How to protect the grip of the car from damage?
Tips for motorists,  Car device

How to protect the grip of the car from damage?

Clutch is a distinctive feature of manual transmissions. It helps disengage the transmission from the engine so you can bring the car to a smooth, quick and easy stop.

How to protect the clutch from damage?

Clutch, like almost all other components in a car, wears out, a fact that no one can dispute. Moreover, unlike other components, the clutch is subject to constant friction, which additionally creates conditions for wear of its elements.

As much as we would not like this, the moment always comes when this so important component in the car will have to be replaced. Replacement may be required both after a run of 100 or 000 kilometers, and after a run of 150 or 000 kilometers. More importantly, the way it is used has the greatest impact on its lifespan.

In other words, improper use of the clutch can lead to premature wear and the need to replace the entire clutch kit. And all this is connected not only with the "damage" of nerves, but also with a significant amount of money for the purchase of a new kit and its installation. Add to this the required few days of servicing your car. Improper grip handling can be very costly.

How to protect your car's grip from damage?


To help those of you who want to extend the life of your clutch, we tried to bring together and provide some easy-to-use tips to help you protect it from damage.

Fully depress the pedal while shifting gears
When shifting gears, be sure to fully depress the pedal to make sure that the pressure plate is securely separated from the engine. If you do not press fully, the clutch may well remain in contact with the engine during gear shifting, and this can lead to significant wear of its components.

How to protect the grip of the car from damage?

Do not keep your car at a speed when you stop, and wait for a “stop”
When you wait until the traffic light turns on and one of the gears turns on, you actually turn on the three parts of the clutch: a spring, a bearing and a diaphragm. Under constant voltage, these and other components of the coupling gradually become depressed and wear out, which inevitably leads to replacement of the coupling.

To protect the grip when stopped, put it in a neutral position and wait. This will reduce overall clutch wear. And believe me, it won't take you long to switch when it turns green again.

Do not rest your hand on the gear lever
This may seem strange, but the weight of your hand can cause the parts responsible for shifting gears to rub against each other, which ultimately leads to wear. To protect the clutch from damage the next time you notice that you put your hand on the lever, take it to the side to avoid trouble.

Do not keep your foot on the pedals all the time
We assume that you have heard the phrase “grip driving”. Holding the clutch pedal is a very common mistake, especially for inexperienced drivers, and this leads to faster clutch wear. Why? When you keep your foot on the clutch pedal, even if you lean it slightly against the pedal, it will make the clutch energized. This, in turn, leads to wear of the friction disk.

How to protect the grip of the car from damage?

To avoid problems, just keep your feet away from the pedal (when you don't need to use it) and always remind yourself that there is a better place to rest your legs and arms than the clutch lever and pedal.

Always start with first gearи
Many people shift to third gear instead of first for more convenience, but this "comfort" is extremely bad practice and wears out the clutch discs much faster.

Release the clutch as soon as you engage the gear
After shifting into gear, release the clutch completely. Why? Keeping the clutch lightly pressed is very harmful for him, because it exposes him to rotation of the engine, which in turn causes unnecessary friction on his discs.

Do not park at speed - use the parking brake
Even if the engine is turned off, if the car remains at speed, this creates a load on the clutch. Therefore, always make sure that the gear is off during parking and use the parking brake. This will reduce the pressure on the clutch discs when you are not driving and prevent its wear.

No shift gears more than necessary
Try to use the lever only when it is really necessary. When you drive and see the road ahead, correctly assess the road conditions and obstacles that you need to overcome in order to maintain a constant speed, instead of constantly changing gears.

Shifting gears only when necessary will protect the clutch from premature wear.

Shift gears smoothly but quickly
The more you hesitate and keep the pedal depressed, the more you load the clutch and contribute to its wear. To protect him, try to carefully evaluate the situation and decide what equipment you want to use. Step on the pedal, quickly engage the gear and immediately release the pedal. Thus, you will not load the connecting elements additionally and completely unnecessarily, and also protect them from wear.

Do not use downshift when descending a hill.
Many drivers know that when climbing a mountain they must use a lower gear. However, few people know that when descending from the mountain should not use a lower gear.

Do not reuse grip when climbing slopes.
The most common mistake that leads to clutch wear is that when the car rises along a slope or a steep street, the driver presses the clutch pedal several times. If you have this habit, we must tell you that when you press the pedal, you are not really doing anything useful. Instead of making lifting easier, you simply wear the friction material of the drive disc.

If you follow the tips that we just shared with you, you can probably protect your car's grip from damage. But in addition to the proper use of the clutch, it is necessary to provide good service.

We are convinced that almost no one thinks about clutch maintenance before it is too late, but the truth is that timely maintenance can have a significant impact on the durability of this key element for manual transmissions.

How to protect the grip of the car from damage?

The way you control the clutch, proper operation and important maintenance steps can save you a lot of time, nerves and money. The clutch service is really very simple, and you need to pay attention to:

Heat generated

Like many other components that make up the car, one of the main enemies of the clutch is heat. To protect your grip, try to avoid situations where the grip is partially actuated to reduce the amount of heat generated by the internal friction of the elements.

Air pockets

One of the side effects that can occur when a large amount of heat is released when the clutch is used improperly is the formation of small air pockets in the hydraulic fluid, which is used to activate the clutch. To prevent such air pockets from forming, it is useful to periodically check the condition of the pedal, and if you feel that something is wrong, pump it. You can do this either using a special automatic pumping system or manually.

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