Stalling wear on clutch

[TMR]

Soooo,
I have been so thrilled to be back in a manual that I wanted to share the passion with my son.
Lesson 1 was a little frustrating…but I am committed.
For the experts, how impactful are a few low rpm stalls on the clutch or drivetrain?

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[dusman59]

Not very much as some side stepping the clutch at 3 or 4k rpm. Just don't do it continually where it get hot and you smell it. That can cause glazing.

 

[Yamazuki]

My advice would be to forget about the accelerator and simply have him practice letting the clutch out slowly. Focus on one task at a time. The car is going to add some RPM on its own when the clutch starts coming out and it's typically enough to keep it from stalling.

 

[robvas]

Not at all...

 

[GrabberB]

Better to stall at low RPM than "slipping the clutch". Kudos to you for teaching your son how to drive a manual.

My long ago late grandfather taught me how to drive a manual in a 1970 F-100 with a granny gear. My grandfather was good man and took my less than stellar 1st attempts well. I know in the back of his mind he was thinking "darn son, easy on my clutch.... and look at the darn road not the stick shift".

 

[MAT1955]

Taught my girlfriend to shift on my rally prepared MGB. She had to marry me to account for the damage.

 

[TMR]

I learned on a F100 column shift myself

 

[TMR]

My advice would be to forget about the accelerator and simply have him practice letting the clutch out slowly. Focus on one task at a time. The car is going to add some RPM on its own when the clutch starts coming out and it's typically enough to keep it from stalling.

To your point, these cars go by themselves if you let the clutch out slowly. That enabled us to practice shifting around 2nd and 3rd.
We will stick to it!

 

[Zig]

To your point, these cars go by themselves if you let the clutch out slowly. That enabled us to practice shifting around 2nd and 3rd.
We will stick to it!

Make sure to turn off auto-hold/hill assist and rev-matching. Although rev-matching can be used as a shifting aid during training.

While each has their own method have you thought about trying:

find a small incline, where you can place the front of the car so it will gently roll back toward level. Position the car with the front just on the incline, put in neutral and engage the emergency/parking brake. Disable hill hold, turn off rev-match. Depress the brake pedal, engage the clutch shift to first, disengage the parking brake, lightly release the pressure on the brake pedal until the vehicle begins to slowly creep/roll backwards reengage just enough pedal to hold the vehicle in place, slowly release the clutch pedal until the friction point is felt and the vehicle begins to move ever so slightly forward (you should also hear a change in the engine sound - a deeper slower rhythm). The friction point is the engagement moment of the clutch. At that time you can either reengage or release the clutch pedal to stop or proceed. If proceeding and continuing to release the clutch pedal, the pressure of the brake pedal should be released and applied to the gas pedal in likewise inverse manner (down is go up is whoa).

The occasional bog isn’t gonna hurt to much it really just depends on the severity and frequency. It’s all timing, either firing and pushing/pulling together or firing and pushing against each other (one wants to roll one way and the other wants to go the otherway). Weight management is something automatics take for granted, momentum is a stick-shifts friend when used correctly.

 

[Gregs24]

The dual mass flywheel really dislikes stalls. A few don't matter but don't make a habit of it.

 

[pitmomjess]

Though you didn't really ask for advice on how to teach your son to drive a stick, it seems that is what you are getting here. I found it helpful as a teenage girl, when my grandmother explained to me what I was doing when I pressed the clutch and moved the shifter. She used hands/fingers as the teeth of gears to demonstrate disengaging the gears is a very basic way. Once I understood that, it helped me grasp clutch/gas timing. Good luck!

 

[TMR]

Though you didn't really ask for advice on how to teach your son to drive a stick, it seems that is what you are getting here. I found it helpful as a teenage girl, when my grandmother explained to me what I was doing when I pressed the clutch and moved the shifter. She used hands/fingers as the teeth of gears to demonstrate disengaging the gears is a very basic way. Once I understood that, it helped me grasp clutch/gas timing. Good luck!

Thanks. My method did not get us there so I am grateful for the ideas.
...I have also though about putting it out to manual owners in my area to see if they would like to volunteer their cars

 

[TMR]

The dual mass flywheel really dislikes stalls. A few don't matter but don't make a habit of it.

Yeah, that is what I am worried about. I'll keep future sessions short if they don't go well.

 

[Zig]

Thanks. My method did not get us there so I am grateful for the ideas.
...I have also though about putting it out to manual owners in my area to see if they would like to volunteer their cars

Another method i’ve used when trying to convey the concept. The gear times 10. 1st is 0-10mph, 2nd is 10-20mph, 3rd is 20 - 30mph, 4th is 30 - 40mph+++ (‘to infinity and beyond’ the rest are really overdrive). works for downshifts as well just don’t get overly enthusiastic with dropping to first, if you’re downshifting to first you’re stopping.

low load / idle die isn’t much worse than running out of gas but as was indicated earlier by another, not the habit that is necessarily wanting to be established. Granted not your run of the mill weak import parts (offense not intended but used rather for the concept) but yes try to keep to a minimum, as long as improvements continue what better vehicle as your first. Out of curiosity, how do you feel about the drift brake?

 

[LouG]

Unlike some, I don't think it's wise to teach using driver aids. A learner should learn to control accelerator and clutch unassisted.
Stalling at low rpm is not damaging, try to limit kangarooing though, it's not good for the drive train if done too often.
Initial training in something like a car park is a good idea. The fewer distractions a learner has at that stage the better.
And, kudos for trying to make your son a real driver.

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