Riding the clutch is bad?

[jdmlvn]

can someone explain why riding the clutch makes ur car smell funny

because my mates dc5r alwayz smells funny when he drives

cheers :P

[Scandrew]

Riding the clutch is bad because it wears the clutch out much quicker. It smells because that's the smell of your clutch burning from the friction.

Because it wears the clutch out quicker, that means the quicker you have to replace it and that means $$$.

Your mates car either smells because he's a shit manual driver or it's just the catalytic converter doing it's job.

P.S or, he could just be a stinky **** :wave:

[kousoku]

pfft, old wives tale.

if anyhting riding the clutch improves the performance and increases slipage! which in most cases is the best thing ever!!!! =P

[civtir]

P.S or, he could just be a stinky **** :wave:


HAHAHAHA, that's gold :thumbsup:

[Chi]

I suggest u get air freshener mod.

[kenji]

Well if that does happen then ur friend is burning the clutch ... thats were the smell is coming from :)

[kenshin]

i think he's being sarcastic... hence the lil =P at the end ?

[mcdare]

can someone pls explain the meaning of "riding the clutch"? :p

[fadz]

Dont ride the CLUTCH.
enough said.

[SKREMN]

Learn to drive

[CJL]

wow a considerable amount of useless posts aye Skremn, if your not gonna answer the question or discuss, keep the crap to pm or lounge



can someone pls explain the meaning of "riding the clutch"? :p

pretty obvious:rolleyes: having clutch half engaged and accelerating

[mcdare]

is it bad to "free wheel"? - totally depress the clutch and just letting the car roll.

[kenshin]

no... thats the same as rolling down a hill in neutral

[ACTI0NMAN-1]

i was under the impression that riding the cluch; was fully depressing the clutch and applying the brake earlier than needed, when you could have just allowed the natural slowing down properties of having the car ingear, and using the brake a few meters before the stop.
Also depressing the cluch while making a turn into, thru and out of the corner.

[Shraka]

no... thats the same as rolling down a hill in neutral
It's not actualy. Your gearbox does different things. It's similar though. By holding the clutch in you'd be wearing the clutch diagphram (sp?) out quicker I'd assume. I wouldn't worry about it though, as it wouldn't be much more than 1% quicker.

Riding the clutch, as I understand it, means letting the clutch slip for longer than you have to. Everyone HAS to let the clutch slip, it's what it's there for.
If you ride the clutch, it will wear out quicker. And yes, you should learn to stop doing that so much. I, however, ride my clutch in first in my DC2, but i've only had it for 3 weeks, and I'm still not used to having a sports clutch (it's harder to work smoothly than my old Lancer clutch :P ).

[bumography]

i dont understand why people roll down a hill in neutral

[dc2dc2dc2]

i dont understand why people roll down a hill in neutral

agreed, anyone who does this, please explain why ?

back to the topic, riding clutch just means u wear ur clutch out quicker, therefore spending money on a new clutch which is $_$ unless u are rollin' like a playa pimp in mulla.

[Shraka]

agreed, anyone who does this, please explain why ?

back to the topic, riding clutch just means u wear ur clutch out quicker, therefore spending money on a new clutch which is $_$ unless u are rollin' like a playa pimp in mulla.
It's just more coasty. Takes strain off the engine. Also uses slightly less fuel.
I used to do it, now I usualy pop it into gear and let the engine keep my speed down.

[jdmlvn]

:P happy?

[sAimOns]

yahuhs its bad for ur car .. i think the reason why people roll down in neutral is to save fuel

[Q_ball]

i dont understand why people roll down a hill in neutral
its stupid if u ask me, uve got less control of the car - n esp down a hill, or in traffic, very big chance of an accident

[alzteg]

My friend often tells me how he drives up the westgate reaches the middle and then puts it into neutral and rolls down the other half untill he nears the (100) sign where he then puts it into 5th gear and speeds up.

So how is this bad for your car?

[zorrt]

its stupid if u ask me, uve got less control of the car - n esp down a hill, or in traffic, very big chance of an accident

i roll down hills, why is it bad?
saves abit of petrol ahaha
but of course if its a steep hill
i leave in gears to save break pad
if speed gets too high rev car up and pop back into gears
simple enough

[spardikis]

Rolling down a hill, round corners and rolling to save gas with your foot on the clutch is an extremely bad habbit to get into. I for one have wasted alot more money than I've saved from this practice...why???? when I was young and stupid I was a believer that 'coasting' was a great way to save petrol, until I tryed coasting through a corner a little to quick and smashed through a metal fence!!!
Normaly I could hit the corner alot quicker when I was driving in gear, but with no engine control I just slid straight off the road. So I learnt the hard way that you need to apply the engine to pull/push you through a corner properly, and especialy with a front wheel drive, how you apply power will determine if you under steer or over steer. I sugest you slowly learn your car in a very quiet area where you can feel the difference between coasting and where/when you apply power through a corner. Do it with someone who has some idea of your car (fwd, 4wd, rwd,)who can help and give pointers because the ealrier you know it, the more cash you will save.

