Is a disengaged clutch the same as being in neutral?

molerat

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

With my car you only need 2 feet and the car won't roll back, it is called hill start assist.  I am sure it will lead to more clutch wear overall.

NottinghamKnight

molerat said:

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

With my car you only need 2 feet and the car won't roll back, it is called hill start assist.  I am sure it will lead to more clutch wear overall.

Are you Fred or Barney?

Jonathan_Powell

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

I just double checked and I do have enough feet...two.

When it's time to go I take my foot off the break and use the accelerator to go forward. Like everyone else who drives a manual...?

AdrianC

Jonathan_Powell said:

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

I just double checked and I do have enough feet...two.

When it's time to go I take my foot off the break and use the accelerator to go forward. Like everyone else who drives a manual...?

Do you remember the hill start on your driving test? You'd have failed unless you used the handbrake.

In traffic, even on the flat, you should still be using the handbrake and neutral. If you get hit from behind, your feet WILL come off the pedals, and if you're in gear with the clutch down, you WILL hit the car in front harder, because you'll actively drive into them instead of just being nudged.

This is all basic driving lesson stuff. How long ago was your test?

Biggus_Dickus

AdrianC said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

I just double checked and I do have enough feet...two.

When it's time to go I take my foot off the break and use the accelerator to go forward. Like everyone else who drives a manual...?

Do you remember the hill start on your driving test? You'd have failed unless you used the handbrake.

In traffic, even on the flat, you should still be using the handbrake and neutral. If you get hit from behind, your feet WILL come off the pedals, and if you're in gear with the clutch down, you WILL hit the car in front harder, because you'll actively drive into them instead of just being nudged.

This is all basic driving lesson stuff. How long ago was your test?

When I took my test hundreds of years ago there were 5 compulsory manoeuvres;...hill-start, emergency stop, turn in the road (commonly known as 3-point turn), reverse round corner and parallel parking. All 5 had to be performed correctly and a !!!!!!-up on any one of them would result in failure.

However, the hill-start, 3-point turn and reverse round corner have all been scrapped recently! 

Passing a driving test must be soooo easy these days. 

Scrapit

Jonathan_Powell said:

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

I just double checked and I do have enough feet...two.

When it's time to go I take my foot off the break and use the accelerator to go forward. Like everyone else who drives a manual...?

No. Not like everyone else at all, everyone else uses the hand brake. Its what its for. How do you rev the engine sufficiently to accelerate and climb this theoretical hill whilst keeping your foot on the brake to maintain position, ie not roll back? You left foot is finding the biting point on the clutch so that can't do it.
In conclusion, you dont have enough feet. Or maybe too many peddles.

Jonathan_Powell

AdrianC said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

I just double checked and I do have enough feet...two.

When it's time to go I take my foot off the break and use the accelerator to go forward. Like everyone else who drives a manual...?

Do you remember the hill start on your driving test? You'd have failed unless you used the handbrake.

In traffic, even on the flat, you should still be using the handbrake and neutral. If you get hit from behind, your feet WILL come off the pedals, and if you're in gear with the clutch down, you WILL hit the car in front harder, because you'll actively drive into them instead of just being nudged.

This is all basic driving lesson stuff. How long ago was your test?

Probably 10 years ago now and like a lot of people, and I am no justifying my behaviour, we don't follow the rules of the road to the letter. Do you constantly have two hands on the wheel? Park with the flow of traffic on a residential road? Never flash people to let them out of a junction? Put your handbrake on at every junction?

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

I just double checked and I do have enough feet...two.

When it's time to go I take my foot off the break and use the accelerator to go forward. Like everyone else who drives a manual...?

No. Not like everyone else at all, everyone else uses the hand brake. Its what its for. How do you rev the engine sufficiently to accelerate and climb this theoretical hill whilst keeping your foot on the brake to maintain position, ie not roll back? You left foot is finding the biting point on the clutch so that can't do it.
In conclusion, you dont have enough feet. Or maybe too many peddles.

