First of all, I would like to say 'Hello'. I'm not sure if I'm asking in the right forum, but I'm hoping someone can answer my questions. Thanks in advance for any advice.

I bought a 1995 Hyundai Accent with 112,000 miles. Although it's old, I'm still proud of it because it's my first manual.

Please read my questions below:
1. If taken care of properly, how many miles will my car last?
2. Are double-clutching and rev-matching really necessary with this car? Please just say: yes or no
3. I should never downshift to first, right?
4. When reversing, is it okay to keep my foot on the clutch?
5. I travel a lot during rush hour traffic, any suggestions to avoid having to constantly use the clutch? Or is that unavoidable?
6. When coming to a stop, is it okay if I clutch in then go to neutral?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm a newbie and I wanna make sure I am taking care of my car right.

 

Your in luck, I have a 95 as well and am sort of the self proclaimed early generation specialist.

1. These cars are tanks, if treated properly and given proper maintenance, you can expect 250,000 miles.

2. There is no need to doubl clutch this car. Rev-matching, or blipping, is a good idea with all manuals. By doing this you substantially reduce load on the clutch and fly-wheel causing these components to operate longer. This car especially because just dropping the clutch in a down-shift causes it to jerk hard.

3. No, ther is no need to.

4. Assuming that yours behaves like mine, it is O.K. When backing out of a space or at a short distance this is fine. If you are backing up pretty far then treat it like starting out in first.

5. Sorry this is something you have to live with now that you have a stick. On the plus side this practice will really help you get used to it.

6. Sure, that won't hurt a thing.

Hope this stuff helps you out, and if you have any questions about maintenance let me know, I have torn that year Accent apart a hundred times.

 

Poacher,

Thank you so much for your reply. You rock!

Actually, I do have two other questions.

1) Is this the proper way to rev-match?
*press clutch
*shift to neutral
*release clutch
*blip throttle
*press clutch again
*shift to lower gear
*slowly accelerate again
*release clutch

2) I saw your post about having troubles with your window. I also have a problem with my front passenger window. It basically doesn't go up, once down because it goes out of the tracking. Were you able to fix your window problem?

 

The way to blip (rev match) is as follows:

-Push in clutch
-Press gas to guess next RPM
-release clutch

It is actually very simple but takes alot of practice at first. You described double-clutching which is no longer necessary with synchronized trannsmissions

As for the window.....I am working on it.
Try putting a little petroleum jeely along the track and weather strips.

Keep me posted