Originally Posted by Texasscout

When we used to run the Raging Bull Texas Stampede (8 times), My sedan would pass lots of gas stations that other cars had to stop at.

Originally Posted by Urbanengineer

Can confirm. I averaged 16 MPG this weekend pretending I had a race car trying to keep up with the bikes.

Originally Posted by 05Gee

I mean a few mods and a tune & you may have a race car.

Originally Posted by cleric670@gmail

Oil is carbon based, cruising at 6k does help accelerate the breakdown of oil so technically YES it does help break down the carbon inside the engine lol.

Originally Posted by chilibowl

On many forums I browse thru, (as im a enthusiast of all types of cars), there is such a misconception on how to drive a MT. All these talks of double-clutching, and how to correctly downshift, and riding the clutch a bit too much on take-off. Although the G's arent the easiest cars to drive in the planet, its not rocket science. We have high-engagement point clutches, but as with anything, you simply adapt to it. If you cant adapt, then you simply dont belong driving an MT.

For first, "double-clutching" is NOT NECESSARY AT ALL. These are synchronized transmissions, and whoever is doing this is honestly wasting their time. Double-clutching, to those who dont know, is the act of using the clutch twice in order to make a gear shift. So lets say your in 2nd gear, wanting to shift into third. You would clutch in, put the shifter in neutral, clutch out, match up RPM's, then re-clutch in, and then put it in 3rd, then re-clutch out. This is simply f*cking stupid. Whoever is doing this, is seriously wasting their time because this doesnt "save" your transmission from abuse nor will it make it last longer. This was done on cars WAYYYYY back in the day who did not have synchronized transmissions.

Take a peak at this video...Listen for the downshifts as he comes back to the camera...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N18RmcuyV38

Do you hear his downshifts? What you hear in this video, is this person simply putting the shifter into a lower gear and letting out the clutch very slowly, forcing the clutch to catch up with the drivetrain. Although the slower you let your clutch the more you cook it, you will not feel such a sudden jerk/pull on the car, but it is still very bad for your clutch.

The correct way to downshift, is to rev-match. Lets say youre in 5th gear, at about 3K rpms on the highway, and you need some more passing power. 4th would be nice...so in order to downshift CORRECTLY, the process goes as this...

1) 5th gear, 3K rpm...you want 4th...

2) You clutch-in, and AS YOUR MOVING THE SHIFTER INTO 4TH, you blip the throttle, matching the revs as to what they would be in 4th gear, approximately 4.5K rpm. Let the clutch-out. This must be done in one step. Not 2, not 3. One step. If done correctly, you should feel NOTHING, no tugging/pulling of the car, but simply a louder motor because of the higher revs. Granted, once you start practicing, you may miss it, by over-revving, or under-revving. If you over-rev, the car will lurch forward. If you under-rev, you will feel a tug. If you under-rev, thats when you can use the clutch slightly to smooth out the transition, but you should NEVER "use" the clutch 100% to do your downshift for you. As I said before, you are simply frying your clutch.

Heel-toe'ing is a different subject and it is honestly not needed in daily driving. Track use, yes, very efficient technique to have the best braking and best acceleration around corners, but for daily driving, it really isnt necessary at all.

Over-revving on a takeoff is also bad on your clutch. From a 1st gear takeoff from a light, you should NOT be higher than 2K rpm's while the clutch is halfway. If you are revving past 2K rpms on a take off , you are burning up your clutch. Too much over-revving and you decrease the life of your clutch. Once in a while, its fine, no disaster, just dont make it a habit. The sweetspot for a take-off is 1.5K rpms.

While sitting at a light, never have the clutch-in waiting until the light turns green. This is stupid and the only thing youre doing is tiring your left leg and eating up your throw-out bearing. If your sitting at a light, you simply leave it in neutral, and unless ur on a hill, you shouldnt have to have your feet on any pedal. Once you see that the adjacent light is turning yellow (your turn next), you clutch-in, 1st gear, and you take off. Simple.

Also, this is a manual transmission people, do not be afraid to play with your revs. If your in 5th, and want to downshift into 3rd, and you barely tap the throttle and YOU KNOW you didnt tap it enough for a smooth 3rd gear downshift, simply leave the clutch pushed in and play with your gas pedal, until you blip it to the perfect rpm, then let the clutch out smoothly. It is not a crime to play with your revs, do it all you want. Good lucky and happy shifting....




Edited with Summarized document.................

Originally Posted by SLVR JDM

Good writeup, but honestly it is just a clutch and isn't that expensive to replace if you are a little hard on it.