Driving in So. Cal traffic question

[llxzxll]

Hey guys,

I've been driving manual for as long as I've been driving (about 6 years). Unfortunately, I never really had someone who knew EXACTLY what they were doing teach me how to drive. This never bothered me with my previous cars (del Sol VTEC and b18c5 hatch) b/c Honda transmissions are smooth as butter and strong as hell.

Anyways, I was reading this thread: http://www.socalevo.net/forum/index.php?topic=870.15 and I noted that the guy mentions that there is no clutch wear when you sit on the clutch completely depressed. Does that mean you guys just leave the EVO's in first and depress the clutch and hold it in until you have to start going again (in traffic)? The main reason I ask this is b/c it was so easy to just take the Honda out of gear and slip it in every stop and go. The EVO is a different story.

Am I burning the clutch if I do this? Is this what people call "babying the clutch?"

Any insight and factual information is appreciated. O0

[EvolvedMCC]

been wondering that myself. i've heard 50% say it's okay, 50% say it's not. i don't think it's bad since as long as you keep it all the way down it's disengaged, right? i wonder....

[1of1000MR]

Yea, I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I do it all the time. The clutch is disengaged when its all the way down. I got 21K on an 05' on factory clutch, and everything works fine.

[DTunedEvoX]

Depressing the clutch ALL the time would wear your throwout bearing ... You'd only depress the clutch completley for SHIFTS .. If your just hanging out @ a stop light you can go in neutral or hang out in 1st with the clutch depressed enough before it catches ...

Just gets some getting used to .. People have different driving habits .... Its the people who blow there clutch in 5k-10k miles that dont know how to drive =P

[alex_alex]

Yea, I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I do it all the time.


worst . . . logic . . . evar . . . :uglystupid2: :uglystupid2:

[llxzxll]

If your just hanging out @ a stop light you can go in neutral or hang out in 1st with the clutch depressed enough before it catches ...



I don't quite understand the second part of this statement. so you're still in first but have the clutch depressed barely enough to catch? doesn't that just wear out the clutch?

Also, I'm more worried about stop and go traffic that people see on the 405. i drive on the 405 every morning and evening in heavy traffic so most of the time it's stop and go. i try to just drive as slow as possible and keep it in first as i'm climbing the hill, but it get's annoying when people start cutting you off cuz you're driving too slow.

So how do the people who drive in heavy traffic every day do it? Do you guys shift completely out of first gear when you come to a stop and put back in gear when it starts moving again? (Mind you the stop will only be for 5-15 seconds on the 405, so it's a quick stop and go movement)

[NRG]

Put it in neutral when you stop for more than 10 secs... or hold the clutch in if you know the traffic will move right away again. Thats what I do and yes I also fight the traffic on 405 morning and night......

[DTunedEvoX]

If your just hanging out @ a stop light you can go in neutral or hang out in 1st with the clutch depressed enough before it catches ...



I don't quite understand the second part of this statement.* so you're still in first but have the clutch depressed barely enough to catch?* doesn't that just wear out the clutch?

Also, I'm more worried about stop and go traffic that people see on the 405.* i drive on the 405 every morning and evening in heavy traffic so most of the time it's stop and go.* i try to just drive as slow as possible and keep it in first as i'm climbing the hill, but it get's annoying when people start cutting you off cuz you're driving too slow.*

So how do the people who drive in heavy traffic every day do it?* Do you guys shift completely out of first gear when you come to a stop and put back in gear when it starts moving again? (Mind you the stop will only be for 5-15 seconds on the 405, so it's a quick stop and go movement)


No you are not wearing the clutch @ that point unless you are constantly revving ... NRG made a good statement ... and as I dont deal with the 405 anymore .. I do deal with the 5 though .. lol

[bogey8]

I drive the 91 fwy stop and go traffic everyday. I always shift to neutral even if it's just a 3 sec stop. I try not to sit on the clutch as much as possible. I've been commuting from IE to OC for over 20 years and my cars were mostly manual trans. I'm just used to it now.

I had 175k on my Corolla with 3 clutches. 155k on my GST Spyder stock clutch. And I now have 66K on my Evo on stock clutch.

[ultraflip]

45k stock clutch... kinda... and i stay off the clutch as much as possible

[DTunedEvoX]

Noiccee I'm @ 35k with probably 30 Launches @ LACR and a few on the street lol O0 Good job fellas keke

[SpdyEvo02]

just take sidestreets and dont worry about traffic....i avoid the 91 as much as possible

[llxzxll]

just take sidestreets and dont worry about traffic....i avoid the 91 as much as possible


:2funny:

i'm going to assume you don't live around west los angeles. there are NO side streets. every mountain pass including the 405 is congested...pretty much ALL the time.

[SpdyEvo02]

nope anaheim where there is always a short cut

[gh0stch1ld]

I'd just put it in neutral untill the traffic lets up again. Its kinda annoying to put it in first then neutral again over and over again during traffic. I used to sit on the clutch when i go to a complete stop all the time. I only stopped doing so when i realized how fast the clutch wears out on the evos. I used to drive an MR2 and WRX and the clutch on those last forever.

[j_nizzle]

45k stock clutch... kinda... and i stay off the clutch as much as possible


stock... :2funny:

[EvoPwr]

21,000 miles on stock clutch.