[Cr@ckerJ@ck]

Rolling down a hill, round corners and rolling to save gas with your foot on the clutch is an extremely bad habbit to get into. I for one have wasted alot more money than I've saved from this practice...why???? when I was young and stupid I was a believer that 'coasting' was a great way to save petrol, until I tryed coasting through a corner a little to quick and smashed through a metal fence!!!
Normaly I could hit the corner alot quicker when I was driving in gear, but with no engine control I just slid straight off the road. So I learnt the hard way that you need to apply the engine to pull/push you through a corner properly, and especialy with a front wheel drive, how you apply power will determine if you under steer or over steer. I sugest you slowly learn your car in a very quiet area where you can feel the difference between coasting and where/when you apply power through a corner. Do it with someone who has some idea of your car (fwd, 4wd, rwd,)who can help and give pointers because the ealrier you know it, the more cash you will save.

^ speaks the truth, also you lose braking compression in some cars which = very bad for stopping....also any driving instructor will tell you that leaving your foot even resting on the clutch is a bad habit as this prematurely wears the clutch over time?

[FEELDV]

The only time you should ride your clutch is when your at a set of lights up against a 200 or Any Turbo Vehicle, When the light go's green, You want to be the first car out of the hole. :thumbsup:

[zorrt]

The only time you should ride your clutch is when your at a set of lights up against a 200 or Any Turbo Vehicle, When the light go's green, You want to be the first car out of the hole. :thumbsup:

u mean dumping it? step on clutch accelerate at same time? blow up the gearbox?

[FEELDV]

u mean dumping it? step on clutch accelerate at same time? blow up the gearbox?
Not Necessarily dumping it no. You have to Ride it for a good 3-5 Seconds b4 the light go's green, then it all depends on how well you take off, u can dump it or ride the clutch in the take off to control wheelspin a little.
"blow up the gearbox?" It all comes down to the Individual, Do you race? Or you take of like a granny next to your Turbo Enemy ? You Decide. :thumbsup:

[aaronng]

yeah i thin k clutch smeellttes bad coz its bad
Wooohoo.. thread resurrection! Actually, it's because your clutch is organic. So it smells bad when it burns. Have you tried burning organic fertiliser? It smells bad too.

BTW, you use more fuel going downhill in neutral or pressing the clutch when compared to leaving it in gear and going downhill. Why? Because in cars with EFI, the ECU shuts the injectors when you lift your foot of the accelerator. If you are going downhill, the momentum of the car keeps the engine spinning. If you are in neutral or pressing the clutch, the injectors have to spray to keep the engine spinning at idle rpm.

[spardikis]

good point aaronng! I bet there is a lot of people who never knew that...including me!

[ginganggooly]

i know a guy that was coasting corners through the rnp, he ended getting compression lockup when he let go of the pedal on a corner exit and flipped the s15 down an embankment. not pretty.
coasting with your clutch in is a very bad idea...

[lerroy]

IMO Riding the clutch or holding on the friction point to a degree is what you have to do in first second and reverse other wise your gonna stall...

you know when your really riding it though you can feel it sometimes smell it..something you do when you get a new cluth or jump in a diff car for the first few take offs heheh

but yeah coasting isnt a good idea NO CONTROL its like driving a 1.5 tonne shopping cart down a hill

[Poeter]

Hmm, may i ask what's compression lockup?

Is it when you release the clutch in the wrong rpm band?

[stormridah]

this might sound stupid but what does the burning the clutch smell like?

[spardikis]

why dont you try breaking heavily to stop a few times and smell your front breaks...thats about how it smells...or i would describe it as a deep pungently warm smell that reminds me of death!!! lol

[ITRBoI]

it wears out the clutch faster!!! and it leaves a black mark on the flywheel as well. Shouldn't even be riding it in the place. That's why you go and hire a manual car first. hehaehahe :D

[mini_s2000]

it wears out the clutch faster!!! and it leaves a black mark on the flywheel as well. Shouldn't even be riding it in the place.
riding clutch = bad

[GSI-PSI]

These threads are getting more weird by the day.

