Is my driving wearing out my clutch?

attila_

This is for real mechanic enthusiasts sadly....

I have noticed that I change gear a ridculous amount compared to others. On every slow down/junction/roundabout/lights i will engage and disingage clutch into every gear down. I never ever drop more than one gear at a time and always use the engine revs to slow car down as much as possible. I will never come to a stop without cycling down through every gear.

So much so i have never had to replace pads on my cars (longest ive had a car is 3 years).

I've also noticed in traffic i will press clutch put in first then disingage gear immediately if coming to a temporary stop. I never keep the clutch down...seriously its like OCD.

This may sound like normal stuff but i have noticed others (without noticing themselves) keep clutch down in traffic, use the brakes to slow down and dont use the gears....

I am concerned that i am pressing and releasing the clutch too many times. Would this wear the clutch prematurely? I never ride the clutch by the way. Its only happened once but i have snapped a clutch cable once too.

I realise this post makes me sounds incredibly sad and hope u havent fallen asleep already...any opinion very much welcome!

KillerWatt

You are wearing down every single last component every time you drive your car, however your description of your driving style leads me to believe you are giving your clutch the easiest life possible.

Unless the clutch's in your cars are failing earlier than expected, I really wouldn't worry about it.

marksandsparx

The official line at the moment from the DSA is that you should use your brakes instead of clutch when slowing down, as its easier to replace brake pads, than a clutch.

Tucker

It doesn't seem like you are doing anthing wrong if you aren't burning the thing out in 3 years.

I'm just glad I'm not behind you at the lights!!

Hammyman

attila_ wrote: »

This may sound like normal stuff but i have noticed others (without noticing themselves) keep clutch down in traffic, use the brakes to slow down and dont use the gears....

They need to learn to drive. They would fail a driving test and if it came to light they'd been doing that when they had an accident, they can be done for not being in control of the vehicle.

Hammyman

marksandsparx wrote: »

The official line at the moment from the DSA is that you should use your brakes instead of clutch when slowing down, as its easier to replace brake pads, than a clutch.

And by that they mean leaving it in gear with the clutch engaged (foot off the pedal).

BTW, I've used gears to slow for donkeys years. Never had a clutch prematurely fail. The one in my current car is on 150k and still fine. Previous driver did 90k on it, mostly on motorways, I've done 60k on it mixed rural road/town.

HGVs with auto boxes (virtually all new ones) are actually manual boxes with a clutch. They change down gears when slowing.

cajef

attila_ wrote: »

On every slow down/junction/roundabout/lights i will engage and disingage clutch into every gear down. I never ever drop more than one gear at a time and always use the engine revs to slow car down as much as possible. I will never come to a stop without cycling down through every gear.
!

The DSA advise block gear changing nowadays, slow down using the brakes then change to a gear that you need, change from fourth or fifth to second when appropriate in other words miss a gear out, if approaching lights that have just changed to red and you know you are going to have to stop stay in the gear you are in then when you stop select first ready to move off, saves changing down through every gear and unnecessary gear changing

KillerWatt

Hammyman wrote: »

BTW, I've used gears to slow for donkeys years. Never had a clutch prematurely fail.

Same here, in fact we were taught back in the day that if we didn't use the box to slow down then we would fail the driving test.

attila_

Yeah i remember my driving instructor telling me to change from fourth to second...but habit (and dad) made me change that. That was around 10 years ago now so advice may have changed.

Glad to know not alone.

tanith

I do a lot of gear changing when I drive but I've never had a clutch go apart from in a works vehicle in over 30yrs... not sure whats happening with yours though

DavidHayton

KillerWatt wrote: »

Same here, in fact we were taught back in the day that if we didn't use the box to slow down then we would fail the driving test.

I do this as well and it is a habit that I can't shake off. A couple of years ago I took a test in a minibus (cat D1) and I was worried that my old habits would cause me a problem. The examiner said not to worry: it was not a recommended method of slowing down, but it would not cause me to fail. I passed OK.

My car is now 16 years old and still on its first clutch.

David