A question from a racerchick on Clutch Wear

Question: I have recently begun driving a car with a standard transmission. I have always driven automatic in the past. The car is an 83 Volvo with 66,000 miles on it. It is a good car according to my mechanic, however, my clutch went out today. I was wondering if it could be due to something I have been doing wrong. Is it true that you should always press in the clutch when you press in the brake or could that cause a clutch to go out?

Answer: No, it is NOT necessary to depress the clutch each time you step on the brake. In fact you really don't want to do it. When the clutch is depressed the engine drops to idle, then when it is re-engaged it has to spin the engine back up to the wheel speed using the clutch disk. This cannot only cause undue wear on the clutch, but can cause a loss of traction at the drive wheels, and even a loss of control. Racing instructors call it "trailing- clutch oversteer". Body shops call it a gift.
The clutch pedal should only be used at two times:

1. When the shift lever is in motion
2. When the car has almost rolled to a complete stop (less than 5 mph.).

Other tips to increase clutch life:
Do not rest your foot on the clutch pedal when driving. This can wear the disk and can even destroy the thrust bearing on the crankshaft leading to premature engine failure.
Do not "slip" the clutch on upshifts or down shifts, just let it out and wait for it be fully engaged before adding power. Try to slip it as little as possible when starting out from rest.
Dont ever hold the car on a hill by slipping the clutch.
Learn to "heel and toe" downshift, not only does it prolong clutch life, it sounds really cool and impresses your friends. However when done wrong it looks and sounds like a cat choking on a bone.

For more information on how to drive a standard transmission check out our article  HERE.

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