"Riding the Clutch"

[3G]

How does one do this? Is it when your foot is always on the clutch or somethign?

[QuasarCav]

When you let your foot sit on the clutch while driving.

Also when you slip the clutch for a while before taking off.

[3G]

Originally posted by QuasarCav
Also when you slip the clutch for a while before taking off.

is that when u like rev it up and let the clutch out and take off?


Now i know why Hondas go through clutches faster than other cars!

[QuasarCav]

I've heard a few different ways of saying it.

When you take off in a honda you "slip" the clutch to get moving. When you slip the clutch to much you are riding the clutch.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[ryder_23]

well the higher u "take it up" to start, the more wear it will cause., as well as the length of time u engage the clutch to start. Ie: starting out, take it to 1500, and "ride it" (lettin it out slowly with gas on, slowly engagin everything) .

I can see if u dont know how to drive standard, going threw clutchs quicker on hondas, cause its easier with torque to get moving. But its still not to the point where u go threw clutchs like crazy.

[theken]

^^ hondas don't have any torque

[GTS Jeff]

its when u leave your foot on the clutch pedal excessively, dont do it. its bad for the clutch.

[ryder_23]

Originally posted by theken
^^ hondas don't have any torque \

i know, that was my point, just didnt say it right :rofl: even though they have lack of torque, you can still do it right.

[GT2NV]

too much gas, and holding the clutch at halfway point at high rpms to get the car moving

[nhlfan]

how about if you are going around a corner at like 6k revs, and you press the clutch, does that cause wear?

[Strider]

the clutch will wear anytime when it's between being fully engaged and fully disengaged...

depending on the rpms, it will wear more or less

so clutching when you slow down or when you go around a corner (although i don't know why you would do this) shouldnt' cause any problems

[Z_Fan]

Originally posted by nhlfan
how about if you are going around a corner at like 6k revs, and you press the clutch, does that cause wear?

No. To be more clear, pushing the clutch pedal down means you're disengaging. If you did this slowly, or partially, then yes, you're slipping it. But right to the floor, no problem. Anyhow, It's letting the pedal out that means your using or about to engage the clutch.

Pushing the clutch fully in (quickly) doesn't really cause wear. That would mean it is not engaged at all - so it's not touching your flywheel. It's when you let it out you're trying to grab power that wear happens.

Wear happens if you have a LOT of RPM and then engage the clutch or 'drop' the clutch because it takes a moment for it to grab. While it's slipping before it fully engages, it generates heat. This is normal really...if you engage at high RPM all the time, you'll wear your clutch out sooner...

BUT if you ride the clutch, as in very slowly let it out, you are essentially causing the clutch NOT to fully engage, and so the heat that builds up is of course massive and you will cause hot spots and heat cracks over time.

It doesn't really matter what you are driving (as far as horsepower) goes. If you ride ANY clutch, it will burn out. High HP cars can have clutch slippage simply because the clutch is unable to hold the amount of torque it's getting. That really is an entirely different problem. Adding extra HP to cars is the biggest reason this type of problem happens. Too much power, not enough clutch. The clutch can't handle the torque and so it fails sooner. Even just generally driving your car hard all the time (race, 1/4 mile launches that you goof up on) etc will cause excessive wear.

Back to HP doesn't matter. For example. You can take a 3 cyl. Chevy Sprint, and burn the clutch out in short order by slipping the clutch at starts. This is to say, you are putting too much RPM and not letting the clutch engage because you're pissing around with the pedal. You'd be better off in this kind of car to just 'drop' the clutch as opposed to slowly letting it out at each start...

If your clutch is 'slipping' because it is worn out and can't hold the power, it is easy to tell. A good test is just to go to a 2nd gear speed, say 50km/H. Put the car in 4th gear and floor it. If your RPM go up, but you're not accelerating, your clutch is slipping.

I've worn out three clutches. One when I got my very first car. Didn't know how to drive. Just was a dumbass 16 year old. Would hold the car on hills, etc. Took about 6 months and it expired. Car had about 75hp. :) Second one was a high performance clutch that I decided breaking in wasn't 'that' important. 7 days and it was glazed. (Higher HP car). Then my most recent clutch is holding fine, had it for a few years, but it is a higher HP car and I beat the hell out of it regularly.

It looks like this now. BTW, it still worked fine, I didn't ever feel any slippage. But this is what your clutch will look like if you've used it...err...abused it. (For whatever your reason - mine is pure abuse)

[rockym20]

Originally posted by Z_Fan

Pushing the clutch fully in (quickly) doesn't really cause wear. That would mean it is not engaged at all - so it's not touching your flywheel. It's when you let it out you're trying to grab power that wear happens.


Thats not entirely true. When you disengage the clutch, you put stress on the throw-out bearing (at least I think that is what it is called). Depending upon the quality of the bearing, your clutch can go just from keeping the clutch pedal depressed too much (like at lights and in stop and go traffic).

[Z_Fan]

Originally posted by rockym20


Thats not entirely true. When you disengage the clutch, you put stress on the throw-out bearing (at least I think that is what it is called). Depending upon the quality of the bearing, your clutch can go just from keeping the clutch pedal depressed too much (like at lights and in stop and go traffic).

Yes, I knew what I was putting there wasn't entirely true. But really what he was describing is normal use. It's not riding the clutch.

