Manual Trans: How do you release the clutch?

[jigen]

Just wondering how people on here drive with a manual transmission? I was reading some article a little while back stating how when you shift gears it is best to release the clutch quickly as possible, leaving little to no time for any clutch wear.

That may sound good but anytime I did something that abrupt the shift felt hard, and felt like it was hard on the transmission.

I release the clutch quickly, but I do like a small bit of "evening out" with the gas and clutch to keep the shift smoother. I've been driving this way for 13 years and never smelt a burning clutch or had to replace one.

Seems like everyone drives stick a little differently, so what would you say is the "best" way?

 

[Danno]

Every vehicle is different of course but I prefer just enough slippage to make the gear shift as smooth as possible (not jerky)without too much slipage to accelerate clutch and drivetrain wear.
When done properly, matching revs to speed, it should be as seemless as an auto tranny.

 

[SLCraig]

I release smoothly, but I have mastered the gas/clutch relationship and if I am just driving casually I usually leave a light at 1K RPM and roll into first gear... I figure less high speed clutch release = less glazing and friction material wear.

I've never had to replace a clutch on a car aside from one car I bought with a pre-worn out clutch (130K miles, premature if you ask me)

 

[Dave Sherman]

What Danno said. When I was first learning how to drive stick I let it out slowly like I was starting out in first. Now, it's quick enough not to drag excessively, but not so it jolts.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: jigen
I was reading some article a little while back stating how when you shift gears it is best to release the clutch quickly as possible, leaving little to no time for any clutch wear.

That may sound good but anytime I did something that abrupt the shift felt hard, and felt like it was hard on the transmission.

Depends on which gear. There is no way I could release a clutch very quickly in 1st gear and have it result in smooth acceleration. But the higher the gear, the quicker I can release the clutch.

Same story on my bikes.

 

[gofast182]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: jigen
I was reading some article a little while back stating how when you shift gears it is best to release the clutch quickly as possible, leaving little to no time for any clutch wear.

That may sound good but anytime I did something that abrupt the shift felt hard, and felt like it was hard on the transmission.

Depends on which gear. There is no way I could release a clutch very quickly in 1st gear and have it result in smooth acceleration. But the higher the gear, the quicker I can release the clutch.

Same story on my bikes.

Good point. It also varies depending on how aggressively I'm driving so it's that and which gear I'm in. Everything being relative you can release it "slower" in most circumstances and not have any adverse affects as long as you're not noticeably slipping it.

 

[D189379]

I honestly don't even think about it. I'll have to check on the drive home.

I'm guessing a soft quickish release?

 

[Andy636]

Never gave this much thought as clutches in MT are cheap and easy to replace but I do release the clutch pedal pretty hard and jiggle most with the gas. I believe every car has a sweet spot and once you get used to it you just don't notice anymore.

 

[eljefino]

I sidestep it in any gear above first.

If your motor mounts, u-joints etc are shot it'll lurch around but if they're tight, you're all right.

I have a semi-modern fuel injected car with an idle speed control that aims for 1500-2000 rpms mid shift with its "dashpot" function. I shift so quickly anyway though that the revs are still dropping from the flywheel effect.

Modern cars are tricky in that there's a lurch between zero and one percent throttle-- zero throttle it wants to control the idle speed or allow decelleration fuel cut-off, one percent and it hands off control to you, you're on your own. This shows up if you're trying to creep in traffic with the clutch out in 1st or 2nd, with the gearbox magnifying the lurches. It also appears if you dilly dally with your shifting and take so long the idle drops.

It would be a good skill to pick up to figure out sliding into neutral without using the clutch. Every car is different on this. Not something you should do every day, but it will give you a feel to unload the transmission and will help you shift into the next gear. Typically my clutch is going down as I slide into neutral and is fully down when I start going into the next gear. Hard to describe, but a pseudo-speed shift. If there's no load on your gears, eg you've rev matched the gear you're leaving, it will slide into neutral with a pound of pressure, particularly when you start declutching. Practice, practice.

This is ordinary every day driving where I shift at 2500 and pick up at 1800 in the next gear.

 

[KrisZ]

Fairly quickly, but in a smooth motion. No dumping the pedal. It seems to work for me.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: jigen
Just wondering how people on here drive with a manual transmission? I was reading some article a little while back stating how when you shift gears it is best to release the clutch quickly as possible, leaving little to no time for any clutch wear.

That may sound good but anytime I did something that abrupt the shift felt hard, and felt like it was hard on the transmission.

I release the clutch quickly, but I do like a small bit of "evening out" with the gas and clutch to keep the shift smoother. I've been driving this way for 13 years and never smelt a burning clutch or had to replace one.

Seems like everyone drives stick a little differently, so what would you say is the "best" way?


Depends on the vehicle. Low-horsepower 4-cylinder in a lightweithg vehicle- just banging gear-to-gear and releasing the clutch quickly works fine and doesn't hammer the driveline too hard.

With a big engine, heavy crankshaft, big vehicle- driving it the same way just pounds the snot out of the driveline, engine mounts, passengers, stresses internal components of the trans, etc. Much better to release smoothly and even better to learn to rev-match a bit.

But even with a light vehicle, releasing the clutch quickly dissipates the same total energy as a slightly slower release (not a REEEEEALLLYYYY long slip- that's different). It just puts the heat into the clutch much quicker so the surface of the pressure plate and clutch disk may actually hit a higher peak temperature than with a more gradual release.

As with most things- the extremes are bad, the middle is better.

