| Author | Message | ||
| Frank K Lipinski (Kaz)
Junior Member Username: Kaz Post Number: 97 Registered: 11-2002 |
Easy out of the hole, keep revs up between upshifts and, to quote our freinds on the other side of the pond, "Blip" the throttle between down shifts to bring up the RPM makes for a smooth transition causing less wear and tear on the clutch and synchros. Once in a P car I had the entire clutch yoke assy break while driving the car. I was able to shift by "matching" the revs. When I had to stop, I would coast, turn off the car, put it in first and crank the ignition to get rolling from a dead stop! What an experience, but I got home OK. Would I do that in my F Car? No Way  | ||
| Mitch Alsup (Mitch_alsup)
Member Username: Mitch_alsup Post Number: 289 Registered: 4-2002 |
Dave--read my sentance again: "Disengaged or engaged no wear is happening." where did I imply that wear was occuring when engaged? Did you not see the period between the first sentace and the second? | ||
| Dave328GTB (Hardtop)
Member Username: Hardtop Post Number: 384 Registered: 1-2002 |
Mitch, There is no wear happening on a clutch when it is fully engaged. Wear only occurs when the flywheel and pressure plate are moving at a different speed than the disk, like when you are starting out from a stop, and, to a lesser extent, any other time you are engaging it after a shift. I am very easy on clutches myself. The key is to get it out smoothly and quickly with a minimum number of revs when starting out and matching revs before engaging the clutch on a downshift. Dave | ||
| Rob Schermerhorn (Rexrcr)
Junior Member Username: Rexrcr Post Number: 68 Registered: 11-2002 |
Clutchless shifting a gearbox designed with standard synchro's saves a few $$ on the clutch, but is very hard on the synchro rings (bigger $$). My father used to hold his car on hills waiting for traffic lights with the clutch slipping until I gently pointed out how much that technique would cost him in the long run. Same thing for downshifting to "save the brakes". Brakes cost nothing to fix compared to the clutch. | ||
| Gene Agatep (Gagatep)
Junior Member Username: Gagatep Post Number: 145 Registered: 8-2002 |
Ming, using 2nd from stand still is worse because you have to feather the clutch more and use higher rpm also to initiate your acceleration. the more gas you need to feather the clutch, the more you wear out the clutch. | ||
| Mitch Alsup (Mitch_alsup)
Member Username: Mitch_alsup Post Number: 285 Registered: 4-2002 |
The clutch is wearing whenever it is "in the friction zone" and power is being transmitted. Disengaged or engaged no wear is happening. | ||
| V.Z. (Ama328)
Junior Member Username: Ama328 Post Number: 68 Registered: 11-2002 |
btw, just to clarify, i don't recommend clutchless shifting for Fcars, as higher revs make that a bit trickier...i can do it some, but i'm not good enough to wanna play that game in the 'good' car. | ||
| V.Z. (Ama328)
Junior Member Username: Ama328 Post Number: 67 Registered: 11-2002 |
Well, instead of worrying about where the most stress occurs, how 'bout focusing on the smoothest/easiest transition; that is, matching revs in the destination gear to the speed of the car? That way, minimal usage on the clutch all the way around. With a little practice, even non-racing guys like me can shift pretty smoothly for around town driving... Remember that technically, you can drive without using the clutch at all, if you match revs to/from gears...happened to me once many yrs ago, had a 308GTB, clutch cable broke enroute, but the week before had coincidentally read an article in an auto mag about clutchless shifting(new to me then, but old stuff for racing guys), so i used my new knowhow to get back to the house. Starting from standstill involves turning off enging, engaging 1st gear, then starting motor up to get moving enough to match revs & shift into 2nd gear(not recommended, but got me by at stop lights, etc.) I have a P.O.S. that i drive around town some, have > 200k miles on it, still on 1st clutch, i do clutchless shifting all the time, sumpin' to keep me occupied in day to day driving... | ||
| Ming Cheng (Onlinesys)
Junior Member Username: Onlinesys Post Number: 113 Registered: 5-2002 |
How about using the 2nd every time you start from still? Does this help or it is just the same?! What about the reverse gear? I have to engage the reverse gear from standstill instead of the 1st in order to move out of the parking space. | ||
| Ernesto (T88power)
Intermediate Member Username: T88power Post Number: 1005 Registered: 2-2001 |
Why would you increase the revs in the middle of an upshift during normal driving? I would say that would burn up your clutch... I agree with Steve though, most wear comes from engaging first from a standstill. Ernesto | ||
| Steve (Steve)
Member Username: Steve Post Number: 265 Registered: 2-2001 |
I believe that the most wear comes when you 1st start the car moving.This process slips the clutch the most and takes material from the disk . Usually up shifting does not cause to much wear because you usually have the revs up. The 2nd most wear is when you downshift without keeping the revs up. Thats my 2 cents worth. | ||
| Najib Amanullah (Najib)
Junior Member Username: Najib Post Number: 236 Registered: 4-2001 |
I know we've done clutches to death (not diffcult on F cars) and all the talk about double clutching etc. but at what point of a gear change does the clutch suffer its most damage in ANY manual car? I would describe my way of changing gears as follows: 1. Depress clutch pedal to change gear (revs are low). 2. Shift gear stick to desired gear position (up), increase revs and release pressure on clutch pedal to engage. 3. When slowing down, while using brake to achieve desired speed, depressing clutch to change down and smoothly release clutch pedal when revs reach desired speed. 4. When having to constantly depress and release clutch to adjust speed in slow moving traffic and avoid jerking movement. Please note these scenarios relate to everyday driving conditions and speeds and not track use. So when does the worst clutch wear take place? |