Maybe a stupid question!
Miles of Smiles
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,180
Likes: 559
From: Omaha Nebraska
2016 C5 of the Year Finalist
At two recent HPDEs I participated in, the instructors told us to treat both the shifter and the clutch as though they were scorching hot. They basically were saying to only touch/use them when you need to...do not "rest" on them. I recall their reasoning was to promote control/safety and reduce wear (especially when it comes to unnecessary wear from "resting" on the clutch).
Racer
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 252
Likes: 12
From: Fredericksburg Va.
I honestly don't know the answer but......when a was young I worked in a Shell station and was taught by two guys that I respected to never rest the weight of your arm on the shifter they claimed it was bad for the syncro's and always put the tranny in neutral clutch out when at traffic lights. To this day out of habit I still do both. Can't really say if it's done anything for me or not. Never had any out of the ordinary tranny or clutch problems though.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 4,704
Likes: 239
From: Redondo Beach CA
There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers. Ask me and I guarantee I can prove it.
I would tend to think this question is equipment specific. For instance, I used to drive around one of the old MG's mentioned in a previous post. The lever that moved the gears had a **** on it and stuck up into the interior as gear selector. No joints, cables or rods, just a shifter fork with a ball handle on the end. Also had a non syncro first, not uncommon , since this is the simpler approach and you don't downshift into first anyway. I blew that first gear clean into pieces , trying to show a little teenage girl how bad *** my 110 hp MG could peel out. Reality is not often foremost in a young man's mind when the girl is cute.
Another piece of sage advice is to not use the brakes going over rail road tracks in a 41 ford. The axles will break easily if you do that. I know the designs have matured since then. Same for the gear designs, I suppose. .
I would tend to think this question is equipment specific. For instance, I used to drive around one of the old MG's mentioned in a previous post. The lever that moved the gears had a **** on it and stuck up into the interior as gear selector. No joints, cables or rods, just a shifter fork with a ball handle on the end. Also had a non syncro first, not uncommon , since this is the simpler approach and you don't downshift into first anyway. I blew that first gear clean into pieces , trying to show a little teenage girl how bad *** my 110 hp MG could peel out. Reality is not often foremost in a young man's mind when the girl is cute.
Another piece of sage advice is to not use the brakes going over rail road tracks in a 41 ford. The axles will break easily if you do that. I know the designs have matured since then. Same for the gear designs, I suppose. .
1/4 mile/AutoX
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 11,440
Likes: 2,184
From: Buffalo Texas
There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers. Ask me and I guarantee I can prove it.
I would tend to think this question is equipment specific. For instance, I used to drive around one of the old MG's mentioned in a previous post. The lever that moved the gears had a **** on it and stuck up into the interior as gear selector. No joints, cables or rods, just a shifter fork with a ball handle on the end. Also had a non syncro first, not uncommon , since this is the simpler approach and you don't downshift into first anyway. I blew that first gear clean into pieces , trying to show a little teenage girl how bad *** my 110 hp MG could peel out. Reality is not often foremost in a young man's mind when the girl is cute.
Another piece of sage advice is to not use the brakes going over rail road tracks in a 41 ford. The axles will break easily if you do that. I know the designs have matured since then. Same for the gear designs, I suppose. .
I would tend to think this question is equipment specific. For instance, I used to drive around one of the old MG's mentioned in a previous post. The lever that moved the gears had a **** on it and stuck up into the interior as gear selector. No joints, cables or rods, just a shifter fork with a ball handle on the end. Also had a non syncro first, not uncommon , since this is the simpler approach and you don't downshift into first anyway. I blew that first gear clean into pieces , trying to show a little teenage girl how bad *** my 110 hp MG could peel out. Reality is not often foremost in a young man's mind when the girl is cute.
Another piece of sage advice is to not use the brakes going over rail road tracks in a 41 ford. The axles will break easily if you do that. I know the designs have matured since then. Same for the gear designs, I suppose. .
Racer
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 377
Likes: 0
From: Jasper Texas
St. Jude Donor '13
They haven't changed that much. You still have stationary shifting forks positioned on rotating syncronizers. It's just like the other rule; "take your foot off of the clutch pedal except when you're using it". It's not that you're going to damage anything right away but in the long run you will ad ware to the syncros or the throw-out bearing. In the case of the clutch it's probably not as bad with the hydraulic clutch as with a linkage clutch. You young guys probably don't know what a linkage clutch set up is. Ha Ha.
Last edited by OneCylinder; Jul 13, 2015 at 03:54 AM.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 377
Likes: 0
From: Jasper Texas
St. Jude Donor '13
Hey Strand Rider, (not to hi-jack the thread) but speaking of MG, I had a '59 MGA and a '62 MGB back in the '70s. I still miss that MGA, it was as close as you could get to a street legal go-cart. Sorry OP.