[Ermer]

Stock clutch +1

[Miss Evo8]

John Mueller told me NOT to depress the clutch when I'm at a stop, just leave it in neutral. If you hold the clutch down your still causing unneccessary wear. I've got 29k and my clutch is still going strong.

[WavMixer]

I've been driving stick for 32 years and was a factory certified mechanic for 20 years. with that said...

Depressing the clutch ALL the time will cause excess wear your throw out bearing and pressure plate... You only depress the clutch for SHIFTING, it's not a second brake pedal to hold down at the stop light.

[jase]

yea 405 does sucks nutz... but i will just leave it at N when stopping... and i try to avoid a complete stop by keepin a big gap between the car infront of me,
and just cruise at 2nd gear if possible... but yea.. fudge, they gotta do something about that 405 traffic, it is a killer, made me don't want to look for a
job around costa mesa/irvine area, yet thats where the jobs are... doh :uglystupid2:

[quicksilverevo]

Hey guys,

I've been driving manual for as long as I've been driving (about 6 years).* Unfortunately, I never really had someone who knew EXACTLY what they were doing teach me how to drive.* This never bothered me with my previous cars (del Sol VTEC and b18c5 hatch) b/c Honda transmissions are smooth as butter and strong as hell


My previous car was a del sol Vtec too with factory B16A3--I miss that smooth as butter clutch and trans.

[k2da_izo]

I always shift in and out of first and neutral. I do agree it saves the throwout bearing and the constant shifting keeps me awake during the nasty 405 traffic jam.

[SpexSpeed]

at stoplights I usually just hang in neutral...........

[Knower]

I've been driving stick for 32 years and was a factory certified mechanic for 20 years. with that said...

Depressing the clutch ALL the time will cause excess wear your throw out bearing and pressure plate... You only depress the clutch for SHIFTING, it's not a second brake pedal to hold down at the stop light.


Why even hold the brake pedal down? Unless I'm on an incline I never do. There's really no point.

[banananut]

I leave it in neutral unless I am putting it in gear. I figure theres no point wasting the energy to keep the clutch depressed just because you want to leave it in gear. Plus, if your foot accidentally slips... Bump into the guy in front of you if you like to ride his ass. I usually try to just leave enough room in front of me so i can slow coast it in 1st gear going a few mph so I don't stall but don't go too fast either.

[Qmr]

I leave it at neutral at red light, and only start putting in gear when green light on. Unless i want quick start and rev up at green, i will put the gear in first and keep the clutch depressed till green.
On traffic, I usually leave a gap between me and the front car - about 2-3 cars space (I hate this cause ppl keep cutting me off ) and let the car go at either 1st(when it really slow) or 2nd/3rd and rpm at 1500-2000. This way, your car still moving , so no energy waste on clutch. When the car up front stops, you still go because extra space you got, and when you barely close in the front car, that car already move again.
It's really funny when ppl around you try to step on gas then on brake...gas.. brake. All you did is real easy on gas and no hard feeling of driving stickshift on traffic.

[Miss Evo8]

:buck2:

[Eckolaker]

Honestly I found that with the Evo, I can leave it in first gear and coast without putting my foot on the gas or depressing the clutch unless I know im coming to a stop. If im Sitting there for anything longer then 10 seconds I always leave it in neutral. As has been stated in the thread keeping the clutch depressed will cause un-needed wear and taer on the pressure plate.

I have owned nothing but manual transmission cars, I find the Evo is the best in traffic by far.

[fusionchicken]

commuting to ucla from diamond bar taught me a lesson - leave before traffic hits. so basically for 8 am class i leave at 4:30 am, then chill at my friend's apartment until class starts lol.

but yeah when i commuted throughout the last quarter, i just leave the car in neutral in complete stops.

[Highrever]

Never take the 405 at 4:05....

[310]

commuting to ucla from diamond bar taught me a lesson - leave before traffic hits. so basically for 8 am class i leave at 4:30 am, then chill at my friend's apartment until class starts lol.

but yeah when i commuted throughout the last quarter, i just leave the car in neutral in complete stops.


Wow that's insane.. Dbar to UCLA is quite a drive. I drove from Torrance to UCLA everyday two years ago. I thought that was pretty bad, but now I've seen worse. :laugh:

[jeric]

i agree!!!


I've been driving stick for 32 years and was a factory certified mechanic for 20 years. with that said...

Depressing the clutch ALL the time will cause excess wear your throw out bearing and pressure plate... You only depress the clutch for SHIFTING, it's not a second brake pedal to hold down at the stop light.

[One Evo Pinay]

commuting to ucla from diamond bar taught me a lesson - leave before traffic hits. so basically for 8 am class i leave at 4:30 am, then chill at my friend's apartment until class starts lol.

but yeah when i commuted throughout the last quarter, i just leave the car in neutral in complete stops.


Wow that's insane.. Dbar to UCLA is quite a drive. I drove from Torrance to UCLA everyday two years ago. I thought that was pretty bad, but now I've seen worse. :laugh:

I drove from Norwalk to UCLA for a summer, and I hated it. And that new carpool lane somehow made traffic worse now lol...

[mazdaspeed153]

i hate driving stick in traffic. i have a honda civic thats auto if i know i am going to be driving through heavy traffic areas.

[lazyboyz69]

yeap, stay off the clutch as much as possible, theres a good article on how things work,
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm

[EvoPwr]

I just put it in N most of the time.