Riding The Clutch

[gman1967]

As above

 

Why do some drivers think it a great idea to stop in  slip road or run up to traffic lights (uphill) then slip clutch and creep forward  next 20 plus yards to where traffic is actually queued? Drive to where traffic is stopped, put gearbox in neutral, handbrake on, job done.... 

[Ryeman]

Maybe they got rammed from behind at some time in the past.

[SuperbTWM]

Maybe because stop start driving is horrid. I always leave a gap if I can and justlet the engine idle in 1st or 2nd gear rather than have to keep setting off again.

 

You don't need to be slipping the clutch to creep forward. Unless you want to creep at 1mph maybe

Edited 17 June, 2018 by SuperbTWM

[Ootohere]

?

Is it only drivers with 3 pedals that drive this way, no drivers with autoboxes?

 

drive up, stop start maybe off, maybe 'autohold' enabled is more common for some, but there are choices, vehicle types, and 'hand brakes' a thing of the past, 'parking brakes' now, and stopped in traffic you are not parked.

Edited 17 June, 2018 by Offski

[KenONeill]

I don't know the exact circumstances the OP refers to, but a 110TDi can hold idle speed both feet off in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear. 

[Auric Goldfinger]

11 hours ago, Ryeman said:

Maybe they got rammed from behind at some time in the past.

 

One reason why I usually stop about a good cars length from the car in front.  Saves getting the front end damaged as well

[Ryeman]

10 minutes ago, Auric Goldfinger said:

 

One reason why I usually stop about a good cars length from the car in front.  Saves getting the front end damaged as well

I’m not the upwardly thrusting type anymore......more the languid horizontal type now also.

[Aspman]

24 minutes ago, Auric Goldfinger said:

 

One reason why I usually stop about a good cars length from the car in front.  Saves getting the front end damaged as well

 

 

I always leave a good gap after more than few panics with people who think it's ok to roll backwards 2 or 3' as they do a hill start.

[Titanium_Man]

Yup, I only ride the clutch if I believe I will be on the move again very, very shortly. Anything else is handbrake and natural until it’s time to move with the traffic. 

 

I tend to leave a bit of a gap in front, just in case. 

[fabiamk2SE]

Maybe they struggle with hillstarts...

[Ttaskmaster]

15 hours ago, gman1967 said:

Drive to where traffic is stopped, put gearbox in neutral, handbrake on, job done.... 

 

But then you waste precious nanoseconds clutching in, selecting gear and taking the handbrake off... by which time every other driver behind you will be smashing their horns like Mike Tyson with his opponent trapped in the corner!!

Rule 1 of town driving - You must be moving off at lightspeed by the time the light turns orange. If it goes green before you've gone past, you're going too slow, are making people late for their board meetings, shouldn't have a licence, are a menace and a danger to other raod users, yadda yadda......

 

13 hours ago, Offski said:

?

Is it only drivers with 3 pedals that drive this way, no drivers with autoboxes?

 

 

Nope.

Wife's cars have all been auto - Brake pedal down, chuck it in D... and as you lift off the brake the car will start rolling forward. Generally I assume cars creeping are all autos, in fact.

[fabiamk2SE]

2 hours ago, Ttaskmaster said:

 

But then you waste precious nanoseconds clutching in, selecting gear and taking the handbrake off... by which time every other driver behind you will be smashing their horns like Mike Tyson with his opponent trapped in the corner!!

Rule 1 of town driving - You must be moving off at lightspeed by the time the light turns orange. If it goes green before you've gone past, you're going too slow, are making people late for their board meetings, shouldn't have a licence, are a menace and a danger to other raod users, yadda yadda......

 

 

Nope.

Wife's cars have all been auto - Brake pedal down, chuck it in D... and as you lift off the brake the car will start rolling forward. Generally I assume cars creeping are all autos, in fact.

 

Still technically riding a clutch i guess but the gearbox is slipping it rather than the driver? 

[Ttaskmaster]

19 minutes ago, fabiamk2SE said:

 

Still technically riding a clutch i guess but the gearbox is slipping it rather than the driver? 

