I got my first stick shift car a 99 SS Convertible and I learned to drive stick on my motorcycle, I have gotten the hang of it except for fast high speed shifting unfortuntley this is pretty important when a race opportunity comes up... It will come with time..

Here is a scenario I am curious of:

When coming to a stoplight a few hundred feet away and it is red, do you down shift or coast ? I put it in nuetral and coast to the light, my buddy thinks that is nuts, he down shifts... Isn't it the same ? either you wear the brakes or the clutch ?

Also I am curious, when would I ever want to start out in 2nd ? (the car does not get driven in the winter)

Thanks for your input..

 

I usually downshift from 4-3, with a blip of the throttle to match up the rpm's with the gear change. Always if going downhill, just coast if going up an incline to stop. Sometimes I will do 3-2, but not that often.

I used to start off in 2nd with 4.11's, but with 3.73's its always 1st, unless I'm facing down a hill.

 

It's brakes or clutch wear! Just make sure you match rpms if you downshift to avoid wearing the clutch disc hub and springs. I take it out of gear and coast myself.

 

I always coast man...it is cheaper to replace warped rotors than a clutch...

 

Exactly. If you have a choice of wearing your breaks or your clutch, which do you THINK you want to wear? which do you think will be easier to replace? which is cheaper? which do you know how to work on by yourself? coast + brakes usually wins this debate.

Downshifting sure sounds cool, though.