# Clutch questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 2, 2019, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-questions/828825 "2019-02-02T08:01:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-questions/828825/61 "2019-02-07T16:17:37Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Hm. But if you disable the hill-holder feature, do you have a handbrake, or is the e-brake electronic like it is in my friend’s Civic Si? > > I rarely use the handbrake thing on a hill start or red light because most of the time I can just shift into first and move quickly enough (with minimal rollback); or if need be, if someone is right up near my rear bumper, I use the “clutch hold” what is not good to do for a full red light cycle, but just for the 1-2 seconds after the light is red in the other direction, to make sure I can do a quick launch when it goes green without rolling back (and without the handbrake). > > But that’s not never. I guess in your scenario, if you’re in the “would definitely resort to the handbrake maneuver” situation, you’d similarly re-engage the hill-holder feature? I guess I’ve driven manual transmission vehicles for so long that I “just drive”. I never use the handbrake/parking brake/emergency brake. I move my right foot from the brake to the gas, while letting out the clutch, and it all works smoothly for me. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-questions/828825/62 "2019-02-07T18:38:30Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > And it’s not supposed to be easy to get into reverse, lest you accidentally move into it instead of first or sixth gear (depending on where reverse is located on your shift gate). In fact in newer cars, you may have to lift a ring under the shift knob even to allow moving into the reverse gate. I recently drove a VW Vanagon van where the shifter had to be pushed downwards, as in towards the floor, and then rotated around towards where first gear would normally be, while depressed, to find the reverse gear. I think I’ve also driven a handful of other vehicles that had a similar arrangement. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-questions/828825/63 "2019-02-07T19:15:58Z")
One of the ways that people slip the clutch too much is that they leave their left foot riding on the clutch pedal. Hit a bump in the road while your foot is on the pedal and you just slipped the clutch a little. Other situations where you might not think that you are pushing the cutch in, like braking with the other foot also apply. My car has a “dead pedal” to the left. That is where you park your foot when it isn’t needed for shifting. Not on the clutch pedal. Search riding the clutch. > **[Dead pedal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_pedal)** > > In an automobile, the dead pedal, often also called a footrest, is typically a non-moving piece of rubber or metal that the driver is supposed to rest their foot on when driving. Although the dead pedal serves no mechanical function in the car, many car manufacturers opt to implement it because it provides a number of ergonomic benefits to the driver. In manual transmission cars, the dead pedal is designed to promote a smoother actuation of the clutch by keeping the driver's foot in the same plan... This is similar to people who drive an automatic with both feet, one on the gas pedal and one on the brake. They may think that they are not pushing on the brake when they are resting their foot there but they are. And their brakes wear out prematurely. An automatic should be driven with only the right foot. On the gas to go, remove from the gas pedal to the brake pedal to slow. You can tell these people when you are following them. Constant brake lights on and off and you just know they can’t be moving their right foot that often. In a manual trans car your left foot should only go on the clutch pedal to shift and should be resting somewhere off that pedal when not shifting. > [@](#): > > #5 Don’t Rest Your Foot On the Clutch When Driving > Why It’s Bad: It will wear out your clutch. > You’ve heard the term before. It’s called “riding the clutch.” > Let’s put this in the simplest terms possible. Your clutch is not a resting place for your foot. Even though you think there’s no pressure being applied, there most certainly is and it’s bad news bears. > Your foot forces the clutch pedal down and then causes it to take up the slack. This, in turn, causes the clutch friction disk to slip, creating heat and ultimately wearing your clutch out. [https://news.goauto.ca/5-things-shouldnt-driving-manual-vehicle/](https://news.goauto.ca/5-things-shouldnt-driving-manual-vehicle/) ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-questions/828825/64 "2019-02-07T19:42:58Z")
I’ve never had a manual that was hard to get into reverse, but I do have a complaint over my last few cars- their reverse gearing was too high. It was so high, I had to always slip the clutch to back up so I wouldn’t go twenty MPH backwards! Seriously, I looked up the gear ratio, and it was between first and second gear. Reverse should be lower than first! ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-questions/828825/65 "2019-02-07T21:06:40Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > A truck with super low is not supposed to start in first unless they need it. What’s sometimes called “granny low”. I learned on a pickup like that. It was easier to think of it as having zero, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears, and you only use zero if you’re pulling something heavy. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-questions/828825/66 "2019-02-07T23:51:51Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > What’s sometimes called “granny low”. I’ve always heard either “granny gear” or “creeper gear”. I’ve never heard it called “granny low”, though that’s close enough to “granny gear” that I immediately knew what you were referring to. ---
**Author:** ![SHARKBITEATTACK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@SHARKBITEATTACK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SHARKBITEATTACK)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-questions/828825/67 "2019-02-08T00:31:43Z")
heat, feathering the clutch (applying power while the clutch is only partially engaged). As the clutch, flywheel/pressureplate get hot they become softer and are more prone to wear and/or warpage [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-questions/828825.md?page=3)