As vigilant as we are to save the manual transmissions, we need also be cognizant of the needless abuses we put on our preferred mechanical friend.

Read the rest on the Mustang Source homepage. >>

 

Forgive me for speaking in generalizations, but if you enjoy driving, you also enjoy rowing through the gears of a manual transmission. There is a special connection you feel with a car when you’re the one physically commanding the gear changes. Using a rudimentary 3-pedal-set system, and not some soulless computer that decides your momentum’s fate, pays off in driver sensation. Sure, these new-fangled computer controlled dual-clutch transmissions can be quite good and fast — some shifting in less than 100 milliseconds, or a fifth of what an average manual transmission and its driver can fumble in — but, that doesn’t matter to the enthusiast. We ignore the numbers and instead focus on how a car makes us feel.

As vigilant as we are to #SaveTheManuals, we need also be cognizant of the needless abuses we put on our preferred mechanical friend. Luckily for you and me, in the video below, Engineering Explained educates us in an effort to eradicate our errors. Alliteration aside, some of these helpful manual saving tips are things you probably didn’t realize you are guilty of. We should all take note, and make a valiant effort to stop. We need to keep manual transmissions around as long as we can, because if we don’t, Skynet wins.

 

Huh. Amazingly enough, and without any real training, I do all these things already. And that probably explains the 132K clutch too, right?

Nifty to know that I'm a good boy. Yes I am. Who's a good boy?!? I am! Yay!

 

I guess if you are new to manuals then any help is appreciated. Usually it's common sense driving that extends the life of manuals. I learned that when a teenager. I haven't had to replace a clutch yet in Lord knows how many miles over the decades, starting with a cheaply made 1969 Fiat 850 Spyder 4 speed all the way to an air cooled 1995 Porsche 911 6 speed. I've had two manual tranny Mustangs, a 1982 GT and my current 2007. The Mustangs alone amount to about 100k miles. I've driven on the twisties here in the mountains (lots of clutch) and certainly not afraid to use the car as intended occasionally. I always hope to have a manual in the garage. It would be sad to be without one.