Balancing the clutch

colinod

Driving up hill slowly for me is becoming a nightmare with having to go the handbrake every second i'm stopped...Get paranoid about the rest of the drivers behind. If going up a hill and see cars going slowly is panic stations

One of the buddies was on about balancing the clutch..Read up about it

Any tips on here?

Alanstrainor

You shouldn't use the clutch to balance the car on an incline. It's bad for your clutch. You're much better off using the handbrake when stopped on a hill.

HydeRoad

That's where my diesel Mondeo is great, she'll pull gently up that hill with no acceleration at all! Not much use I'm sure if you drive a 1 litre Micra...

I imagine myself sitting beside you in that car, the car jerking to a stop, and the fumbling of feet and arms as you switch from wheel to handbrake, handbrake to gearstick, back to handbrake, back to wheel, panic levels rising!

The first thing to do is to relax! It's only a little hill. Practice on an empty hill, creeping up at mile-an-hour, foot off the clutch, feathering the accelerator, seeing just how slow the car will climb before spluttering and stalling. As soon as you feel that car shuddering, foot down on clutch and brake gently, or verrry gently increase the revs, by a hair's breadth if you want to keep moving. If you press the accelerator hard, or if you come off too quickly, the car jerks. Your foot movement on that accelerator pedal needs to be no more than a millimetre or two, keep it as smooth as silk, and the car will be smooth too. Learn to keep that right foot absolutely steady while your left foot works the clutch.

When you have learnt how to creep forwards smoothly without jerks, then learn to stop and start. Do not brake to a complete stop. From crawling speed, feather the brake pedal, and lift off before the car stops completely. Let it roll into that stop. On an incline, the car will immediately roll back. With your left hand on the handbrake, you can grab the car, gently, at exactly the moment the car stops. No need for a jerk, have the handbrake already right at the biting point, ready to gently pull for a smooth stop. Too soon, and the car jerks. Too late, and it rolls back. Practice makes perfect. With practice, learn where the biting point of the handbrake is, and when using it repeatedly in creeping traffic, you won't need to use the full length of it's travel, once you have the car under precise control.

Practice, practice, practice. If you find yourself in a traffic situation on a hill, and find yourself panicking, it just means you haven't practised enough. Don't wait till you are in traffic, find a quiet hill without parked cars, and try a bit of creeping and stopping. It's simple when it clicks with you, you just need to do it a little to get the hang of it, like anything.