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-   -   The best way to use the clutch, gear and brakes (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/1708-best-way-use-clutch-gear-brakes-11.html)

Perhaps an equally important reason to do this is to let the car behind know what you are doing via your brake lights flashing on and off - you want to make sure the driver behind is fully alive to your actions. Works only if your brake lights are, of course.

Another thing to remember when emergency braking before a speed breaker or a pothole is to release the brake just before you hit it, to let the front suspension and ground clearance rise again to its full length so it can be fully available for dealing with the bump.

Part throttle in 1st gear is the best way forward until you cross the series of strips. That way, you can maintain the crawl speed longer without over-revving.

A weird problem with my Accord in the morning. With the engine switched off, I can slot the gears. But when I switch the engine on, depress the clutch and then try slotting, the shifter doesn't slot.

What could be the problem?

I had clutch fluid leaked due to burst plumbing causing dis-engaging clutch and changing gear was not possible (no issue when engine is switched off)? A friend had same symptom developed after clutch fluid plumbing developed vacuum (meaning pipe between clutch fluid container and slave cylinder developed block like symptom!), only opening salve cylinder+ clutch bleeding problem got rectified. Both cases car was Fiesta.

Did you had any leak?

None that I know of. The master cylinder, which I think is common for the clutch and brakes was recently replaced and there hasn't been any hit or external damage.

With engine off the gears slot very smoothly.

People driving in Bangalore would know that driving at Tin factory is a constant move between 1st and 2nd gear. To reduce clutch usage, I hold on to 1st gear and don't move to 2nd gear as I would anyways have to come back to 1st gear in a few seconds. This causes the car to jerk and shudder. When I engage first gear and give continous throttle input its all good. But when I take my foot off the gas pedal, the car jerks (probably due to engine braking) or if I increase the throttle input again there is a jerk. What's the best way to deal with this? If I slot into 2nd gear, then at the next moment I would have to start off from almost zero. Or shift back to 1st gear. I drive a Duster petrol

Same experience with me as well. I try to keep it in 1st gear and when you accelerate it is fine but the moment you take off your foot from A pedal it slows down rapidly due to engine braking and when you accelerate there is a jerk. The cycle repeats resulting in jerky movement of vehicle.

This only works when there is a movement of vehicles at certain speed.

Bumper to Bumper, inch by inch move invariably forces you to use the clutch.

This is true for petrol engined cars while using the 1st gear. What you can do to minimize the jerks is to lift your foot off the throttle slowly. This would minimize the jerks to a large extent though it would not get completely eliminated. Perhaps you could try and look ahead and beyond the vehicle immediately in front of you, so as to time your actions accordingly.

Wanted to see how the other BHP-ians operate the clutch.

I don't keep my leg on the floor and then pivot the ankle while releasing/depressing the clutch. Instead, my heel levitates off the floor and i use my entire leg while releasing/depressing. This comes naturally to me rather than the ankle pivot method. And i feel this gives me more control over the clutch. Is my method correct?

Any other BHP-ians who do it this way?

+1.

I follow the same process for clutch pedal usage. For accelerator and brake pedal operation, I pivot my ankle.

When I use the whole leg for movement (Read engaging and disengaging) the smoothness is notch better than if I pivot my ankle.

Is it okay to accelerate a little while releasing the clutch, when the car is in 1st gear? Or is it better to get the clutch to the biting point and then release it progressively without accelerating to propel the car forward? Which out of these two methods increases the longevity of the clutch.

Also, should the clutch have a higher biting point (i.e., the bite point is high up the travel/play of the clutch and just before the leg comes off the point) or lower biting point (i.e., the bite point is a little after you start releasing the clutch)?

Not sure what you mean. If your stopped, in first gear and release the clutch, by definition you are accelerating. I assume you mean whether you should use the throttle and or let the engine rev up as you release the clutch?

Clutch wear is essentially/simply put a function of how much you let the clutch slip, for how long and at what RPM. As a general rule you should try to let out the clutch quickly, but smoothly. Adding some throttle (i.e. RPM) shouldn’t be a problem in practice. Most clutch wear is due to prolonged slippage. E.g. ridding the clutch as it sometimes called.

There is no golden/rule of thumb as to where the clutch should “bite”. It tends to be car specific. Sometime it can be adjusted to suit ones personal preference. On some cars a change in where the bite occurs could indicate clutch wear.

More and more cars have hydraulic operated clutches and most of those are self adjustable, so clutch wear won’t show on the pedal/bite. Clutches that are operated by means of a cable and or linkage are also the ones, where you might be able to adjust the bite point easily.

A very low bite (i.e. you have to push the pedal all the way in to get full clutch release) could be a problem for these mechanical system. Because with further wear of the clutch there might come a time where you can’t fully release the clutch any more.

But again, its more down to the design and personal preference than anything else.

Happy clutching!

Jeroen

The practise that I follow is to depress full clutch, change the gear quickly and immediately release the clutch, then only press the accelerator, don't get jerks this way, not sure if this is the right technique, but feels very smooth.

Elite i20 petrol
26Kms

Regards
Shailesh

Mod note: Please use Search and continue in an existing thread. Similar thread already exist on the topic. Thanks.

Hello BHPers,

I have some confessions to make. I have developed these two habits in my last 20 years of stick shift driving.

Habit 1 - Use neutral while driving: Many times when I am driving hilly regions or just city driving, I use the neutral gear to cruise. I do it when I anticipate I am going to stop or when I am going downhill. I feel I save a bit on gas by doing it. I shift back into the appropriate gear if I need engine power or braking and have never noticed any problems.

Habit 2 - Use 1-3-5 gears: This one I learnt from my "Speed Demon" father-in-law driver :). While normal driving I directly shift (when I sense the speed is right) from 1st to 3rd to 5th gears. It gives me the agility to get to the higher gears as quickly as possible (hence achieve top speed quickly). Sometimes in city driving I also use 2-4 only. I do not do these when I sense that the engine is stalling.

Some questions to the experts:

• If you consider these habits bad, in what way are they bad? Would they damage the engine / car in any way?
• Does habit 1 really save petrol?
• And finally do you see any safety concerns in these habits?

ajay

Shifting from 1st to 3rd directly, or 3rd to 5th directly, will result in revs dropping and engine lugging (very bad), unless you are revving the the engine to high rpms in the lower gears (which again is bad for fuel economy).

If you really want to get up to speed quickly without the headache of gear shifting, you can redline in 1st gear (to 50/60kmph) and then directly change to 5th. :uncontrol