The throw-out bearing (or release bearing as you'll often hear it called) isn't designed for continous use. So I guess I'll have to agree that if you were to just sit there and hold the pedal down, you're in fact causing it to wear out. (Note: you are wearing out the bearing! Not the rest of the clutch, and the bearing is cheap. Holding the clutch pedal down isn't going to glaze your clutch up)

I guess that makes all the drivers who sit at stop lights in gear with the clutch depressed aware they are causing unecessary wear on the release bearing.

However, being that you MUST press it down often simply to drive, it's also got to be considered normal for it to be doing it's job...I mean, the throw-out bearing is designed to apply force to the 'fingers' (not sure if that is the technical name) of the pressure plate which is of course spinning and that is what will release the clutch. What he described (pushing the clutch at 6000 rpm) I don't consider to be a part of riding the clutch because, for most people, they shift up around 6000rpm on every single shift! So that'd be the same thing right...

I mean the reality is that whether you are on the pedal or not, it technically is always under stress of some kind...Some component of the assembly is always under some level of use / wear if you are driving...

I was just trying to put what really kills it quickly.

[blueripper6]

How do you guys prevent from rolling back on hills and stuff? I know be fast etc etc.. but is it ok to have hte clutch pressed so its JUST before it catches even a little.. so that I dont roll back?

I can drive stick its the only thing I hate because I dont wanna roll back into someones car.

[saiyajin]

^ use your ebrake

[dkny_stylez]

Originally posted by blueripper6
How do you guys prevent from rolling back on hills and stuff? I know be fast etc etc.. but is it ok to have hte clutch pressed so its JUST before it catches even a little.. so that I dont roll back?

I can drive stick its the only thing I hate because I dont wanna roll back into someones car.

I know what you mean, specially if the person behind you is right on your ass. I've been in those situations, just put on your e brake(not fully engaged) then start of as you normally do. Once you are moving take the e brake off:thumbsup:

[H4LFY2nR]

Originally posted by blueripper6
How do you guys prevent from rolling back on hills and stuff? I know be fast etc etc.. but is it ok to have hte clutch pressed so its JUST before it catches even a little.. so that I dont roll back?

I can drive stick its the only thing I hate because I dont wanna roll back into someones car.

Practice. It should only take a couple of weeks to learn how to hill start well. In the mean time use the ebrake. And don't be too worried about rolling into some jackass whose to close to you. If you do hit them it's their fault for not leaving sufficient room behind you.:thumbsup:

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by blueripper6
How do you guys prevent from rolling back on hills and stuff? I know be fast etc etc.. but is it ok to have hte clutch pressed so its JUST before it catches even a little.. so that I dont roll back?

I can drive stick its the only thing I hate because I dont wanna roll back into someones car. if u dont want to use the ebrake (cuz thats so uncool), just slip the clutch while ure still on the brakes. then when u let go of the brakes the car will move forward a bit and u can give it some gas. this wears your clutch slightly more than doing the ebrake thing, but not noticeably so. if u do any spirited driving at all, your clutch is going to go quicker than usual anyway.

[googe]

Originally posted by H4LFY2nR


Practice. It should only take a couple of weeks to learn how to hill start well. In the mean time use the ebrake. And don't be too worried about rolling into some jackass whose to close to you. If you do hit them it's their fault for not leaving sufficient room behind you.:thumbsup:

no its not, not legally anyway. you basically have no rights if youre moving backwards.

[Ben]

Originally posted by blueripper6
How do you guys prevent from rolling back on hills and stuff? I know be fast etc etc.. but is it ok to have hte clutch pressed so its JUST before it catches even a little.. so that I dont roll back?

I can drive stick its the only thing I hate because I dont wanna roll back into someones car.



Originally posted by dkny_stylez


I know what you mean, specially if the person behind you is right on your ass. I've been in those situations, just put on your e brake(not fully engaged) then start of as you normally do. Once you are moving take the e brake off:thumbsup:



Heel Toe starts. Basically what Jeff said, but I gave it a name.

When on a hill, hold the brake with part of your foot and roll it onto the gas when you have to go. You'll have to ride the clutch often in these cases untill you learn your car.

Once you've got your car figured out, you dont even bother with the heel toe, just move your foot quickly from the brake to the gas really quick and go. (less than half a second of time between letting go of the brake and on the gas, more like a quarter of a second. Car wont roll back at all.)

[fast95pony]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
if u dont want to use the ebrake (cuz thats so uncool), just slip the clutch while ure still on the brakes. then when u let go of the brakes the car will move forward a bit and u can give it some gas. this wears your clutch slightly more than doing the ebrake thing, but not noticeably so. if u do any spirited driving at all, your clutch is going to go quicker than usual anyway.


That's just piss poor driving. If you use the HANDBRAKE correctly , the car does not roll back at all,and will save wear and tear on your clutch and brakes.It just takes a little co-ordination.

[schmooot]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
its when u leave your foot on the clutch pedal excessively, dont do it. its bad for the clutch.

with the pedal all the way in (like at a stoplight) = bad for the throw-out bearing

with the pedal slightly in (usually subconscious) = bad for the clutch disc and pressure plate

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by fast95pony



That's just piss poor driving. If you use the HANDBRAKE correctly , the car does not roll back at all,and will save wear and tear on your clutch and brakes.It just takes a little co-ordination. the slight bit of wear and tear that one would save by doing that is quickly lost by doing a single launch or a single hard stop :rolleyes: