Manual Transmission: The Things You Should Never Do?
The manual transmission has been acclaimed by the public for its durability, simplicity, and ease of maintenance. What will be your first pick a manual or an automatic when you buy a used car in the UK?
More and more people are choosing an automatic transmission for performance or comfort, but it is undeniable that a car with a manual transmission is more fun to drive because it allows the driver to have some additional control over the vehicle.
There are some things you should never do with a manual gearbox to extend the life of the transmission and components.
Don’t put your hand on the lever
This is one of the most important tips we can give you as some drivers have a habit of resting their hand on the lever while the vehicle is in motion.
Knowing that under the lever there is a selector that moves against a gear, we will understand that if we put weight on the lever we are forcing said selector against the gear causing it to wear; the lever should only be used to change gears.
Do not leave the car in first while you are stopped
Unlike an automatic transmission, where the most advisable thing is not to go from ‘D’ to neutral every time we stop, the most advisable thing for a car with a standard gearbox is to put neutral and remove the clutch when we are not moving forward since if we do not do it, the wear on the clutch disc will be greater and it will need to be replaced more frequently.
Don’t stop the car with the clutch
It is a common practice of some drivers that, when they are going to start on a hill, they take the clutch out halfway so that the car does not move backward, but this wears the disk and all the components of the vehicle’s powertrain because it puts stress about them.
Many cars with manual transmission include hill-start assistant, which leaves the brakes activated for a few seconds while we start, if your car does not have it, it is best to use the handbrake when you are going to start driving on a slope since this way your car will not roll backward and you can start safely without wearing out the clutch.
Don’t go full throttle with the engine in too high a gear
The complex point, but we will explain. It has happened to us that when we are going to climb a slope, for example, in fourth gear, we feel that the car does not have enough strength to keep going and we accelerate fully to achieve it.
This should not be done as the car is at a gear disadvantage and we are asking the engine to turn up when this is simply impossible because it does not have the torque to do so in that gear. Better reduce one or two ratios and do not accelerate fully because you will also be using more fuel this way.
Don’t rest your foot on the clutch
At this point, something similar happens that when we recharge our hand on the lever, there are mechanical components behind the pedal that will be wearing out and generating heat in vain when in contact. Use the footrest and press the clutch only when changing gears.
Don’t park the car in neutral
Especially if you are going to park on a slope. It may be obvious and logical, but if you park your car and use the parking brake and first gear you will have a backup in case the parking brake fails or does not support the weight of the car, it is a matter of safety. Additionally, no stress is generated in the box if you do this since the gears are stopped.
Putting neutral in motion will not save gas
We have seen that many people do it, especially drivers of transport platforms who seek to extract the maximum consumption from the car. They put neutral when the car is inertia or going downhill to save gas, but the reality is that this has the opposite effect.
Modern manual cars are more efficient in gear than neutral because the engine recognizes that the driver is no longer accelerating and reduces the amount of fuel used.
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I'm a car enthusiast working as a marketing manager at a used car dealership in the UK. I love drag racing its my passion, I never got a chance to do Sky diving and it thrills me. One of my life's milestone is to dive from plane with parachute on my back from a height of maybe 30,000 or 40,000 feet above ground which will be a life changing event for me.
