This is extremely accurate. The BMW driver is in two lanes at once AND he's not using his blinker in any given scenario.

You can also avoid riding the clutch while leaving a stop light by revving the engine dumping the clutch and doing a burnout

In case you are wondering: Yes, it's ok to release slowly the clutch pedal sometimes, like when you start moving from zero on first gear or when you need extra power to not stall (Like going uphill). You are not going to damage your clutch disk for doing those two things.

I've been driving a manual 1990 toyota corolla for years with my family. This video made me understand visually how the clutch disc operates. I have been enlightened by this.

"...you have to shift to a lower gear." _shifts from 4th to 1st_

Guys I’ve eliminated riding the clutch completely from my driving habits. Now, every time my light turns green, I either launch forward or stall. I live near a steep hill that gets heavy traffic due to the stop sign at the top, so I’m constantly launching forward into cars. It’s ok they’re used to me now and applaud my ability to not ride the clutch.

Riding the clutch for a moment is unavoidable for accelerating from 0. However, you should as much as possible, match your RPM and gear to your speed to avoid riding the clutch while on drive. If you're slowing down, you should shift down to avoid stalling, and then rev up if needed to avoid (unintentional) engine braking. How far you have to downshift and how much you have to rev to match depends on the vehicle: not all engine power, torque curves, and gear ratios are the same after all.

Well, there are basically two scenarios where partially engaging the clutch (clutch control) is just necessary: 1. pulling off in 1st gear of course, you have to partially engage the clutch in order to make it easier for the engine to move the car and not to stall, and as soon as you reach walking speed you may fully release the clutch; 2. Driving at very slow speeds is just impossible whilst the clutch is fully released, like moving slowly in traffic jams, and moving slowly while parking. Other than those two I can't see any other situation where riding the clutch may come in hand.

I like how they put detail into the man's air maxes 😂

Drive in Indian traffic and you will know that half clutch is an absolutely essential technique. We may have to change clutch plates every 5 yrs, but its absolutely worth it.

I remember way back in 1964 my dad got me a summer holiday job in our local garage. In the first week we had an American car come in, a Dodge Dart, and we had to change the clutch. When we got the under pan off we were showered in a load of carbon filings and dust. The mechanic I was assisting said the driver had been "Riding the clutch". Good video.

I remember continuously asking my driving instructor how the clutch worked and he would always make me feel stupid for not understanding his answers. Now, actually seeing how it works, I realise he had no clue himself and was either too stupid or too much of an asshole to recognise that. Probably both. Thanks for explaining

3:32 This saves the engine from Stalin

I'm glad you mentioned the part at the end of the video. I lived on an island with steep hills and it is necessary evil to partially press the clutch when climbing one

As always thanks a lot for creating quality videos to inform most people.

5:00 For those looking to skip all the fluff and get to the point of the video. Partially pressing clutch causes friction disk wear. Extra detail: you're probably already driving as best as you can. Cars suffer wear and tear. Get your car serviced regularly and properly, and you'll be fine.

I wonder how he can reach that gearstick..

Always makes me cringe when i see someone holding the car with the clutch at a red traffic light on an incline.

Whoa! Didn't knew this fact until this video. It's been 4-5 years of driving and I was doing it all wrong. Thanks for this valuable info. I'll keep it in mind from now on😊

Brought to you by Nike sneakers.

The driver in the video still has two left shoes on

I found out about this negative effect of riding the clutch one day while stopped on an uphill slope in traffic. Instead of disengaging the clutch and using the brakes to stop and remain in place, which would then require me to engage first gear to get going once traffic started moving, one day I just rode the clutch to keep the car in balance between going forward or letting gravity take me down the hill in reverse and into the traffic behind me. I did this for many minutes because of the heavy traffic and suddenly my car started to smoke inside the cabin and it smelled of burning brakes, which in effect was my clutch burning up. After realizing that my clutch was getting damaged I immediately stopped riding the clutch and haven't done it since, except for some occasions where it is very momentary. It is definitely a bad idea to ride the clutch frequently and especially for extended periods of time. Lastly, it is possible to shift gears without using the clutch on many vehicles including motorcycles if you know your vehicle and know how to feel the engine revs and then time the shift precisely.

