# What's the "right way" to drive a stick shift?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-right-way-to-drive-a-stick-shift/593944>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 24, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-right-way-to-drive-a-stick-shift/593944 "2011-08-24T20:03:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 7

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-right-way-to-drive-a-stick-shift/593944/121 "2015-12-30T17:41:56Z")

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> [@GreasyJack](#):
>
> Letting the clutch cool down between attempts will reduce your chances of getting that horrible burning clutch smell, but I don’t know if it’ll actually reduce clutch wear versus just going for it.

It’s not about wear: the problem lies in warping the pressure plates if the temp gets too high.

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**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-right-way-to-drive-a-stick-shift/593944/122 "2015-12-30T19:54:21Z")

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To be fair, I asked about it in the context of clutch wear, but I suppose I should be concerned about the pressure plates as well! What are the symptoms of warped pressure plates?

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