i just got a 03 spec v and before this car i've only had a little experience with stick... but everything is going pretty smooth, stalled a few times of course, but now my shifting is getting really smooth , just wondering what things/tips i should do or not do when shifting/driving... and also.. when im driving at like 60-80 in 3rd or 4th when it comes time to stop at a light or a stop sign, i well usually throw it into neutral, so that i dont have to hold the clutch in or downshift a whole bunch of times, then when im about 30-40km i'll shift outta neutral into 2nd if i wanna still keep going or just come to complete stop, my question is, is doing this bad in anyway? should i just downshift from 4th to 3rd then 2nd/1st? or is the neutral method just fine? anything else i should look out for? thanks guys
if you downshift, you really eat up ur clutch.... i never have done it... it makes your brakes last longer cuz you use engine braking...
what i do everytime i do slow down and take off around 30/40 or whatever is i blip the throttle so the rpms are around 2K-3K..... smoothes out the shit.... if you pull it off, you wont spill that mcdonalds coffee on your lap...
also, when sitting at a light, and if im not the first person at the light, i leave it in neutral and foot off the clutch, keeps your clutch cable and throwout bearing lasting a lil bit longer.... kinda makes up for the clutch drops your buddies might do on your car....
these are what i believe tips that'll make your clutch last long... the rest is upto you....
if you know how to downshift it doesn't eat up your clutch. I've got almost 30k on stock clutch, downshifted since day one, and even mods, and the clutch grabs like new.
and, just throwing it in neutral is bad.....if you get in a situation when you really need to stop, you need that engine braking to help you out, because in neutral it takes a lot more brake force to stop...........not cool
there is wayyy too much misinforming going on in this forum, people need to know what they're talking about before they post stuff.
Originally posted by theimportscene if you downshift, you really eat up ur clutch.... i never have done it... it makes your brakes last longer cuz you use engine braking...
what i do everytime i do slow down and take off around 30/40 or whatever is i blip the throttle so the rpms are around 2K-3K..... smoothes out the shit.... if you pull it off, you wont spill that mcdonalds coffee on your lap...
also, when sitting at a light, and if im not the first person at the light, i leave it in neutral and foot off the clutch, keeps your clutch cable and throwout bearing lasting a lil bit longer.... kinda makes up for the clutch drops your buddies might do on your car....
these are what i believe tips that'll make your clutch last long... the rest is upto you....
Originally posted by chimmike if you know how to downshift it doesn't eat up your clutch. I've got almost 30k on stock clutch, downshifted since day one, and even mods, and the clutch grabs like new.
and, just throwing it in neutral is bad.....if you get in a situation when you really need to stop, you need that engine braking to help you out, because in neutral it takes a lot more brake force to stop...........not cool
there is wayyy too much misinforming going on in this forum, people need to know what they're talking about before they post stuff.
You're right, if you know how to downshift then it doesn't eat up your clutch any more than normal, but it does put unnecessary wear on your synchro's.
If you really need to stop, then how is having the engine braking as well going to help you stop faster? The stock brakes can lock up the tires pretty easily, once you hit that point the engine braking becomes obsolete, and if you don't hit the clutch then your car will stall as well. On a car with weak brakes I could understand, but the sentras (especially the se/se-r) have strong brakes, they don't need any help from the engine to slow down the car. I remember the first time I hit the brakes in my car, I almost sent myself and my dad through the windshield, it took a couple days to get used to the very sensitive and powerful brakes it has stock.
it's not so much that the brakes are strong, its just that if you throw it in neutral and you have to stop immediately, your brakes are gonna lock, and you're gonna skid, and not stop in time.
I've done comparisons between downshifting stop distances and neutral stop distances. It was really hard not to lock up the brakes and stop immediately.
Hey dude, downshifting really helps especially with engines with higher rpms. But you can do it in this one too. Say, you are coming down a freeway ramp and of course traffic bunches up. If you know your gear limits, you can throw it in the appropriate gear and stop quicker and save your brakes. Just, hope that the person in back of you is paying attention. Isn't that one of the many advantages of using a manual shift? I heard that that cleans something in your engine too, when you downshift. Anybody have any facts to back that up?
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Spec V blows ...... way past the competition.
I shift to neutral.... always have... never had a problem.. i even did this on my old nissan pick up, it's a 1987 and STILL HAS THE ORIGINIAL CLUTCH.... and im the original owner, so i know
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Ryan
2002 Black Spec V
Soon to be dropped on Skunk2s...
Originally posted by Aggdaddy How many miles do you have on that '87 ? Doesn't the clutch wear out at around 70k miles?
depends on if you downshift or not
j/k, it really depends on how you drive, if you are only on the highway ever then the clutch will last hundreds of thousands of miles. If you "live your life a 1/4 mile at a time" it might go out after 25k miles.
So if I could learn how to shift without using the clutch, would that allow my clutch to last longer too?
I have tried it a few times, but it felt kinda funny shifting like that, and I never quite got the "knack" of it.
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Spec V blows ...... way past the competition.
Originally posted by Aggdaddy So if I could learn how to shift without using the clutch, would that allow my clutch to last longer too?
I have tried it a few times, but it felt kinda funny shifting like that, and I never quite got the "knack" of it.
yes, but your tranmission and synchro's would never forgive you
Originally posted by Aggdaddy So if I could learn how to shift without using the clutch, would that allow my clutch to last longer too?
I have tried it a few times, but it felt kinda funny shifting like that, and I never quite got the "knack" of it.
how much money do you have saved up for a new tranny?
There's a reason you have a clutch, and it is so that you can SHIFT WITH IT.
Well, my father drives a semi, and has been shifting like that for years. I thought that you could do the same with regulars cars. I also saw in the Road and Track mag in the back where they give you a listing of new sports cars and specs, that they do their testing of speed runs by drop clutch starts and lift throttle shifts. That's what a professional driver does right? They use the clutch for first and just lift the throttle for the next shifts.
Any pro racer or drivers here have any knowledge on that?
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Spec V blows ...... way past the competition.
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