 

[SteveSRT8]

An art unto itself, good stick drivers are few and far between.

One of my workers here was hired almost immediately after I found out his older Stang GT 5 speed had the original clutch in it at 165k miles. He's as smooth as butter, and his car shows it.

My ex could ruin a clutch in one year on anything! You need to develop a "feel" for this as every car is a bit different, even if the same model.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

Modern cars are tricky in that there's a lurch between zero and one percent throttle-- zero throttle it wants to control the idle speed or allow decelleration fuel cut-off, one percent and it hands off control to you, you're on your own. This shows up if you're trying to creep in traffic with the clutch out in 1st or 2nd, with the gearbox magnifying the lurches.


You are NOT kidding on that! When I was driving the 99 Jeep all the time before my daughter took it, it was a minor annoyance and manageable by just shoving it in a higher gear and lugging the snot out of it (4.0, loves lugging anyway).

But the SRT.... wow. At certain speeds creeping in traffic it will get an idle-speed oscillation going that keeps growing and growing, lurching your head forward and back, clunking the driveline, etc... until you either get on the gas or give up and push the clutch in and start over. The big engine has enough grunt that it overshoots the target idle speed, cuts, undershoots, repeat. The algorithm could definitely use a tweak, but I suspect that doing too much smoothing would result in a sluggish throttle response, and the instant throttle response (almost as fast as a direct cable throttle) is one thing I love about the big Hemi. Sometimes I can get away with lugging in a higher gear, but I try not to do it with that car.

There's also the fast-idle dropdown that's not really annoying but still funny. From a cold start, the idle will be about 1500 RPM and like most modern Mopars it will hang there and gradually drop down over a minute or so if you just leave it in neutral. But nobody wants to wait THAT long unless its truly below freezing. The 4.7L truck (automatic) drops the idle speed smoothy as you put it in gear and there's not a clunk or lurch at all. With the SRT, you can start rolling in first or reverse using the high idle instead of your foot on the gas, but as the car reaches about 8-10 MPH, the fast idle disappears... suddenly. That's usually just as I'm about to fully release the clutch, so its a funny feeling.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: Andy636
Never gave this much thought as clutches in MT are cheap and easy to replace but I do release the clutch pedal pretty hard and jiggle most with the gas. I believe every car has a sweet spot and once you get used to it you just don't notice anymore.


not all are.(cheap or easy to replace)

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Danno
Every vehicle is different of course but I prefer just enough slippage to make the gear shift as smooth as possible (not jerky)without too much slipage to accelerate clutch and drivetrain wear.
When done properly, matching revs to speed, it should be as seemless as an auto tranny.


+100

 

[Corvette Owner]

Best way to learn clutch is to go to a parking lot and practice starting car in first without using any gas, without car stalling.

In second through other gears, you should let out clutch while pressing down on gas for a smooth transition. Leave up on clutch, press down on gas; "feather it".

Need to practice on hills too. You can use a handbrake, if your car has one, to help you.

140,000+ miles on my original 1998 Corvette Clutch !

 

[supton]

140k behind a V8, not bad. I did 249kmiles on my Jetta, and replaced because the flywheel failed. Disc and pressure plate were fine, probably had another 500k left; but I replaced anyhow with something that had more holding power. I knew I was going to eventually turn up the wick.

After 40k on this new clutch I get a bit of chatter, I think--feels like it catches, lets go, catches, etc--until full engagement. Not real bad, not always there, might be worse with more throttle. It does have a funky engagement now: you swear it's in full engagement, then suddenly your head snaps. That explaination up above might explain that.

I typically have full clutch engagement at 1200rpm in normal driving, and sometimes 1000rpm if I'm being easy. I get confounded in the wife's car, which needs more rev's. I don't do a lot of rev matching when shifting, but I try to burp the motor when downshifting; I generally coast in 5th then drop to 3rd then brake (I don't downshift thro every gear).

 

[jigen]

Originally Posted By: Corvette Owner
Best way to learn clutch is to go to a parking lot and practice starting car in first without using any gas, without car stalling.

In second through other gears, you should let out clutch while pressing down on gas for a smooth transition. Leave up on clutch, press down on gas; "feather it".

Need to practice on hills too. You can use a handbrake, if your car has one, to help you.

140,000+ miles on my original 1998 Corvette Clutch !


Sounds a lot like how my dad taught me! Had his original clutch on his S10 until 210k.

 

[KitaCam]

Four things (from a guy with nearly 1000k stick miles....)
1. New cars' MTs/throttles are electronic so there's less "feel" than the hydraulics of the past...so that feel of friction is now gone.
2. I'm thinking, assuming one isn't dragging on the clutch while accelerating, that it's the NUMBER of shifts that would determine the life of a clutch...
3. Learning to refrain from clutching in traffic by finding the gear with the most torque range will contribute to longer live...I can stay out of 1st as long as the car is moving at all...and stay in 3rd between 12 and 45mph if needed...
so...
add 1+2+3 and this.....learning how far to depress the clutch and finding the "release point" and shifting THERE gets the transmission through gears with the least drag....

....works for me...

 

[rationull]

Originally Posted By: KitaCam

1. New cars' MTs/throttles are electronic so there's less "feel" than the hydraulics of the past...so that feel of friction is now gone.


Not sure if I misunderstood what you meant here but I'm not aware of any new MT cars that don't still have hydraulic clutches. DBW throttle of course, but any clutch feel characteristics should still be derived from the design of the hydraulic system, pedal linkage, and transmission as it has been in the past.

Probably no more cable clutches, though.