As a new 8 MT owner and this being my first manual car, it's been an awesome first week! Can the more experienced manual drivers here please let me know what not do to. I've read a lot about what to do...what about what to avoid...thanks

 

hmm, if your trying to damage it you can try hitting it with a sledgehammer. I think that would at least mess it up a little bit.
jk

make sure you press the clutch in all the way when shifting to prevent damage to the clutchy.

 

Some here say you shouldn't downshift for instance if you're passing or needing extra acceleration unless you rev match. However, I and some others disagree on that.

 

rev-matching will make the transition a lot smoother though

 

true

 

after blowing through a clutch on my last car at 40,000 miles I always rev match now. Your clutch will love you for it.

 

don't ride the clutch (drive with your foot resting on the clutch pedal), rev match, don't use the engine for braking in ordinary driving (OK on the track, or in the mountains for sustained decents), don't rush shifts if not necessary, and don't drive around with your hand resting on the shifter.

And drive it like you stole it!

 

i fail to see how engine braking is more harmful to the life of the engine/clutch/tranny than "driving" is, especially if you are rev-matching/double-clutching for down shifts.

 

Whatever you do, don't shift fast if the tranny is cold. If your shift isn't buttery smooth when you first start driving, make sure to shift very slowly (clutch all the way in of course) until the oil is all warmed up and spread around the tranny. You should notice a difference between the shift feel of when its cold or warmed up. This should extend the life of your trans.

 

It puts opposite strain on all the power train parts. No, it's not going to make something break, but why bother doing it if it's not needed? It has been proven time and again that it does increase clutch wear, even with rev matching - EVERY use of the clutch causes clutch wear, and you're more likely to cause wear when downshifting because no matter how good you are with rev matching, it's not an exact science.

Brakes are one helluva lot cheaper than the engine/clutch and transmission.

Of course if you lease like me, that matters little. My clutch needs to last 48,000 miles, no more.

 

I haven't done it yet but does launching the car put excessive strain and wear on the car too?