A few concerns regarding my driving/car

irlforum

Hi,
I was just wondering if it's a good idea to use the compression of the engine to slow yourself down. I learned a few years ago that it was good to do this on the motorway rather than using brake lights. I got into the habit of doing it alot now though and I'm just wondering if it's a really good idea to do it all the time. I try to balance it with the brake most of the time though. ie. I use a combination of compression/clutch and brake.

Also I've started noticing that sometimes when I am going up hills in the car it's like as if the power slips or something. What are the symptoms of a slipping clutch usually? It only happens on the rare occasion at the moment.

Thanks.

2 Espressi

You mean coming off the accelarator to slow? Or changing down and slipping the clutch? the former is efficient, the latter less so...

Cookie_Monster

slowing down by just letting off the accel is ok but I wouldn't be changing down to excessively slow the car. All your doing is excessively wearing out the clutch.

better off using your brakes, that's what they're there for and they're cheaper to replace

irlforum

Yeah I was dropping a gear and using that to slow down aswell as the brake. Should have known that would probably be causing wear on the clutch.

Would any of ye know the average cost to replace a clutch by an independent mechanic? Just so I can prepare for it I suppose.

I need to start checking the oil on my car more often aswell. I was watching a program on the TV last night about car oil and they said you should check it every two months. Does anyone find the oil check dip a pain to get an accurate reading from? I always dry it and put it back in a few times but I always find that oil is splashed right up and around. I normally run the engine to heat the oil before checking aswell. Any tips?

KamiKazi

The clutch is used when propelling the car forward, you would have to have a seriously torquey engine to damage it by engine braking.

peasant

irlforum wrote: »

I normally run the engine to heat the oil before checking aswell. Any tips?

Oil level is best checked when the engine has been off for a while (so that the oil has time to run down into the sump) and on level ground

murraymarmalade

irlforum wrote: »

Would any of ye know the average cost to replace a clutch by an independent mechanic? Just so I can prepare for it I suppose.

got a clutch kit and barrings next day delivery to my home for 165 this morning.mate is doing the clutch for 150e over the weekend.

(this is for my sisters car,she was quoted around 500e to replace it,so i saved her a couple of hundred euro!:))

got it from irish auto parts GL

irlforum

peasant wrote: »

Oil level is best checked when the engine has been off for a while (so that the oil has time to run down into the sump) and on level ground

I'll try it out with the engine cold this weekend and see if I still have the same problem.

murraymarmalade wrote: »

got a clutch kit and barrings next day delivery to my home for 165 this morning.mate is doing the clutch for 150e over the weekend.

(this is for my sisters car,she was quoted around 500e to replace it,so i saved her a couple of hundred euro!:))

got it from irish auto parts GL

300 is expensive enough but I knew it would be a big job. I'd say I'll go down the same route as you when the time comes.

By the way anyone know how long a clutch usually lasts - my car is on about 122k miles.

cruizer101

Its very hard to estimate when a clutch will go as it is the part whose wear is most dependant on how the car has been driven.
I've heard of clutches lasting 200k miles and also of some lasting only one year and about 15k miles.

I even heard a story once of a clutch being worn out in a matter of days, although no-one can be sure in this case if it was actually worn out or was a defective part, but the mechanics reckon 95% chance it was worn out by some very bad driving.

Basically is no way to estimate when it will wear out, and you will only know when its on its way.

Absurdum

irlforum wrote: »

I was watching a program on the TV last night about car oil and they said you should check it every two months.

:eek:
I'd be checking it more often than that tbh, I usually check mine at least once a fortnight, same with tyre pressure.

dr.fuzzenstein

Best off trying to go at a constant speed. If you're breaking and accelerating all the time you're wearing everything and costing yourself money.
As a rule I try never to use the brake on the motorway, unless someone pulls out meters in front of you, you should just be able to gently coast and accelerate in top gear all the time without ever changing gear or using the brakes. I get 50 mpg out of that and I don't drive slowly.
Also, slowing down by coasting without changing gear down is better than using the brakes and shouldn't put too much stress on your tires and brakes.
Slamming it 2 gears down is obviously not a good way to go.