[string]

I agree. Some of the total bullshit in this thread is amazing. A bunch of idiots talking crap about nothing...

Riding clutch is bad, but doing it once every now and then who gives a crap, your car isn't going to stop working if you do it a few times, so just don't make a habit of it.

Coasting down a hill in netural will use MORE fuel than in gear (which will use NONE). It is dangerous, and down right stupid. If you do it you deserve to run off the road. Your an idiot if you think that doing so is taking strain off your engine.

Changing gears at 2,000rpm is also stupid. Your wasting fuel in an rpm band of the engine where volumetric efficiency is very poor, thus, the required fuel to get a good ammount of torque is very high. Drive around 2,000 -> 3,500 or so. Engines were designed to make power at these points, why are you scared of driving that high.

Don't floor it everywhere and you'll notice the fuel gauge goes down that much slower...

[ProECU]

http://www.b16a.kicks-ass.net/fuel.xls

This is a spreadsheet of the factory Honda fuel values used in the B16's.
the graph is of RPM(x-axis) vs Fuel (y-axis)

you can see exactly what string is referring to:

Concept 1: Generally speaking, the greater the gear you're in, say 5th, the greather the engine load & manifold pressure required/generated.
With this in mind, lets look at an examply, say 3000rpm

at 3000rpm, you'll notice fuel consumption in "lower load/gear" is less than the same rpm in 5th gear.


Concept 2: in lower loads, at Redline, you will use less fuel than in a higher gear at say 3000rpm. Refer to the spreadsheet.

Conclusion: Try drive in lower load conditions to save fuel. Rpm range has very little effect on fuel consumption because, as previously mentioned, assuming constant load, fuel consumption will increase slightly as rpm's increase due to peak torque, however no where near as much as when RPM is constant, and Load Increases.

[lerroy]

.

Great info there thanks :P

[GSI-PSI]

all i can say is that if u guys dont know how to drive you shouldnt be driving at all. Well said String.

[CONAN]

thanks for the info ProECU, now can you explain to me what is load?
lower load/engine load???

[joyride]

this might sound stupid but what does the burning the clutch smell like?
it gives off a distinctive smell... you cant explain it but you'll smell it

[26ounce]

Riding clutch is bad, but doing it once every now and then who gives a crap, your car isn't going to stop working if you do it a few times, so just don't make a habit of it.



Yeah man, the clutch is a wear part and you ride it momentarily every time you launch. As long as you don't continually ride the clutch at every set of uphill traffic lights, or often tow 1 ton + trailers, I don't think you should lose too much sleep over preserving your clutch plate.

[jdmlvn]

yes..
fffffffffffffg

[aaronng]

it gives off a distinctive smell... you cant explain it but you'll smell it
I'd hate to say this, but it smells like burning chicken shit. I think it's because hte stock clutch uses an organic friction face.

[R123]

hey guys.. hope i can bring a few reply from this thread. I had been reading it from start. There are some really good points. Now i have some qs, might b abit repatitive but i really wana re-asure it cos i am trying to build up a good habit of driving a manual car.
1) At wot state are counted as ~ridding cluch~? At friction point only? or? plz give detail in a simpler terms. (Thankz)
2) when u guys mention ~coasting~ a conrner, exactly how u doing that? ( jz put the gear in netural?)
3) Is this a right way to turn into a conrner? E.g i am traving on 5th, approch a conrner, i step on the cluch, apply the break, (select the right gear for the tuning, like 2nd or 3rd) hold the cluch ~while~ the cars turning, let go of the cluch and apply fuel to take off. was this whole procedures got any parts where i am riding the cluth?

so yeah... any useful, related comments will be much appearciated.

many thans

[bennjamin]

moved to the technical arena for a more general concensus.
Good replies PRO ECU and STING...Just goes to show sliding around in neutral is stupid. (when moving AND stopping!)

