Bumpstarting - Worth it for half a mile or so?

[hummingbird]

jimepting, you read my mind about this!

[dcb]

Originally Posted by jimepting

Just a note - I don't think many folks do their own heavy work, such as clutch replacement, but that is just a guess. Yours is as good as mine ;-)

But on a modder site the percentage of "do it yourselfers" is bound to be a lot higher, and non do-it-yourselfers are always encouraged to pick up a wrench.

[Christ]

I'm probably a little partial on this idea... everyone I know (for the most part) either does most or all of their own work, or at least tries to do it.

It usually doesn't cost you any more to tow a car to a mechanic after you've messed up something trying to do it yourself, as long as you didn't grenade something seriously... but if you do manage to get it done yourself, you've learned something, and you've saved nearly $60/hour of labor in some cases, not to mention that you can get parts cheaper if you buy them yourself... and many mechanics will not accept a customer's parts, because they make money on the parts... (they tell you that they can't guarantee your parts that you brought, which makes sense, but many times, they don't guarantee the parts they put on either.)

I do understand that many people don't do their own work, and for those people, I feel that bump starting without learning to do it properly may not be a very good thing to do... in which case, I would agree, better you burn up the starter, than burn up the clutch.

[gascort]

I believe, after driving and working on lots of cars, that a clutch (brakes, too) can be made to last almost as long as a vehicle if treated right and in a small vehicle. I bet some of the people on here could take a new economy car and put 150k miles on brake pads, and 250k on a clutch.
That being said, I have killed brake pads within 20k miles and I once had a girl take my clutch from being just fine to cooked in 30 miles.

Proper technique won't cost you anything - the only work is the effort to do it.

[Allch Chcar]

I tried bump starting, after my starter died and it was alot of fun listening to my old man complain about bump starting the truck every morning when he knew I did the same thing at 3am everyday of the week. Another time I tried EOC and one tank was really good. Then I screwed up every attempt at cutting idling time on another tank and it was so bad I told myself I wouldn't try that till I got a gauge. I was so ticked mostly that I couldn't do one without the other on a tank and then try the other on the next tank. Weird. I don't fill up my tank or drive my truck now to do stuff like that anymore. Could have really helped when I ran a newspaper route. But I was shortshifting because I didn't have a tach, I was a newbie anyway.

[Shawn D.]

For half a mile, it's probably not worth the electrons this discussion has used!

Seriously, though, why even worry about it over half a mile? If you were able to coast for two or more miles, then sure -- it'd be worth it.

[dcb]

It's worth it for 1/2 a block IMHO. Stuff breaking is pure speculation (show me the controlled EOC maintenance study), anyway if something breaks you fix it. The gains from EOC are real, and with a stick they become downright convenient. Folks have done it for the whole lives of their cars (knock on wood).

[Drive Stick]

I have recently been using the bump start instead of key start in my 5 speed after coasting, because the starter makes a terrible "oh sh*t i cant keep up with the flywheel" sound when the key is first switched to start posotion while coasting.

I now put in the gear i chose, and let the clutch out slowly, the vehicle starts and no shock to the drive train is felt, my mpg appear by the gauge to be going up significantly.

Only time will tell, but I am still abover 3.4 tank and i have gone 160 miles. Usually the best i can get above 3.4 is about 120 mile so either I broke the gas gauge, or my half mile or mile at a time coasting and bump starting is saving a noticable amount of gas.

[jimepting]

Originally Posted by Drive Stick

I have recently been using the bump start instead of key start in my 5 speed after coasting, because the starter makes a terrible "oh sh*t i cant keep up with the flywheel" sound when the key is first switched to start posotion while coasting.

Not sure what technique you are using. The engine, and therefore the flywheel, would not be turning if the clutch were depressed and the ignition off.

The subject is replete with opinions, mine included, and very little data. If I had a MT, I would do some EOC, in neutral of course, on those stretches which were worthwhile. Personally, I do see lots of stress and extra cycles on transmissions and clutches resulting from the practice, so IMO it is a bit of a tradeoff. Lots of folks seem to get away with it, for the period that they own the car. Those who inflict damage may not be 'fessing up

[Miller88]

Bit of a bump but ...

How is replacing a clutch cheaper than a starter? I can change the starter on my car in 30 minutes with a $20 unit from a junkyard.

If I had a manual and did this, I'd get rid of the safety switch on the clutch - reducing even more wear. Just leave the transmission in neutral and start it without pushing in the clutch - might save the throwout bearing a bit.