[amitk26]

Yes it is fully possible and even preferred if you use a Diesel engine.
For crawling at 5 - 10 kmph there is no need to press accelerator or clutch.
Just engage 1st gear and it will move , use break to control and come to neutral and release clutch when you need to stop.

For crawling at around 10 - 15 kmph 2nd gear with no accelerator can be used.
Riding the clutch means letting the clutch slip and not depressing the clutch to shift gear I guess.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Yes it is fully possible and even preferred if you use a Diesel engine.
..

Riding the clutch means letting the clutch slip and not depressing the clutch to shift gear I guess.

Mine is a petrol car and I havent encountered any shortcomings using this technique.

Riding the clutch is to have the clutch depressed while using the accelerator.

[geeash]

Avoiding clutch ride is possible but with some conscious effort. I have been used to ride clutch ever since i learnt the car. i never used to go to any driving school so that i was not instructed keep my foot off. i learnt the car driving seeing my father drive so i used to feel safe only when i used to keep the foot on clutch pedal . But when i sold my santro at 45000km the car wala said the clutch is hard and it had to be replaced. So now after i got my linea i am beginning to consciously avoid the clutch ride. I am now keeping the foot 80% off it. But still that 20% is refusing to go. i have to put on a little more effort to get rid of that too. It is all in the practice

So it is better to learn it the right way at the first instance itself

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by geeash

Avoiding clutch ride is possible but with some conscious effort. I have been used to ride clutch ever since i learnt the car. i never used to go to any driving school so that i was not instructed keep my foot off.

On the contrary driving school chaps insist on keeping the foot on clutch and in Bangalore you may fail driving test as RTO person during driving test insist on this too.
About 5-6 years back I lost my driving license and for reissue in Bangalore they asked me to either go to home state RTO or apply for a fresh one as I had no time to take leaves and visit original RTO I applied for a new one.

I had to take help of a driving school because if you are going individually for a driving test they will fail you invariably under one pretext or another, Officially Corruption is no longer there in Bangalore RTOs and no one will accept bribe from you only thing is you pay to driving school which will take care of things at the back end.

During the driving test to my horror driving with confidence and at moderate speed and not keeping foot on clutch is not taken too kindly and the fellow kept on mumbling few things on how bad the people who own car at home and learn by themselves are at driving .

I got nod of the instructor when the driving school guy gave him 'list' of his students.

[vasudeva]

Have driven a manual from 1995 to 2007, and still do ocassionally. The first lesson I learnt was that the left foot should be used only for brake or clutch, and the right foot only for accelerator. Have done that on 99.9% of the time, and have not rode the clutch, except when required. If the stop time is more than 2 secs, shift to neutral, rather than use the clutch.

Riding the clutch can be avoided even in the most dense traffic conditions. Not only is it fuel inefficient, it also harms the clutch, and causes a significant increase in fatigue.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Have driven a manual from 1995 to 2007, and still do ocassionally. The first lesson I learnt was that the left foot should be used only for brake or clutch, and the right foot only for accelerator.

I am sorry but this is the wrong way. Left foot only for clutch, right foot for brake or accelerator ! This is logical since braking and accelerating are mutually exclusive. Also, in manual transmission, how can one operate the clutch and the brake together when coming to hard stop if both are left-foot operated ?

Cheers,

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by lancer_rit

I am sorry but this is the wrong way. Left foot only for clutch, right foot for brake or accelerator ! This is logical since braking and accelerating are mutually exclusive. Also, in manual transmission, how can one operate the clutch and the brake together when coming to hard stop if both are left-foot operated ?

Cheers,

Sorry for the mistake in typing. I really should have meant the left foot should be used for clutch only, and the right foot for either brake or accelerator but not both. This is how I have been driving since I learnt how to drive. However, have rarely used clutch for more than 1-2 secs. There are other methods to control speed than riding the clutch.

[balajird]

This is exactly where the dead pedal helps you to rest your left leg and help in reducing the stress on your left leg. I hate to drive cars without dead pedal and as everyone mentioned, avoiding the "clutch ride" is something that is mastered by experience and can't be really "taught". It takes a bit of skill not to jerk the vehicle or stall it by not using the clutch. So, its better done than said about reduced use of clutch

[jayakumarkp]

Well, truly it is a difficult proposition not to ride on the clutch while crawling in BtoB traffic. I find it easier with a diesel engine since one easily feels the torque at 1st gear without accelerator. I drive a WagonR at home and does tend to ride the clutch some times. A dead pedal would have been great in such scenarios.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Sorry for the mistake in typing. I really should have meant the left foot should be used for clutch only, and the right foot for either brake or accelerator but not both. This is how I have been driving since I learnt how to drive. However, have rarely used clutch for more than 1-2 secs. There are other methods to control speed than riding the clutch.

