A few years ago, when I needed a transaxle replaced on my (then) Mazda 323, with 85K miles, I told the mechanic he might as well replace the entire clutch. After removing the tranny and inspecting the clutch, I was told that replacing the clutch and pressure plates was unnecessary, as it looked like they were almost new. He replaced just the throwout bearing (the least expensive part, anyway), to be on the safe side. I've always double-clutched and downshifted when slowing, rather than braking. And depending on the reason for the slowdown, I'm usually in the proper gear for quick acceleration, if need be.

[ January 04, 2003, 06:07 AM: Message edited by: jimpimms ]

 

Heel & toe is not a easy task for start up. I use to draw clutch, brake, gas on the wall and lay on the bed to practice every night before I go to sleep. It helps matching engine rpm and actual road speed without abrupt movement and very useful in winding road to brake, downshift, holding brake and raise rpm to match current speed.

To my experience, finding a brake limit is a priority, before starting heel & toe on street or track. If your car is equip with ABS brake system, it is hard to locking the brake. If your car do not have ABS brake, please practice at safe place like empty parking lot or large open space where people do autocross.

If by locking brake at max. consider as number 10, it is best to try to find number 9 where you don't lock the wheel and stop the car fastest. It is very like releasing a little muscle in your joint.

Before going fast, it is best to learn how to stop well.

I learned at Skip Barber BMW M3 3 days driving school at Sears Point back in 1992, and I think they use Dodge Viper GTS now at Laguna Seca.

Jim Russel at Sears Point have Eclipse for front wheel car, but I think they are having hard time due to less popularity.

I think Speed Trial USA is offering some of driving course locally too.

I will find the links wink , if anyone need it.

 

slowly?

 

Well, down shifting, if done right, really won't cause extra wear on any of the parts. When done right, I mean not dropping the car in to second going 45 to 50 mph. Drop it in to a gear that won't rev the engine too high. Af for fuel economy......why in the heck would down shifting negatively affect fuel economy? Because the engine is revving higher?? Though the engine is revving higher the throttle is not being used and no more gas is being pumped in to the cylinder than if the car were at idle. If this were the case you would foul your plugs since no air is getting in to mix with the fuel.

In the end guys, well, using the brakes just seems right. When your down shifting the person behind you doesn't see brake lights and may inadvertantly cause them to have to slam on their brakes. Though by plain courtesy the car behind you should be back far enough to not have to do this, most times this isn't the case. Using the brakes is just a courtesy to the other drivers around you to let them know you are slowing down, and they may need to as well.

Who cares if you eat thru pads and rotors faster? Lets say over the life of your car you eat thru 4 sets of brakes (which you won't), and those brakes jobs cost you anywhere from 75 to 150 bucks each time, tops you're at 700 bucks over the life of the car. If your savvy and do it yourself you're probably going to be about half of that. It's not really worth it to down shift to "save" brakes.

 

not to dog on our cars or anything but post a picture for me of the hyundai that gets to see four sets of brake pads. Im at 60k and im just now getting worried about brakes and i use them non stop. Ive already broken a CV joint(dont accelerate as much as u can in 90 degree turns) and trashed out my plugs and wires. I dont lie that i dog my shark but if i get 240K (4x60k for brakes) out of my hyundai they better put me on TV with a huge trophy and give me a new tiburon every year for the rest of my life