New driver questions on clutch help please don't want to burn it out..

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  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189
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    kmb500 wrote: »
    How does that slow the brakes / increase stopping distance?
    It may well cause the drive wheels to lock more quickly.
    It will certainly reduce the control you have while cornering, by changing the balance of the car.
  • kmb500
    kmb500 Posts: 656
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    AdrianC wrote: »
    It may well cause the drive wheels to lock more quickly.
    It will certainly reduce the control you have while cornering, by changing the balance of the car.
    Why would I be braking round a corner?
  • kmb500
    kmb500 Posts: 656
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    chrisw wrote: »
    I'm not sure if this post is serious or not but coasting is dangerous, will cause excessive wear on the car and used excessively, will fail the driving test.

    http://www.drivingtesttips.biz/what-is-coasting.html
    this evidently not true given that I passed first time and not once did I do what you guys are telling me to.
  • GwylimT
    GwylimT Posts: 6,530
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    kmb500 wrote: »
    How does that slow the brakes / increase stopping distance?


    I move the gearstick into the appropriate gear when I am braking, so that if I have to take my foot off then the car will be in the right gear. I just don't actually do a full change, just keep the clutch down all the time.

    Because you aren't braking properly! You're preventing engine braking which decreases stopping distance compared to coasting.
  • DoaM
    DoaM Posts: 11,863
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    AdrianC wrote: »
    OK, let's go back a step or three...

    The clutch connects the engine to the gearbox.
    The gearbox gives you a choice of ratios between the speed of the engine and the speed of the wheels.
    The only time you do not want the engine and gearbox connected is when you are changing gear, or you are stationary and in gear. The rest of the time, you should choose the right gear for the road speed and conditions.

    The accelerator pedal is the main way you adjust your road speed. You use it to increase your speed, you use it to decrease your speed, you use it to keep your speed steady.
    The brake pedal is a fall-back for when you need to decrease your speed more rapidly than simply easing off the accelerator will allow. If you're driving smoothly and your observation is adequate, then you will rarely need it except at low speeds.

    If you are within a range of road speeds for which a particular gear is suitable, then get off the clutch.
    If you are accelerating or slowing, then use the clutch to change gear at appropriate times. But, apart from that, get off the clutch.
    If you are decelerating to a gentle halt, then change gear as you go, and use the clutch when the speed drops below first gear's acceptable speeds - as you come to a halt, in other words. But, apart from that, get off the clutch.
    If you are braking hard to a rapid halt, then the same, but you won't have time to slow through the gears, so the speed at which you use the clutch will be higher. But, apart from that, get off the clutch.

    This is the sort of stuff your instructor would have covered in your first few driving lessons, quite probably in a nice quiet car park or industrial estate with very little traffic, and you would have mastered before you started learning how to play with other traffic.

    I'm astounded you even needed to explain that to a (supposedly) qualified driver.
  • bsod
    bsod Posts: 1,225 Forumite
    edited 18 October 2016 at 3:07PM
    go for a drive with your dad

    the odds of having a poor instructor and a poor tester and a dad that doesn't ask !!!!!! are you doing must be astronomical
    Don't you dare criticise what you cannot understand
  • GwylimT
    GwylimT Posts: 6,530
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    kmb500 wrote: »
    Why would I be braking round a corner?

    Traffic, something blocking your way, a pot hole there are many reasons why braking on a bend or corner is sometimes needed.
  • DoaM
    DoaM Posts: 11,863
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    How many people here would be comfortable driving an old car where you needed to double de-clutch to change gears? :D
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189
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    DoaM wrote: »
    I'm astounded you even needed to explain that to a (supposedly) qualified driver.
    I wish I was.

    Depressed, yes. Surprised, no.
  • Biggles
    Biggles Posts: 8,209
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    kmb500 wrote: »
    Hmm. I use the clutch all the time, when I accelerate I balance it out with the clutch, and when I brake I have the clutch fully down.
    The problem with slowing with the clutch down is that you are putting all the onus on the brake. Make the engine do the work.

    Unless you are coming to a stop, the ideal should be to slow down by using the engine (ie gears/clutch) only. It's kinder to your car, will use less fuel and your tyres will last longer. I regard it as bad driving if, on a dual carriageway, a driver in front uses his brakes to slow, say, from 60mph to 50mph. It shows lack of observation and thinking ahead; those are two skills which could keep you out of multiple pile-ups one day.
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