I don't think anyone's saying your engine will blow if you downshift, just that it will add unnecessary wear on the engine.

It's a good point, but then the VQ is about as robust as engines get...actually, to be honest I can't think of a more reliable 6-cylinder out there. Unless you are planning to keep your G for more than 200k miles, you're probably not running that much of a risk of engine wear or significant loss of compression.

I can tell you that missing a couple oil changes would be far more damaging to your engine than downshifting will ever be.

 

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new to forum, wondering same thing. friend talks of double clutching. any views? something like: clutch out of the high gear, but instead of going into lower gear, go into neutral, increase revs, then continue down shifting. the lower gear rides the decreasing revs and you supposedly have the best of both worlds...

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Double clutching is almost entirely unnecessary with today's transmissions. You can achieve the same end simply by holding the clutch in for a fraction of a second while goosing the gas. Theoretically, double clutching will increase the wear on the clutch and pressure plate, because rev-matched or otherwise, the two are coming apart and back together twice instead of once, hence greater wear on both, because you'll never match RPM's exactly.

2003 G35 Coupe 6MT Leather
Premium, Aero
"There is no spoon"

 

Does it make any difference if you hold in the clutch vs. if you shift into neutral while you are braking?

I usually push in the clutch until I'm stopped or going at my slower speed. Then I put it into the appropriate gear and release the clutch when I want to go again or continue at the lower speed.

G35 Coupe 6MT / Brilliant Silver / Graphite / Prem.Pkg. / BSM

Doug.

 

It depends on who you ask, honestly.
Personally, I would prefer to pump the clutch and put the car in neutral at lights or otherwise longer stops (or if I intend to brake without having the car in gear, ie: when rolling to a stop), rather than hold the clutch in for long periods of time. The reason is two-fold: first, it's easier to simply pump the clutch and slip it in neutral rather than hold in the clutch! But the second is the more compelling reason, IMHO - less wear on the throwout bearing. From my experience, and from the explanations I've gotten from others with extensive mechanical experience, holding the clutch in is what puts the most wear and tear on the throwout bearing. Itself, it's not an expensive part to replace if it wears out, but you'll find that it's extremely labor-intensive to change, and most likely you'll end up changing the clutch and pressure plate when changing the throwout bearing. Translation: $1,000.00 cost to change a $35.00 bearing!

2003 G35 Coupe 6MT Leather
Premium, Aero
"There is no spoon"

 

Any idea if this would be covered by warranty or not? Could one argue that with 5000 mi on the car, even though it is a wear/tear part, it wore out pre-maturely?

G35Coupe B/B 6MT Aero/Premium