Top Tips To Avoid Wearing Out Your Clutch Quickly
Depending on many factors, including your driving style, your clutch could wear quicker than it might.
As your clutch in your car is constantly subjected to friction it’s no surprise that it will wear out one day. You may get 30,000 miles or less from a clutch, or if you look after it you could get 4 – 5 times that!
A clutch can sometimes be a costly option on your vehicle especially if its diesel and has a dual mass flywheel, our technicians at Eclipse Autos always advise to go for genuine parts or OEM specification.
Avoid clutch centres who can do clutch repairs cheap as some of them will either use refurbished parts or manufacture their clutches on their own premises. Would you really want to have a cheaper option that would only last a short time or spend a little more and have peace of mind that it will last 2 -3 times longer than the cheap alternative as most of the bill will be to remove and replace the gearbox each time.
How you drive your car is a big factor in how long the clutch will last. As the replacement will be a big expense you may want to adjust your driving technique to help look after the clutch and make it last a little bit longer. Here are some of our top tips from Eclipse Autos In Bletchley
Riding the clutch is a phrase you will hear often – usually from parents or your driving instructor, but what do they actually mean?
Riding the clutch means: keeping the clutch pedal partially pressed down (resting your foot on the clutch pedal), after your have changed gear. By all means let the clutch out smoothly after changing gear, but not labour it and leave it partially down. Riding the clutch causes the pressure pad to push against the clutch plate – because you are only partially depressing the pedal though it does not engage fully, this creates the friction that will wear the clutch out sooner.
What is an easy fix for this behaviour? Unless you are changing gear or pulling away from stationary, don’t have your foot anywhere near the clutch pedal – particularly don’t part-depress the clutch when stopped at traffic lights
When you are stopped at the lights, or in traffic, put your car in neutral and get your foot off the clutch. Keeping the car in gear, either at the biting point or with the clutch fully depressed, puts unnecessary strain on the clutch and should be avoided. Simply put the car into neutral, and if needed use the handbrake to stop your car rolling.
You are in first gear, time to change to second gear – change gear quickly (most new vehicles have gear change indicators which will let the driver know when to change gear). Do not dawdle, engage the clutch, change gear, release the clutch smoothly but quickly. Common amongst new drivers, the habit of holding the clutch in too long when releasing it is both unnecessary and can cause damage to your clutch. Even if it is only for a few seconds, this soon adds up to a significant chunk of time when you consider how many times you change gear in a year.
The same goes for when you park your vehicle, put it in neutral and apply the handbrake. Leaving your car in gear will put an extra strain on the clutch – even when the engine is not running. So, if you do not have enough faith in leaving your car on a hill with only the handbrake to stop it, make sure you get your handbrake checked by a vehicle technician!
What about using your gears to slow your car down? Well this is a bit of a double edged sword – ok, it is effective and can stop your car considerably quicker than using the brakes alone, so in the case of an emergency if you have the opportunity to use engine braking then fine, by all means do it. However it does mean you will be using your clutch more than you if you just used your brakes. Here’s the double edged bit – not using your engine to brake will result in your brakes wearing out sooner. Striking a balance between the two is pretty simple though – check out the price of brake pads and the price of a new clutch. Stop using your engine as a brake!
At eclipse Autos Group In Bletchley we offer Clutch replacement on most makes of vehicles at very competitive prices
We also offer our easy payment plan where you can spread the cost of your bill interest free over 4 months
Call and speak to us for all details on our clutch services