I don't get this. What kind of car are you driving? There are 3 pedal in a manual car and you have 2 feet...
If I am maintaining position on a hill, as I stated in the OP, I use the foot break.
When it's time to go, I find the biting point with the clutch (left foot) and then move my right foot off the break to the accelerator and go forward. Not trying to sound demeaning (because it's simply how it's going to come across in text), how is that hard to understand?

AdrianC

There's "not following the rules to the letter", and there's simple laziness in basic use of the controls, increasing the wear on your car and increases the risk in a minor traffic bump.

Scrapit

Jonathan_Powell said:

AdrianC said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

I just double checked and I do have enough feet...two.

When it's time to go I take my foot off the break and use the accelerator to go forward. Like everyone else who drives a manual...?

Do you remember the hill start on your driving test? You'd have failed unless you used the handbrake.

In traffic, even on the flat, you should still be using the handbrake and neutral. If you get hit from behind, your feet WILL come off the pedals, and if you're in gear with the clutch down, you WILL hit the car in front harder, because you'll actively drive into them instead of just being nudged.

This is all basic driving lesson stuff. How long ago was your test?

Probably 10 years ago now and like a lot of people, and I am no justifying my behaviour, we don't follow the rules of the road to the letter. Do you constantly have two hands on the wheel? Park with the flow of traffic on a residential road? Never flash people to let them out of a junction? Put your handbrake on at every junction?

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

I just double checked and I do have enough feet...two.

When it's time to go I take my foot off the break and use the accelerator to go forward. Like everyone else who drives a manual...?

No. Not like everyone else at all, everyone else uses the hand brake. Its what its for. How do you rev the engine sufficiently to accelerate and climb this theoretical hill whilst keeping your foot on the brake to maintain position, ie not roll back? You left foot is finding the biting point on the clutch so that can't do it.
In conclusion, you dont have enough feet. Or maybe too many peddles.

I don't get this. What kind of car are you driving? There are 3 pedal in a manual car and you have 2 feet...
If I am maintaining position on a hill, as I stated in the OP, I use the foot break.
When it's time to go, I find the biting point with the clutch (left foot) and then move my right foot off the break to the accelerator and go forward. Not trying to sound demeaning (because it's simply how it's going to come across in text), how is that hard to understand?

I drive lots of vehicles, some with 3 peddles, some with 2-which is my current preference. Do you drive a diesel? I ask this as they are more forgiving for finding a biting point and pulling off without use of the accelerator. You will, if only momentarily, have the clutch at biting point and take you foot off the break to go onto the accelerator. At this point gravity will take affect on the vehicle, it must as its a constant. You will roll back on a slope, so unless you live and drive exclusively in Norfolk you are not in control of the vehicle at the point it is rolling back even if this is for the shortest distance. And then there's the risk of stalling too. Quite simply, there aren't enough feet on people that have more than the average feet.

John_

Jonathan_Powell said:

Scrapit said:

Jonathan_Powell said:

The same in regards to wear and tear. On a hill, I hardly use the handbrake and keep the car in gear with both the foot brake and clutch being all the way down. I have always been told that keeping a car on a hill by using the clutch is very bad but if you have the clutch all the way down does that save it? 

Regardless of if they are the same, you dont have enough feet. Foot 1 depresses the clutch, foot 2 holds down the brakes which holds the vehicle on the hill cos the hand brake isn't being used. When the way is clear to proceed you can't rev the car and reach the clutch biting point whilst holding position on the hill using the footbrake. Use the hand brake to hold the vehicle and use your left foot to adjust clutch, right foot car work the stop and go peddles as required. Or get an auto.

I just double checked and I do have enough feet...two.

When it's time to go I take my foot off the break and use the accelerator to go forward. Like everyone else who drives a manual...?

While you are transferring your foot from the brake (not break) to the accelerator the car is starting to roll backwards.