Well that clears it up :-) Typo does get all of us now or then.

[navin]

What I do is try an time the time I'm on the road so I am out there at non-peak hours. I find if I leave for the ofrfice at 8am there is much less traffic than at 9am. Similarly on the way back home. If I leave at 5pm there is much less traffic than at 6pm. The side effect is I spend less time in traffic.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by theMAG

It is VERY possible to drive in city traffic without riding the clutch.

+1 to that. I don't think rush hour can get too much worse than Mumbai's South-North traffic in the evening (think 1.0 - 1.5 hours for 13 kms). I do this run everyday WITHOUT riding the clutch. Vtec @ 70,000 kms still running on the original clutch (not slipping either).

@ Thread starter : Practice and focus. You'll get the hang of it in a little time.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Yes it is fully possible and even preferred if you use a Diesel engine.
For crawling at 5 - 10 kmph there is no need to press accelerator or clutch.
Just engage 1st gear and it will move , use break to control and come to neutral and release clutch when you need to stop.

For crawling at around 10 - 15 kmph 2nd gear with no accelerator can be used.
Riding the clutch means letting the clutch slip and not depressing the clutch to shift gear I guess.

Umm. I need driving lessons then, or the VDi needs an ECU remap. The VDi won't move below 10 kph, and traffic won't move above 5 kph.

I do the whole 1st - neutral - brake - wash rinse repeat cycle, BUT it is still infinitely painful compared to say my pulsar 180, which if let go properly, cruises at below 5kph - ideal for the bumper-bumper expressway toll point crawl!

Originally Posted by GTO

+1 to that. I don't think rush hour can get too much worse than Mumbai's South-North traffic in the evening (think 1.0 - 1.5 hours for 13 kms). I do this run everyday WITHOUT riding the clutch. Vtec @ 70,000 kms still running on the original clutch (not slipping either).

@ Thread starter : Practice and focus. You'll get the hang of it in a little time.

That needs to be contextualized. It completely depends on the first gear of THAT model of the car i.e what speeds does the car crawl without accelerator. Read by itself, it is actually misleading. OHC != Accent (which version?), no?

Originally Posted by headers

Sir, its better to walk the distance in such a case! LOL

BTW, a probable solution could be to just use the 1st gear to move the car and slip to neutral..the car will crawl with the traffic with you managing the brakes.

I understand what you mean anyways and its damn irritating! BTW, what is the FE if your VDi ?

18.9 kpl, 100% ac (fan at 1 in winters, at 2 in summers). 21900km done.

yeah at times, I just wish I'd much rather get towed than waste clutch like above!

Originally Posted by aerohit

Riding clutch, bumper to bumper traffic, self destructive society

I wonder, why are we even driving, if we are unable to drive normally.

Besides the pointlessness of the above quote, on a selfish basis, I encourage such thoughts. The more people think like you - the lesser the traffic, the lesser clutch abuse my car undergoes. May your thought-meme spread

[GTO]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

That needs to be contextualized. It completely depends on the first gear of THAT model of the car i.e what speeds does the car crawl without accelerator. Read by itself, it is actually misleading. OHC != Accent (which version?), no?

The Vtec is not exactly a torque monster. And for the record, my C220 / Jeep / Indigo all have their daily runs in Mumbai rush hour traffic (though the Jeep's less of late). Each car has its own characteristic (for e.g. the Indigo's horrible turbolag), yet no, we don't ride the clutch.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Umm. I need driving lessons then, or the VDi needs an ECU remap. The VDi won't move below 10 kph, and traffic won't move above 5 kph.

Is VDI really that bad ? Have you tried some other VDI to rule out some issue such as idle RPM setting ?
I was talking with reference to my Safari but even the 1998 carb model Maruti 800 I have continue to move in 1st gear with no accelerator press if clutch is released gently with a little initial accelerator to set it in motion at level surface. Safari being diesel makes no fuss at all and even climb the steep spiral of multi level car park in my office in 1st and 2nd gear without clutch press ( never tried 3ed gear) and require no accelarator push at all.