Technically..... ehh..... yes and no.
Riding is partially disengaging it, usually unintentionally or through inexperience. Slipping or feathering is partially engaging on purpose, but also part of how you move off in a car anyway. The former causes wear and damage, the latter doesn't really unless used to excess. Feathering is mainly done with motorcycles, which have a wet clutch (except Ducattis), so you can slip them for low-speed control manoeuvres.

In both cases you release the brake, and in manuals let the clutch pedal out - This engages the clutch and the idle rev of the engine creates forward movement. Left alone on level ground, the vehicle will start to pick up speed - On our larger sites, I've driven round using just this method and you can get up to 30mph in some cases.

[KenONeill]

33 minutes ago, fabiamk2SE said:

 

Still technically riding a clutch i guess but the gearbox is slipping it rather than the driver? 

You are aware that conventional automatic gearboxes don't have a clutch?

[SWBoy]

1 minute ago, KenONeill said:

You are aware that conventional automatic gearboxes don't have a clutch?

But they do have a torque converter, which is kind of a fluid clutch.

[KenONeill]

3 minutes ago, SWBoy said:

But they do have a torque converter, which is kind of a fluid clutch.

And is designed to permit infinite slip without wear. Neither semantics nor logic chopping make the actions of an automatic box "riding the clutch".

[fabiamk2SE]

2 hours ago, KenONeill said:

You are aware that conventional automatic gearboxes don't have a clutch?

 

Conventional yeah. 

 

But its 2018 and alot of basically manual gearboxes controlled by electronics. 2 clutches even. 

[gman1967]

Mine is traditional manual 6 speed on VRS diesel. And it wont allow me to move with clutch engaged by the numpties I have been behind recently. And going by the smell as we did move....

 

1. They were manual transmission

2. They were riding/burning the clutch. 

 

[fabiamk2SE]

17 minutes ago, gman1967 said:

Mine is traditional manual 6 speed on VRS diesel. And it wont allow me to move with clutch engaged by the numpties I have been behind recently. And going by the smell as we did move....

 

1. They were manual transmission

2. They were riding/burning the clutch. 

 

 

they just need a driving lesson or 2 then . 

 

Worse on petrols when people are revving the engines and slipping the clutch more to prevent stalls. 

 

Atleast diesels will go on tickover. 

[KenONeill]

11 hours ago, fabiamk2SE said:

 

they just need a driving lesson or 2 then . 

 

Worse on petrols when people are revving the engines and slipping the clutch more to prevent stalls. 

 

Atleast diesels will go on tickover. 

So, based on my experience, will 1.6l or larger petrols given adequate clutch control when moving off.

[fabiamk2SE]

19 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

So, based on my experience, will 1.6l or larger petrols given adequate clutch control when moving off.

 

Not like diesel. And it depends how much weights in a petrol and how slow you’re willing to release the clutch. 

 

Anyway. I feel like theres a debate with everything here. Ill leave it at that. 

 

Have fun in your 1980’s auto (: 

[Ttaskmaster]

1 hour ago, fabiamk2SE said:

Anyway. I feel like theres a debate with everything here.

 

Well..... not a debate, as such.... more of a conversation, really.... sort of like a discussion, but less formal... but more formal than a natter..... :p

[Ootohere]

More nattering is needed, and some more banter IMO. 

 

[fabiamk2SE]

7 hours ago, Offski said:

More nattering is needed, and some more banter IMO. 

 

 

Cant beat a natter. 

 

I'll practice my pronunciations... 

[Zlin]

I just pull up and stop with a gap between myself and the car in front, clutch in, handbrake on, out of gear, no clutch-slipping. In start-stop traffic in town I switch off the autostart feature. The gap I leave is enough for me to see "tarmac and tyres"; at least that's the way I was taught to drive - I'm able to see the rear tyres of the vehicle in front and a small amount of tarmac. If the vehicle in front becomes immobilised, there's a large enough gap for me to get around it and make my getaway.