comfortable with stick you'll find the feel and forget about such minutiae. I'm in second gear driving 10 mph or below inside my apartment complex every day and come to a near stop at the drainage pathways and never have to leave gear. Maybe pop in clutch and then release if coming to a near complete stop. Cars are designed to function this way, as the old school rule goes, 1st gear is for when starting from a stop. All else use second...

When live tuning ecu on streets, I've had to drop into 4th at like 10 mph or below and slowly accelerate up through the power band to find the bottom end cells that need tweaking. At first you think you'll stall, but then be suprised and drive on.

My biggest concern is that light chattering noise. I feel more confident now that you've mention it isn't causing damage to my engine. Can you tell me what is making that noise ? I thought it was the engine lugging so I've always thought better to wear out the clutch by slipping it a bit than the engine.

[JozhGoober]

Originally Posted by awhatzable

Really ????? There must be something wrong with my nerve on my feet cause I feel like im feathering it as light as possible and theres still some sort of noise :S have to try again tomorrow.

You may get some funny noise, but it might not be lugging. Lugging is when the car starts jerking back and forth at very low RPMs, you'll definitely feel it. For me, it occasionally happens when the engine is dead cold, starting in 1st gear (i.e. pulling out of my driveway first thing in the morning), doesn't happen with a warm engine or anything higher than 1st gear unless I've screwed up.

[8R6]

Originally Posted by awhatzable

5pmh in 2nd does your engine lug or chatter a bit ? mine lug at 16-17mph and below

nope. car feels fine to me. no bogging or anything. of course im not trying to stomp on the pedal either...

Originally Posted by JozhGoober

If you're lugging in 2nd at those speeds, you likely just need to be smoother on the gas. The car is perfectly comfortable in 2nd down to 1.5k RPM or lower as long as you ease on the gas when you want to accelerate.

werd.

Originally Posted by Toyarzee

This car is very stable at low rpm. Lugging only occurs when you are too heavy on gas pedal coming out of low rpm. It is a much heavier load on the motor when trying to push the car outside of its efficient torque curve, but the noise you're hearing isn't detrimental to the car.

I never have to think this hard about driving, when you're comfortable with stick you'll find the feel and forget about such minutiae. I'm in second gear driving 10 mph or below inside my apartment complex every day and come to a near stop at the drainage pathways and never have to leave gear. Maybe pop in clutch and then release if coming to a near complete stop. Cars are designed to function this way, as the old school rule goes, 1st gear is for when starting from a stop. All else use second...

...

werd.

[Bristecom]

It is smoother and easier on the drivetrain to slip the clutch a little at low rpms than to just lug it. You're supposed to slip the clutch when the rpms get really low and you start hearing noises or feeling the engine bogging. What are you guys talking about never slipping the clutch? Do you just drop it every time? I'm sure that's real smooth and good on the drivetrain. As long as you slip it slightly and briefly, there is no problem at all with wear. I've had clutches look like brand new after 70,000 miles doing this.

[awhatzable]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

It is smoother and easier on the drivetrain to slip the clutch a little at low rpms than to just lug it. You're supposed to slip the clutch when the rpms get really low and you start hearing noises or feeling the engine bogging. What are you guys talking about never slipping the clutch? Do you just drop it every time? I'm sure that's real smooth and good on the drivetrain. As long as you slip it slightly and briefly, there is no problem at all with wear. I've had clutches look like brand new after 70,000 miles doing this.

Ok now I'm confused on which way is right LOL

[PNW FRS]

Using a MT correctly is not an exact science... driving conditions will vary... engine performance may vary depending on ambient temps (e.g., when it's really hot... the poor Boxer is going to struggle a little...). And, you might sometimes find yourself needing to do something you know is inherently bad (or at least not recommended...) but necessary.

So, an open ended question of "slipping the clutch" is kind of like asking, "How long should I use my tongue when kissing?" Bottom line, you do what you feel is correct for the circumstance... and for the few times when you botch it.. and color outside the lines a bit... don't sweat it. That's why someone will sell you a new clutch somewhere down the long and winding road...

[Xuningshen]

yeah, i dont like the lugging noise. i'll slip it a bit into 2nd under 10mph if i'm too lazy to double clutch into first because I feel its too hard on the synchros otherwise. you're basically "slipping" the clutch everytime you start from a stop so... idk why you guys say never slip... clutches are meant to be consumed. i'd rather tear that up and make my engines life' easier. clutches are cheap.

