OK, I'm trying to figure out why my clutch is starting to go at 21k miles...

I have always driven manuals so I know I'm not a sh!tty driver but I do downshift a lot for braking rather than braking.

I always put it in neutral while sitting at lights, etc.

Trying to figure out if my engine braking could be what is making the clutch slip with only 21k on it?

Thoughts?

 

I've driven manual all my life and I've down shifted all my life, my '04 is @ 59K and my clutch is still good. Depends I guess how one drives and down shifts that will determine the life of your clutch or transmission.

 

When you downshift, do you blip the throttle, or do you let the synchros do that for you?

Also, what kind of manual cars have you driven in the past? Honda is known to have obscenely easy-to-drive manual cars, with clutches that go well over 100k miles. The G will not be the same.

 

I sort of feather the clutch when downshifting other wise the car would hop and lose control. Just like I don't slam down the brakes every timer I apply them. Meaning, as I'm downshifting I will feather out the clutch rather than popping it like has been suggested here.

Manuals I've driven:

Rover 3500
Audi Quatro
Saab 900
Audi 80
Honda Civic Si
2 G35s

Only my Bimmer 735 was auto...

 

Downshifting is fine if you match revs.

But don't downshift to slow down, downshift to be in the correct RPMs for when you get back on the gas.

 

Sounds like you're downshifting with improper form. If you are feathering it, then you're downshifting in manner that is very destructive to your clutch and is also wearing on the tranny's synchros.

If you blip the gas pedal with your right foot just prior to shifting into the downshifted gear.... when done perfectly, there would be no need to feather the clutch, because the tranny and flywheel would already be spinning at the same rate, and you can just drop the thing into the downshifted gear and engage the clutch again. The better you are with the rev matching, the smoother the shift will be and the less destructive it will be on your clutch plate and synchros.

Just for reference though... I almost never use downshifting as a mechanism for slowing my G35 down, because the motor spins a little too freely to effectively brake with.

Now on my Tacoma, I do it all the time and it is a very effective mechanism for slowing down from just about any speed. I'm still on the original clutch in that thing too, with oversized 32" tires and 85K+ miles of mostly non-highway driving.

 

I used to downshift a lot when I didn't know crap about how wear-and-tear it can be.

Since then, I just shift into neutral and brake.

I rather change out my pads/rotors more often than to worry about my tranny components.

I'm at 28,000 miles, 2006 6MT myself and my clutch seems to be okay so far.

 

Hmmm....interesting responses.

Maybe this isn't the car or the tranny to be doing this type of engine braking with then.

Let me ask you guys this then; when exiting a highway, for example, at say 50-60 MPH, anything wrong with putting it into neutral as you exit at highway speeds and coasting, so to speak, to the intersection?

 

With the already "noisy" trannies in these cars you're right, definately not the right car to be engine braking with.

Coasting into an exit at 50-60mph might not be too good of an idea. I'll admit, I shift into neutral at 50-60mph too but I immediately start the braking.

Just I always noticed if you shift into neutral from higher speeds, the rpm tends to drop a bit more than usual and you run into the danger of stalling.

My rpms idle at around 650rpm at a stop, at times when doing the above it drops below that, very risky when the exit is still curving or what not.

 

Just leave it in gear as you coast down the ramp, and then you can pop it in neutral as you get to a slow enough speed where your RPM's start to drop to around 1300 or so. Your car will slow down on its own a little bit more with it being in gear in comparison to being in neutral, and it will also use absolutely no fuel whatsoever in the process(as long as you have your foot off the gas). It's also a little bit safer too.. because if your motor were to stall on you while you were coasting in neutral(let's say you have an aftermarket CAI and are one of those people who have stalling issues in this situation that you described).. you would lose your power steering and could possibly crash into something. If you leave it in gear, you will always have power to your power steering as you decelerate.

 

Braking hard while in neutral seems to result in occasional stalling, as others have mentioned. Additionally, just from a safety/reaction perspective, it isn't the greatest idea to be in neutral too often; if you need to avoid a dangerous situation, you want to already be in gear.

With regards to engine braking, I think there may be a little confusion. I will do rev-matched downshifts, then let off the gas (once the clutch is fully engaged) to let the car slow itself down. You should NOT, however, feather the clutch as a substitute for braking. Engine braking uses the compression of the engine to decelerate the car, as a result of being off the throttle, but in gear. If you're feathering the clutch to smooth the downshift, that clutch will be gone in no time. Work on smooth rev-matching, and you'll be fine. There should be not acceleration/deceleration while the clutch is partially engaged, excepting the effects of wind drag and uphill/downhill slopes.

 

Is it bad to down shift in the auto G35's??? They already do "REV" match.

 

Autos don't have to worry about anything... your automatic tranny takes care of everything.

 

Just leave it in gear and coast since you're not so good on rev match to do down shifting. You're brake should able to handle 50-60mph fine w/o much of wear and tear. OP, if you own and drive that much of cars and still unable to drive the G, I'd say you should trade in and get an auto.

 

yep

sounds like wrong technique