Spare the clutch
Noël Staples, our occasional Friendly motoring correspondent, urges us to be careful when we put our foot down
Did you know that the clutch on your car is just a disc brake working in reverse? No? Depressing the brake pedal forces the brake pads onto the wheel discs causing friction to stop the car, whereas releasing the clutch pedal creates friction to match the clutch pad speed to the engine disc and then lock onto it. In both cases friction ceases when you take your foot off the pedal. Having this knowledge may help lengthen the clutch’s life by many miles, though urban vehicles always wear their clutch faster. Here’s how this knowledge may help sustain your clutch.
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