Manual Transmission Driving Questions

[sdill]

Hey guys I just have a general manual driving question.

Back when I was considering several other cars, I was on a forum and the topic was manual driving. One of the guys on the forum was saying that when he stops at a light he leaves the car in first with the clutch fully engaged. He said this was not "riding the clutch." But to me that seemed odd because every time ive seen somebody driving manual they left it in neutral at lights.

So my question is, is leaving the car in first like this at a light considered riding the clutch? And if not then what is "riding the clutch"?

Thanks

[snizzle]

That's not riding the clutch. Riding the clutch implies it's partially disengaged. Basically it's like keeping your foot rested on the clutch while you drive or partially pressing in the clutch while backing up short distances.

Unnecessary wear and tear.....

[toehead93]

Hey Snizzle, where is the Drizzle?

[New2010CamaroLover]

that's not riding the clutch but it's not good to keep it engaged like that at a light... wears them out quicker...

[mxkx250]

Which is worse? Leaving the clutch disengaged, pedal to the floor, wearing the throwout bearing. Or putting the transmission in neutral, wearing the transmission bearings without the gears moving to splash fluid on them.

[spd98]

Originally Posted by New2010CamaroLover

that's not riding the clutch but it's not good to keep it engaged like that at a light... wears them out quicker...

There is no wear on an engaged clutch. The only wear occures when the clutch is slipping before it's fully engaged.
This is not riding the clutch. Riding the clutch is when you leave weight on the clutch and leave it partially engaged.

[Blownhotrodder]

Leaving the car in gear at a light with the clutch to the floor wont hurt anything. You can either put it in gear or in neutral, doesnt matter that much.

[Fightinfire921]

Leaving the car in gear at a light with the clutch to the floor wont hurt anything. You can either put it in gear or in neutral, doesnt matter that much

What he said.

Been driving like that for 37 years.

[dougmac]

I think the "correct" way to drive a manual (at least how it is normally taught) is to have the trans in gear with the clutch pedal to the floor and your right foot on the brake at a stop.

Personally, I knock mine out of gear as I come up to a light without even touching the clutch pedal and roll to a stop ... then push in the clutch / put it in gear right as the light is about to change. This saves wear & tear on the T-O bearing and my left leg.

Doug

[Boogie832]

Originally Posted by dougmac

I think the "correct" way to drive a manual (at least how it is normally taught) is to have the trans in gear with the clutch pedal to the floor and your right foot on the brake at a stop.

Personally, I knock mine out of gear as I come up to a light without even touching the clutch pedal and roll to a stop ... then push in the clutch / put it in gear right as the light is about to change. This saves wear & tear on the T-O bearing and my left leg.

Doug

Same here. A lot of town driving (stop & go) redlights etc. will take a toll on the leg, foot. I've driving quite a few large trucks and some of them have pretty stiff clutch petals. I do have a habit of putting it in netural while setting at a light.

[wjones14]

Originally Posted by dougmac

Personally, I knock mine out of gear as I come up to a light without even touching the clutch pedal and roll to a stop ... then push in the clutch / put it in gear right as the light is about to change. This saves wear & tear on the T-O bearing and my left leg.

Doug

I've been doing the same thing ever since I figured out that you can easily pop the car out of gear into neutral without clutching, as long as you let the revs die first. I mean I don't do it every time, but when I'm lazy.

But I never did understand WHY it's so easy to pop the tranny out of gear with only an easy tap on the shifter and no clutch - does anyone know?

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by wjones14

But I never did understand WHY it's so easy to pop the tranny out of gear with only an easy tap on the shifter and no clutch - does anyone know?

You can shift into gear without using the clutch too, you just have to rev-match 100% perfectly (which is impossible to learn with a modern synchronized transmission, which gives you no feedback as long as you're close). I don't recommend making a habit of it unless you've got an ancient unsynchronized transmission.

The purpose of the clutch (in this context) is to unload the drivetrain, removing all torque from it, so that you can shift. As long as you unload it, it doesn't matter how you unload it - clutch or otherwise. To pull it out of gear, it's easy to unload since it's already perfectly rev-matched, so you just need to make the engine keep its own RPM up but not push or pull on the transmission. To do so, you have to have pretty accurate timing, which is easy to learn and somewhat harmless if you're wrong.

I like to pull it out of gear without using the clutch and do it often when I just need to be in neutral. In my car, I take my foot off the gas and about 1/2 second after fully removing my foot from the gas pedal, a small push puts it in neutral (it feels exactly the same as if I had used the clutch).