BTW offtopic , but ive found a "Sweet spot" for good fuel consumption for my civic ~ change at around 3.5-4 every gear and always use the engine to slow down if safe to...im getting 5.8-6 l/100kms aroudn town which is great :)

Anyway , "riding clutch" in traffic or parking etc is bad ofcourse. Alittle slip to stat from a hill etc is hardly bad tho - its the constant crawlign in traffic which cooks the disc methinks :)

[aimre]

hey guys.. hope i can bring a few reply from this thread. I had been reading it from start. There are some really good points. Now i have some qs, might b abit repatitive but i really wana re-asure it cos i am trying to build up a good habit of driving a manual car.
1) At wot state are counted as ~ridding cluch~? At friction point only? or? plz give detail in a simpler terms. (Thankz)
2) when u guys mention ~coasting~ a conrner, exactly how u doing that? ( jz put the gear in netural?)
3) Is this a right way to turn into a conrner? E.g i am traving on 5th, approch a conrner, i step on the cluch, apply the break, (select the right gear for the tuning, like 2nd or 3rd) hold the cluch ~while~ the cars turning, let go of the cluch and apply fuel to take off. was this whole procedures got any parts where i am riding the cluth?

so yeah... any useful, related comments will be much appearciated.

many thans

1) Riding the clutch is exesivly letting the clutch slip Or driving too often with the clutch pedal slightly depressed. Obviously u have to do this occasionaly to drive off from lights etc. But its when u do it excesivly when it becomes a problem.

2) When they were talkin bout coastin, it was without being in any gear... which is bad. Ur car should always be in a gear when driving (actuallly i think that may b a law)

3) This is how i turn:

- See the corner, apply brakes. Then
- I put the clutch in, select a gear then let go of the brakes for a sec to blip the throttle to get the rpm correct for the next gear (or if im going to quick ill heel-toe.
- coninue to brake if need be
-turn steering wheel, through corner applying throttle as need be


Basicly, i should be in gear while going round the corner....

[Limbo]

Guys alot of you hear riding the clutch from either bad drivers who do not know how to mix the clutch or from your drag racers who are pushing the clutch.

Just not that your drag racer rides the clutch so as to reduce the load on the engine and get better take-offs. Difference between this and your normal drive is that they usually have double or triple plate clutchs made from strong material than normal clutches. Also the pressure plate are strengthened so that they don't slip.
These clutches wear out the flywheel quicker though. Also they are not as nice to drive daily.

Now hard material and more pressure also put more strain on the engine. Your normal clutches will burn and thus start to slip as they were not designed to be ridden, thus get used up faster. Cos you are wearing the clutch so quick and it might be burnt it will not perform as well in the long run.


Now one thing you got to do with a race car you would regularly change clutch and rebuilt engines and boxes, but who does that to a normal driving street car? Reason is they are extracting every bit out of the engine and do not car about the life of the engine as they usually get rebuilt or replace within a yr or 2.

Now if your gonna ruin your clutch and engine in the long run then go ahead and remind me not to buy a car from you.

[Limbo]

Don't forget when you ride the clutch you are wearing out yourThrowout bearing much more quickly than normal.

Yeah that too forgot about that. I think its too late for me *yawn*:p

[R123]

ok... so holding the clutch (all the way) while the car is moving (slowing down) and the right foot is off the accelarator, doesnt count as riding the clutch?

[bennjamin]

ok... so holding the clutch (all the way) while the car is moving (slowing down) and the right foot is off the accelarator, doesnt count as riding the clutch?

No , since the clutch is totally disengaged. That is wearing the release/throwout bearing tho.
And , please dont coast along in neutral ~as said before wastes fuel and is unsafe too

[R123]

No , since the clutch is totally disengaged. That is wearing the release/throwout bearing tho.
And , please dont coast along in neutral ~as said before wastes fuel and is unsafe too

how abt when i was holding the cluch, i am actually in 2nd or 3rd gear. does that makes a difference?
or more directly, would u plz comment on if thats the right way to make a corner?

E.g, travelling on 5th, see the corner, hold the clutch, break, then selcect the right gear for the corner. mayb 2nd or 3rd. still holding the clutch as steer the car then let go of the clutch while apply fuel to pick up the speed and go.

thanx :rolleyes:

[Domokun SPL]

Wow, cant beleive someone actually asked this question


To put it bluntly:
Two spinning plates, rubbing against eachother, getting hot, wearing away, burning...=smell....=bad....

[string]

how abt when i was holding the cluch, i am actually in 2nd or 3rd gear. does that makes a difference?
or more directly, would u plz comment on if thats the right way to make a corner?

E.g, travelling on 5th, see the corner, hold the clutch, break, then selcect the right gear for the corner. mayb 2nd or 3rd. still holding the clutch as steer the car then let go of the clutch while apply fuel to pick up the speed and go.

thanx :rolleyes:
Please go learn how to drive. Don't brake during a corner, this includes changing gears. Let the clutch out in the new gear BEFORE you start to turn, it's that simple.