Typically over the duration of our driving history, we have all ridden the clutch at some point. Whether that’s whilst learning to drive or in start-stop traffic. But is riding your clutch damaging the transmission and if so how badly?. In this article, I will be going over the definition of riding a clutch, what damage is caused when you ride the clutch and how riding the clutch over a long period of time can destroy your transmission.
What is riding the clutch?
When we use the term riding the clutch (also known as half engaging) we refer to not releasing the clutch pedal to the point that the gear is completely disengaged (hence the term half-engagement).
Why is this bad for the car?
To explain in-depth how this will damage your car we first need to understand how the transmission in your vehicle works.
Above is a basic diagram of how a vehicles transmission system works. As you can see a vehicle’s transmission is connected via a shaft known as the driveshaft. The drive shaft transmits the RPM from the engine’s pistons into the gearbox to allow the vehicle to drive. Whilst the clutch and pressure plate are engaged, the power from the engine forces the gears to turn, which then transmits the power to the vehicle’s wheels. When the clutch pedal is pressed to the floor the clutch is disengaged from the pressure plate. This means that the power from the engine cannot transmit through the system. This is how you are able to change gear whilst the engine is still running at several thousand RPM.
Now that we have gone over the basics of how a transmission works, let’s move on to what exactly riding a clutch is.
As previously mentioned, when you press your clutch pedal to the floor your engine is disengaged from the gearbox allowing you to select a gear. Riding the clutch (or half-engagement) is when you do not completely push the pedal to the floor meaning that the engine is not completely disengaged.
This means that the friction on the clutch disc and the pressure plates surface are touching slightly. As both parts are typically spinning at several thousand RPM this causes friction between the two parts leading to severe heat build-up and wear on the clutch disc’s friction material. This means that you are causing unnecessary wear on your clutch and the heat generated will also cause hot spots on your flywheel. The excess riding of your clutch will lead to your clutch slipping and flywheel failing. How long it takes for the parts to fail depends on a number of factors including but not limited to how often the clutch is being ridden and also down to the manufacturer using in-superior quality friction material and using a flywheel built from low-quality castings.
What is the definition of clutch slip?
For this example clutch slip is a driver error condition in which there is not enough friction in the clutch, meaning that the clutch can’t bite down on the pressure plate surface. This leads to the engine speed rising without a corresponding increase in road speed. The reason for this is because the clutch system is unable to transfer the full potential power from the engine through to the gearbox successfully.
What are the symptoms of a clutch slipping?
Here are the most common things to look out for when diagnosing a slipping clutch:
- Squeaking or unusual grumbling noise when pressure is applied
- Difficulty in changing gears
- The clutch pedal sticking, vibrating or appearing to feel spongey or loose
- Poor acceleration but still having the ability to rev your engine
- Momentary loss of acceleration caused by a feeling of a ‘slipping’ clutch
Eventually, clutch slip and excessive heat on the flywheel will lead to your transmission failing. This will cause the inability to engage or disengage a gear. When this happens you will need to replace your clutch and/or flywheel. RTS Europe is an industry-leading specialist in manufacturing top quality clutch kits and flywheels. You can find our range of clutch kits for your vehicle here
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