Alanstrainor

irlforum wrote: »

Hi,
I was just wondering if it's a good idea to use the compression of the engine to slow yourself down. I learned a few years ago that it was good to do this on the motorway rather than using brake lights. I got into the habit of doing it alot now though and I'm just wondering if it's a really good idea to do it all the time. I try to balance it with the brake most of the time though. ie. I use a combination of compression/clutch and brake.

Also I've started noticing that sometimes when I am going up hills in the car it's like as if the power slips or something. What are the symptoms of a slipping clutch usually? It only happens on the rare occasion at the moment.

Thanks.

I would be of the opinion that gears are to go and brakes are to slow. I wouldn't be changing down with the sole purpose of slowing the car down.

johnayo

irlforum wrote: »

Hi,
I was just wondering if it's a good idea to use the compression of the engine to slow yourself down. I learned a few years ago that it was good to do this on the motorway rather than using brake lights. I got into the habit of doing it alot now though and I'm just wondering if it's a really good idea to do it all the time. I try to balance it with the brake most of the time though. ie. I use a combination of compression/clutch and brake.

Also I've started noticing that sometimes when I am going up hills in the car it's like as if the power slips or something. What are the symptoms of a slipping clutch usually? It only happens on the rare occasion at the moment.

Thanks.

The most obvious symptom of a slipping clutch is the engine revving high as you change gear say between 4th and 5th gear going up a hill. As the clutch wears further the engine will start to rev up even without changing gear.

irlforum

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I would be of the opinion that gears are to go and brakes are to slow. I wouldn't be changing down with the sole purpose of slowing the car down.

Well it would be more a case mostly that I would know I'm coming up to a corner I will need to be in 2nd gear (for example) for. I will slow the car down by changing from primary gear (say 4th around town) to 3rd and then 2nd slowing the car down with combination of brake. Although sometimes and often actually it could be a case of changing from 4th directly to second with a much more agressive push of brake pedal. I would never let the engine rev over the normal rev range like.

There's no real need to do it though I don't think, however I will be more concious of my style now in the next few days - hard to know without being in the driver seat currently seeing as my driving is so automatic now. I think that I'm trying to use brake lights as little as possible but there's no need to do it around town at all - only on a motorway or the like. Funny the habits you get into automatically without thinking about them.

thenashlegend

irlforum wrote: »

I normally run the engine to heat the oil before checking aswell. Any tips?

From what I know its not a good idea!!...Starting the engine runs oil up around all the parts that need it....leaving the dipstick short! Its like measuring your weight with only one leg on the scales!:D If anything I'd say check it before you start her at all, when its cold you get a true reading of all the oil thats in the car!:)

Pique

johnayo wrote: »

The most obvious symptom of a slipping clutch is the engine revving high as you change gear say between 4th and 5th gear going up a hill.

Sorry...what ???
If your foot is on the clutch and the engine revs up, then it ain't the clutch that's the problem...

Cookie_Monster

irlforum wrote: »

Well it would be more a case mostly that I would know I'm coming up to a corner I will need to be in 2nd gear (for example) for. I will slow the car down by changing from primary gear (say 4th around town) to 3rd and then 2nd slowing the car down with combination of brake. Although sometimes and often actually it could be a case of changing from 4th directly to second with a much more agressive push of brake pedal. I would never let the engine rev over the normal rev range like.

There's no real need to do it though I don't think, however I will be more concious of my style now in the next few days

I'd be using the brakes to slow and block shifting from 4 to 2 when appropriate, though not using the clutch to brake. You really shouldn't be using the clutch for braking so much, will just end up wrecking it prematurely.

As you say, there's no real need to do it.

irlforum

Hey,
Cheers for helping out here. I don't use the clutch to slow down now at all - stupid habit though still of course useful for the motorway.

Checked the oil there at the weekend aswelll and it was no problem while cold.

Don't know where I read to warm the engine up first. If I had to guess I'd have said a Halfords manual but that couldn't be right.

It BeeMee

irlforum wrote: »

Don't know where I read to warm the engine up first. If I had to guess I'd have said a Halfords manual but that couldn't be right.

You would run the engine first if you are going to change the oil. Heating it up will lower it's viscosity and help it flow out through the sump plug.