yeah, what works in the track may not be the same as on the street. Prolonged time with the clutch in while sitting there can cause extra wear, more so then putting it in neutral ( again at longer stops ).
I rarely use engine to breke; in the old days with crappy brakes yes, but these days with 4 wheel discs, etc i let them do their job.
As im slowing to a curve, i'll put it in the gear i expect to be in at when I accelerate out of it, which is smoother then rowing thru the gears. These TC's ( na or blown ) have plenty of torque which enables you to not need to be switching between gears as often. And when i'm coming to a stop, again just let the brakes do their work.
Now if i'm "playing", that's a different story... but prefer to brake more then downshift on everyday driving

 

So when you see a red light, you drop it in N and use normal brakes or do you hold the clutch and use normal brakes?

 

to be honest, i leave the clutch in and in 1st if i'm just at a light; many around here turn quick enough. It's more when at longer stops ( train, maybe traffic issue where you'll be sitting a bit, etc ) where i'd use neutral.
But as with anything, there can be more then 1 way to do it and do it correctly. Our way of driving has put 36k on our ride, with more then occasional "ramp blasts" thru the gears, including some 3rd gear scratch, and the clutch is still tight and grabs strong... so it works for us.
Now as we add more to our motor/sc, i could see the clutch taking it's toll, but i'd expect that.. but these clutches should last for a good long time if driven properly.
just my .02

 

I sent you a PM before you posted .

 

pm replied

 

So my old ways were to drop it into N when I saw a red light ahead and drop it into N when I prepare for a sharp 90 degree turn in which I must decelerate. I was told to almost never have it in nuetral because "I have no control of the car in it".

I think I'll stick with dropping it into N when preparing to stop for a red light but hold the clutch at stop signs or when I'm about to turn instead of going to N. I don't like having to downshift and engine brake so often. This is fine right?

 

The reason you should be in N at a stoplight is because of the throw-out bearing. This is a bearing connected to the transmission side and spins on the pressure plate when the clutch is pushed in allowing the transmission to spin independent of the engine. When the car is in N and the clutch is out, it saves the bearing from spinning and keeping it from wearing out.

Should this bearing go out, (mind you, its a $10 part) you have to take out the transmission to replace it. Thats a ton of labor and a ton of money just in labor.

Your driving instructor is teaching you to be ready at all times, not necessarily whats best for the throw-out bearing.

In the same manner, don't double-clutch now that synchros are around.

 

I still can't find that sweet spot....
It seems to go from first to second gear I need to add a little gas at the end to make it smooth....

I've tried shifting at slightly lower RPM, slightly higher RPMs, but it seems there is always a jerk when I shift if I don't start adding gas when my foot on the clutch pedal is near the top...

help?

 

Are you rev-matching the shift?

If you aren't, try clutching out a tad slower. (not 5 seconds...but a tad slower)

 

I do try to rev-match my shifts.
I'm shifting from 1st to 2nd at about 3300, that's where I have the most problems.

The clutch does not seem to be linear... if that makes any sense. For example, for smoothness sake, there have been times where I'll let off the clutch and about half way through the pedal travel I'll stop for a second then continue with clutching out. Seems I only have to do this in the TC.
Using this method, I'm smooth as butter...but I'm sure I'm killing my clutch.

The other solution is to drive quickly...I don't mean WOT at a green light... but spirited. During quicker acceleration I can shift smoothly, with a smooth linear clutch engagement .

I also have this problem at really slow speeds. Going around a parking lot for example. I don't add any gas going from 1st to 2nd, but it does take me about 2-3 second on the clutch to be smooth.

Hope the info helps you guys solve my problems =)

 

This makes perfect sense, if you shift into first and try to start rolling without using gas you will see that about half of the pedal travel does not start to engage the clutch.

Let me ask you this, do you shift at the same speed? I mean, when you are driving around the parking lot does your shift take the same amount of time as when you are driving fast?

 

Thanks for the help farberio...much appreciated.

I take longer to engage the clutch at slower speeds than I do at higher speeds.
About 3 seconds at really slow speeds, 2 seconds under conservative driving conditions, and less than 1 for accelerated.

If you are talking about my hand then the shifting is about the same...obviously at faster speeds my shifting is slightly quicker, but we're still talking about a second or less either way.

I just installed my short shifter and I'm sure its placebo effect is making me much smoother. lol. well actually the shorter shift travel does help, just minutely.

 

To be honest, it sounds to me like yo are almost there and just need some seat time. Driving super smooth takes a good year to achieve.

And don't drive a different manual car...I can't shift worth crap for a few days after driving my RX7...though I never have a problem going too the RX7. Hmm.

 

^^ and I was gonna just say: i think it's more the driver then the car. Once you get a general feel on how a clutch works, you should be able to step into nearly any car and within a short amount of time ( learning the pedal travel, throttle, etc ) you should have few if any troubles. Same goes for not driving a stick for a long term ( even a few years ).... a couple times behind the wheel and you're back on track.
Of course, it could be different for other peeps... that's just what I've noticed for myself and the wife.
Regardless, it will come with time. And after some decent miles driven, and you feel the car still "acts up" for you, have a friend drive it and see if it's the same for them... that's a quick way to narrow down an issue to driver error or mechanical.

 

I suppose...I have 11k on the car... but I think my friends have a harder time with my car than me hahaha >.<

I guess I'll ask a few more friends though.