Manual Transmissions -- Tips on Clutch Control

There are few driving issues that confuse learner and novice drivers more than dealing with the clutch and for a very good reason too.  The problem is that the actual purpose of the clutch is overcomplicated by most educators and instructors; they turn a simple mechanical action into something mystical and almost magical.  What this article will attempt to do is to show the clutch up for what it actually is, that is nothing more than a tool designed for a specific purpose, and a very basic one at that.

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There are four different driving tasks which include using the clutch, being: Moving off, Stopping, Changing Gear and Control at Slow Speed.  Quite a diverse list at first glance, yet the clutch is used for exactly the same purpose throughout all those tasks.

There is one reason and only one reason to use the clutch and that is to control the transfer of power between the engine and the road wheels.  That’s it, in each and every instance of correct clutch use it is applied simply to control how much power is being passed from the engine to the gearbox, and then on to the road wheels.

The clutch can be thought of like a tap (or faucet) in as much as the more the tap is turned the more water comes out.  As we all know different jobs require different control with the tap, so if you are measuring a small amount of water into a jug for a recipe you would turn the tap very carefully letting just a small trickle of water out, on the other hand if you was filling a bucket to mop the floor it’s likely that you would spin the tap full on and let it do it’s stuff.

The analogy works really well, consider moving off from a standstill in a situation where you have very little space in front of you, the margin of error is very small so it makes complete sense to allow only a small amount of power to be transferred to the wheels.  Tight control with the clutch is what is necessary here, too much power will turn the wheels too much too soon and we may have ourselves a little fender bender.

Alternatively consider changing up a gear, the road ahead is obviously clear because you have already built up speed to necessitate the gear change, you must depress the clutch to remove the power of the engine and aid the change but once you have selected the correct gear, just get the clutch back up again, no need to be too concerned about being careful with it.

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So the clutch is a tap, sometimes it must be used carefully and other times it can be used with much less concern.  I guess the point is that we must think about these things and act appropriately.

It’s a very simple mechanism and a very simple process that I’ve outlined here, so don’t believe all those overcomplicated books and instructors, with a little more research you’ll find that this simple process and understanding is applicable to every job where the clutch is required.