Riding the clutch - Life span

William · 6 Mar 2006 at 16:57

Behemoth said:
My driving instructor would give me some serious grief if I coasted to lights, down hills and round corners. He used to say that brakes are to slow and gears are to go lol.

When I passed my test and Dad got int he car with me he taught ne how skow down using my gears, which is a useful skill.

Ditto, granted I have been taught some useful stuff with my driving instructor, but since I have been passed I have been taught some right rubbish.

Quote: "WTF ARE YOU DOING RUNNING THE ENGINE AT OVER 3500 REVS HOLDING IT BACK ON THE GEARS DOWNHILL WHY DON'T YOU USE THE BRAKES WTFBBQ!?"

Ironically after this lesson my lesson after it was cancelled because the car needed it's disks and pads replaced.

Enfield · 6 Mar 2006 at 16:58

OT: Geiger, who is the bird in your sig? The one on the left

thebrasso · 6 Mar 2006 at 17:09

I was always taught brakes to slow gears to go...there are situations when using the gears could be useful, such as on a steep downbank to control my speed a little bit in addition to the brakes.

Hope you get it sorted.

Enfield · 6 Mar 2006 at 17:17

"Gears are to go and brakes are to stop" - load of crap IMO.

Behemoth · 6 Mar 2006 at 17:20

to be honest it sounds like a right cow boy outfit that the original poster took his car to. Complain to the highest level, I know I would, especially if they are going to refuse to work on the car if he has the same problem.

Barry Smalley · 6 Mar 2006 at 18:51

Enfield said:
"Gears are to go and brakes are to stop" - load of crap IMO.

Agreed. This is how new drivers are taught now though.

Jonners · 6 Mar 2006 at 18:55

I was taught to keep the clutch down all the way and stay in 1st when waiting at a red light.

s0ck · 6 Mar 2006 at 18:57

Enfield said:
"Gears are to go and brakes are to stop" - load of crap IMO.

Pads are cheaper than gearboxes

Enfield · 6 Mar 2006 at 18:59

s0ck said:
Pads are cheaper than gearboxes

No **** sherlock

geiger · 6 Mar 2006 at 19:27

I always use gears through corners and down hills and then brakes on top if theres a real emergency, nice to have a backup and gears balance the car better especially with no abs or other fancy stuff. Gears show greater thought imo they also take longer, anyone can slam the brakes on if need be

Just tootling upto a red light on level ground in good conditions is neutral and brakes though just because I cba tbh.

enfield - wish i knew but here is where I nabbed her from
http://www.50klicks.com/calendarimages/calbabes/9.jpg

thebrasso · 6 Mar 2006 at 21:30

To me, gearboxes are more expensive than brake pads. Also, if your observation is good enough you shouldn't really be slamming the brakes on to adjust your speed anyway.

I was taught that going through the gears as you slowed and even came to a stop was pretty pointless, yeah on a hill if you need some engine braking fair enough but otherwise just use the brakes, you can have both hands on the wheel and better control of the car as well.

b (thats it) · 6 Mar 2006 at 21:50

Whe I was doing my defensive driving course in Canada (on an automatic though so it was easy as hell) I was always told that stopping any way other than using the brakes is a bad idea as otherwise the break lights dont go on, making it more likely for someone to run into your back if they arn't paying much attention and cant tell your slowing down until its to late. I know the area I was in the big trucks at least were not allowed to use engine braking when they were approching lights near a town on the highway because of the braking lights not lighting up.

I dont know though, havent driven a standard in a year or so, and never really tried slowing down without the brakes. Does this method involve putting a slight amount of pressure on the brakes aswell to light up the brake lights?

Scania · 6 Mar 2006 at 23:29

b (thats it) said:
I know the area I was in the big trucks at least were not allowed to use engine braking when they were approching lights near a town on the highway because of the braking lights not lighting up.

Good job the engine brake on both Volvo & Scania's is activated by the footbrake then....

Don't ride the clutch.

Don't even use the clutch! - many transmissions will happily change gear without it, especially going up the box.

Transmissions are indeed a lot more expensive than brake pads!

DingleBerry · 7 Mar 2006 at 10:39

Tupac said:
I was taught to keep the clutch down all the way and stay in 1st when waiting at a red light.

woah! Don't like your thrust/release (can't remember which) bearing then?

Vanilla · 7 Mar 2006 at 11:11

Hehe, rather than ride the clutch I just drop it out of gear and let it roll

I've never had to accelerate to avoid anything and I don't know anyone else who has. To be honest (this may be wrong) but I was told it was best to slow my speed, stop dead or gently swerve to avoid any kind of oncoming accident. Adding more speed to the equation by accelerating can often make the situation worse - you may speed up to swerve and avoid a car coming at you but you could hit a person on the pavement.

Enfield · 7 Mar 2006 at 11:28

Vanilla said:
Hehe, rather than ride the clutch I just drop it out of gear and let it roll

I've never had to accelerate to avoid anything and I don't know anyone else who has. To be honest (this may be wrong) but I was told it was best to slow my speed, stop dead or gently swerve to avoid any kind of oncoming accident. Adding more speed to the equation by accelerating can often make the situation worse - you may speed up to swerve and avoid a car coming at you but you could hit a person on the pavement.

Bit of a crappy arguement. What if you need to accelerate to avoid someone T-boning you?

Vanilla · 7 Mar 2006 at 11:36

Enfield said:
Bit of a crappy arguement. What if you need to accelerate to avoid someone T-boning you?

If I stop dead will the person go in front of me? Is stopping dead a safer alternative to accelerating? If I accelerate will I confuse the other dirver? Will he still hit me because he expected me to do what most people would do and stop? Would my eager acceleration and concentration on the other car lead me to crash into another car or person?

While i'm sure there are situations where acceleration has been needed I've never been in one nor have I met anyone who has. I'm unlikely to add add speed to an already dangerous situation, the only time I drop it out of gear and roll is coming up to a red traffic light.

Enfield · 7 Mar 2006 at 11:41

Vanilla said:
While i'm sure there are situations where acceleration has been needed I've never been in one nor have I met anyone who has.

Only the other day I had to accelerate in order to avoid a BMW X5 from T-boning me - if I hadn't he would have gone straight into my drivers door im sure of that.

I'm unlikely to add add speed to an already dangerous situation, the only time I drop it out of gear and roll is coming up to a red traffic light.

It all depends on the situation which was what I was trying to say really mate.

-AnthraX- · 7 Mar 2006 at 13:08

Tupac said:
I was taught to keep the clutch down all the way and stay in 1st when waiting at a red light.

I was taught the same way too :/

lozza23_uk · 7 Mar 2006 at 14:58

dont think mine has ever had a clutch. done 95k total miles.
i have done 15k of those, with just coasting on the clutch. it should be disengaged so shouldnt be wearing.