[awhatzable]

Originally Posted by PNW FRS

Using a MT correctly is not an exact science... driving conditions will vary... engine performance may vary depending on ambient temps (e.g., when it's really hot... the poor Boxer is going to struggle a little...). And, you might sometimes find yourself needing to do something you know is inherently bad (or at least not recommended...) but necessary.

So, an open ended question of "slipping the clutch" is kind of like asking, "How long should I use my tongue when kissing?" Bottom line, you do what you feel is correct for the circumstance... and for the few times when you botch it.. and color outside the lines a bit... don't sweat it. That's why someone will sell you a new clutch somewhere down the long and winding road...

I'm new to manual so I'm not sure what's right and what's not..

Do you think slipping the clutch often is the right way to go or to accelerate at 1500-2000rpm and have the light chatter,rattle,lugging noise ?

[PNW FRS]

Originally Posted by awhatzable

I'm new to manual so I'm not sure what's right and what's not..

** You need to find someone who is close-by -- who knows how to do MT -- and get a short, informative lesson.

Do you think slipping the clutch often is the right way to go or to accelerate at 1500-2000rpm and have the light chatter,rattle,lugging noise ?

** "Slipping" happens all the time... to some degree... it's the nature of using a clutch. That said, using your terms "chatter, rattle, lugging noise.." as symptoms... I'd say "You're not doing it right." IF I had to guess, you just haven't found that "sweet spot" of throttle and clutch engagement. I've driven MT for dozens of years... and I will say that the OEM clutch on "86" was a little finiky... it did take me a little bit to understand the nuances. Again, as mentioned above... if you can find someone to demonstrate "proper" MT technique... you'd be miles ahead of the game. Words and such are pretty much useless... you gotta feel it in your feet and your butt-dyno. And when you sort it out, you're going to be real happy.

Last word of advice... one does need to keep the RPMs up on this rig. It doesn't like (do well) with the lower (< 2500) RPMs once you're out of 1st gear (dead stop). Between 3K and 5.5K is a great place to be... just watch for for radargun-toting LEOs.

Good luck!

[Semprini]

Don't ride the clutch to get rid of the shaking. Slipping into a gear is perfectly normal when shifting a standard as long as your intention is to fully engage and get off the clutch. It makes your shift smooth especially in 1st/2nd gear. But the whole slipping process should only be a fraction of a second and only done to avoid a fast clutch drop jerking the whole car. Do not, though, constantly ride the clutch because you are in too high a gear for the situation.
In your case, at 15 kph (about 10mph in imperial-land), the car will cruise along with no shakes, and even let you slowly accelerate with no problems on an even surface. You will be at 1000 rpm which is smooth as long as you are smooth on the throttle.

But if you are trying to:
- accelerate quickly
- go up a steep hill
- carry a heavy load
You will want to downshift to get more useful power to the wheels. But never disengage the clutch partially in order to speed up the engine - you are just rubbing the clutch/flywheel and wearing it down. Similar to the other posters, I always choose second gear to put around in a parking lot at 10-15 kph. It really comes down to practice and feel. If you are taking off slowly at your specified speed/gear at low throttle on an flat surface, the car will feel good and not shake/rattle. If you are adding load by going uphill, trying to sprint faster, or carrying something really heavy, drop down a gear to 1st, take it up to 3000, and then you should have enough power to go to second without any chattering.
So, only slip *into* gear for a smooth shift and this should take a fraction of a second - do not ride the clutch to "smooth" out the engine. If your engine is chugging, you are requesting too much power, so just downshift, take it up to 3000-3500, and carry on. Again these are just sample numbers and it's really just practicing and you'll be able to feel when the car is unhappy. Heck - take the car to a stall a few times to see what that feels like so you know if you are chugging way too low. Don't stall all the time while in gear since that makes for an unhappy engine, but once or twice won't hurt, and it will teach you to not stall it by accident in the future.
Soon enough, all of this will just click and become second nature - I've never owned an automatic and aside from the first month or 2 learning, I have never really thought about shifting. You just start to feel it and your body makes the motions for you so you can concentrate on the road and traffic and just enjoying your fun car.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

It is smoother and easier on the drivetrain to slip the clutch a little at low rpms than to just lug it. You're supposed to slip the clutch when the rpms get really low and you start hearing noises or feeling the engine bogging. What are you guys talking about never slipping the clutch? Do you just drop it every time? I'm sure that's real smooth and good on the drivetrain. As long as you slip it slightly and briefly, there is no problem at all with wear. I've had clutches look like brand new after 70,000 miles doing this.

The slightly and briefly part is critical. What some new guys try to do is use the clutch to control the movement instead of the throttle.