OK what wears down a clutch....what is bad for it... i hear different things from different people...

Idling at a red light... should i hold the clutch in....or put it in neutral?

Taking off from a stand still, slowly...thus longer duration of clutch being pressed down?

Shifting REAL fast?

High rpm launching fast? High rpm launching but slowly?

Taking off from a stand still in 2nd gear?

When braking... Pressing the clutch REAL FAST?

are these bad for it?

- Idling at a red light... should i hold the clutch in....or put it in neutral?

if its for like a few seconds.. its ok if its for a while its not a good idea (you can just pull it out of gear without the clutch) ---- i dont know if it messes up the syncros in the trannie

- Taking off from a stand still, slowly...thus longer duration of clutch being pressed down?

you should test the car to get the least amount clutch and still be able to roll smooth
just dont hold it for long

- Shifting REAL fast?

its ok. but ->most<- trannies in our cars are junk so be sure the shifter goes into gear.

- High rpm launching fast? High rpm launching but slowly?
high rpm launching.. noway it will save the clutch.
high rpm launching slowly... Way worse!

- Taking off from a stand still in 2nd gear?

just make sure not to give too much gas and it should be fine but dont do it too often.

-When braking... Pressing the clutch REAL FAST?

you can either put it neutral it at a high rpm or downshift
i downshift from 3rd 2nd to neutral.

i'm am not 100% sure. but maybe someone could correct me. cuz thats a good question

Define real fast. If you do so to avoid an animal or object in the road, then it has to be done. It may casue problems. I would not make a habit out of it. If you plan on dragging your car, go for the Spec clutches. High RPM launch on our clutches blows, so don't do it!!!!!Overall, you can drive "spirited" down the road and you should be fine. You do not want to shift at high RPM either. This can cause problems with your drivetrain that you just don't want or need. I hope this helps.


I'll have a sig someday....................

honestly my experience has shown that a clutch disc is alot like brake discs, both wear down, both dont like abuse very much, you have no choice but to use the brakes to slow down, you can ease this by using the gears in your car, which honestly you should be doing anyway its a much safer and effective way of slowing the car, i'm not talking about dropping 2 gears and dumping the clutch and jabbing the brakes, just take your foot of the gas slow down shift down a gear slow some more. if you want to avoid buying a new clutch dont do the following

do not do long drawn out take offs, such as the drag strip where you take off at high rpm and slowly let the clutch out to keep from destroying the driveline.

do not drop 2 gears and let the clutch completely slow the car down with no brakes applied.

do not take off in second gear unless your already rolling alittle bit and even then i wouldnt do it use 1st these cars arent geared for that at all.

do not ride the clutch pedal while your driving, the hydraulic clutches auto adjust so there should be no play in your pedal beyond a certain point and in my car once you feel pressure the slightest push down slips my clutch so if you push down with your foot for whatever reason your wearing down the disc that much faster.

watch yourself on steep hills, its hard not to ride the clutch alittle to get going but if you live down a hill try to time it so you arnt sitting around all day in the middle of the hill trying to take off my clutch slips when i let it out on the hill i have to climb to leave my house if i stop int he middle.

and as far as i know holding the clutch in at a stop light should cause NO substantial wear as the disc is not in contact with the flywheel unless your car is out of adjustment or your pressure plate is screwed, pushing the pedal has no effect on wear, your clutch only wears when you let out the pedal and it struggles for grip or its rode for long periods of time, basically anytime its slipping, if you smell something funny thats probably your clutch warning you.

J~

thanks guys...


when i approach a red light... i press my brake in, and my clutch in and switch to neutral....and slow down with my brakes. I dont gear down to slow down. This is what a driving instructor told me 6 years ago to do. Is that wrong?

Yes, that's wrong.

If you're not going to downshift, just leave it in gear until you come close to stopping. Then put in the clutch pedal. This is not bad for the clutch or engine in any way and will save brake wear and stop the car smoother and faster.

Basically, don't put in the clutch until your rpm's are down to under 1000 when braking. Downshifting properly is even better, but that's really up to you. If you downshift, make sure you know how to match revs. If you can't feel any effect on the car when letting the clutch out, you've done it right.

As long as the pedal is all the way in or all the way out, no clutch wear is occurring. People may argue that having the pedal all the way in wears the throw-out bearing but I believe the throw-out bearing should outlive the clutch and be replaced at the same time so it's of no concern.

when i downshift slowing down, i just ease out the clutch but don't rev-match. is that really causing that much wear on the clutch?

The clutch does NOT wear from pressing in the pedal unless you are only pressing it halfway and letting the pressure plate put pressure on the disk while the engine is running. Once the clutch is engaged, there should also be no wear unless the clutch is slipping. The things that wear a clutch out the fastest are lots of stop and go traffic, and 2nd gear starts. You want to kill a clutch in about 10 seconds? Rev up to about 5K rpm and let the clutch out fast in 5th gear. If you don't stall it, the clutch will be toast in short order. BTW, the part that gets worn from holding the clutch pedal in when the engine is running is the throw out bearing, just a little FYI.


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my sunfire is my first manual car, so i've been mulling over some of these questions myself over the past few months. Rev matching when downshifting without breaking by double clutching is not a problem anymore (the first time I did it right I was like, holy-crap that was smooth!, before that I was just dragging the clutch out slowly ) But I can't seem to get the hang of heel-toe. The brake pedal is simply too high above the gas for me to manage. Is there a way to adjust the pedal height, or do I need to work on my ankle yoga?

OK i have a 99 cavalier with a 5 speed and man i changed the clutch last summer and that was no fun activity. Use your brakes screw down shifting screw riding the clutch Brakes take fiften minutes to change THe clutch can take like 12 hours and is very irrateting to change considering i broke one linkage cable. The freaking replacement came from a sunfire that was pulled outta the fraser river.
But to make my point the clutch plate was not worn out but accually i had the seals of the throw bearing break. Wich caused break fluid to get all over the flex plate and clutch . Wich ended up causes slippage wich was extremly annoying. Wich forced me to replace the thing considering how i already had the tranny open.

So this is a helpful reminder do what ever you can to respect your clutch Cause changing it is very frustrating and difficult.

RIDE YOUR BRAKES THEYRE CHEAP AND EASY TO REPLACE.

drag racing lol



1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85

A clutch job shouldn't take more than 5 or 6 hours if you know what you're doing.


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