What does it mean when you slip the clutch?

Question

When I was bought my first manual car, the saleman told me that it is important not to let the clutch slip when starting from a stop. What does he mean by this?

Answer 1

NO NO NO!! When you push the clutch to the floor you are disengaging the clutch, as you bring the clutch pedal back to the top with the car in gear you will feel it begin to engage and the car begin to move. If you hold it at this point the clutch plate is slipping on the flywheel. This will prematurely wear the clutch and glaze the fibers of the plate. It has nothing to do with the gears the only thing this is bad for is the clutch plate and flywheel. Which is a big job to change as it requires the removal of the transmission.

Answer 2

Slip Clutch

Answer 3

Okay, lets see the best way to describe this. . . .Okay, focus on your brake pedal right now. Now roll down the road at a good clip and "hammer them hard" Tires squeal, you stop. Roll down the road again - but this time lightly apply pressure to the brake pedal. You come to a slow stop. Clutch works the same way(only in reverse - as it gets you moving). If you are driving down the road in gear and you put your clutch pedal half way down, you still move forward(but you can hear the engine going faster than it used to) That is a slipping clutch feel. It is better if you found a hill in a quiet neighborhood preferably - and if you been driving for awhile, you can kind of estimate what gear you need to be in to climb that hill. Put it in one higher gear instead and hammer the gas pedal (while you are going up the hill). If the clutch is slipping, you will hear the engine speed race but the car does not move accordingly. If it is really bad you can even rev the engine and yet the car does not change speed. "It is one of those 'I feel it in my butt' - there is no really other way to describe it. If you have been doing a lot of trailer pulling, the clutch will wear out faster. Or if you allow the clutch to slip a lot before you get going in first gear, you wear it out faster. A clutch disc is made of the same material as brake shoes. No towing and proper release and you can get well over 100,000 miles out of it.

Answer 4

Pretty much. When you take off, some people let the clutch out far too slowly meaning the clutch is slipping (eg the input rpm from the engine is much higher than the output rpm to the drivetrain, but some power is getting through so the clutch is slipping).

Answer 5

Another phrase for this is 'riding' the clutch. What it means is.....you should...instead of keeping your car stationary by controlling clutch and accelerator together.....use the handbrake.

Riding the clutch is

1. Bad for the car. It prematurely wears the clutch out.
2. Makes a sloppy driver bcz when you let the clutch in...you roll back into the car behind
3. I've been nagging my husband about this FOR YEARS!!!!!

Answer 6

Slipping the clutch is when the pedal is just pressed part way down, so the gears aren't exactly locked into place, but they are still transmitting power to the wheels. This creates friction which is bad for your clutch

Answer 7

You must slip the clutch to start out but it should be done as little as possible to allow a smooth start without stalling the engine.

Answer 8

It means having the clutch half engaged. People often keep their foot on the clutch while they're movng, which is bad.

Answer 9

Riding the clutch- when you release the clutch release it fully, not half in half out