Thanks for the informative video, I used to partially press the clutch whenever I needed some power which affected my engine, time to change this habit of mine

Bmw really went hard on the Z4. Not only did they fit a v6 with v8 headers, they also put its crankshaft in backwards. Ah and let's not forget the gearshift, conveniently placed under the hood in this model.

Many of us don't fully appreciate the amount of engineering behind the simplest cars. Humans can be very resourceful when ever they really put the efforts into it. 😌👏👏👌👌

What a great video! Cant wait for the next video on "Why you should not ROTATE your wheels?" explaining that wheels rotating cause friction with the ground leading to wear and tear of them.

Very Insightful presentation on riding the clutch. Many years back a friend was riding the clutch especially when we drove fast and we get close to vehicles in front of us repeatedly for a prolonged period, there came this smell like the clutch was burning. After he stopped this but using clutch pedal only when changing gears it was clear that partially pressing the clutch was a bad amatuer driving technique.

Having driven professionally for almost a decade, it's virtually impossible or at the very least impractical to never keep the clutch partially depressed. Just don't overdo it, regularly service the car, and everything will be fine. You're not likely to own/drive the car for as long as it would take in order to break it purely because of partially depressing the clutch.

love how detailed those air max 1’s are

After four years im watching tbis video... Masha allah... What a beautiful video.. Described completely in a perfect manner.. 💛💛💕💕👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Very nice video, thank you for showing the step by step process between the engine and transmission.

"In manual transmission car..." *americans quit*

I've found a way to save my clutch. 0 wear and tear. I simply dont shift. I leave it in 1st...... on an unrelated note, the smoke coming from under the hood, and that knocking sound... both normal right?

This make me appreciate hill start assist so much more. When I first got that feature I was a bit frustrated as I was used to revving it quickly between releasing brakes and releasing clutch, when doing a hill start. But with hill start assist, the computer holds the brakes for you until the clutch engages, hence no need to rev too high. But if you rev high anyways it would result in a lurch. I got used to the system quickly and can start uphill as smooth as an automatic.

half clutch is very useful when you are driving on a slope you can easily pick up the car instead of doing it by handbrake

tried automatic transmission once... ...almost got killed when i wanted to press the clutch...

Thx I stopped riding my clutch when I get into traffic going up hills so I just rev it up to 4K and dump that clutch

You can avoid riding the clutch by going into neutral gear when you feel the engine is going to stall then go back to a suitable gear depending on your current car speed

There are scenarios where a partially depressed clutch are necessary, such as the gradual connection of the engine and transmission needed in hill starts.

The only real risk of damage from depressing the clutch halfway is when you do it for too long or too often. It can overheat the flywheel, friction disk and pressure plate, which can create hotspots, excessive wear, weakening of the metals, and even warping. You should only really ride the clutch in first gear, when youre climbing a steep hill in traffic, per say. You ride the clutch while giving some throttle and youll be able to keep up with traffic without constantly doing hill starts. Usually dont do it for more than a minute, though.

You need to ride the clutch to drive in Indian traffic.

I work for an automotive company and recently i was provided this task to train some of the electrical / embedded software engineers about the automotive transmission and some of the employee asked me this question what is Half clutch / Partial clutch and i had to explain the whole team about this function, although some i believe did not understand its function. I believe this video would be more informative for beginners and engineers who have no clue about automotive systems. A very nice, clean and neatly explained video.

This video does a very good job at half-explaining things.

Guilty as charged, I destroyed two clutches like that, granted I mostly drive in bumper to bumper stop-and-go traffic so riding the clutch is hard to avoid. Anyway, I wised up and switched to automatic, no more cramps in left leg from constant gear changing.

If you drive a manual BMW and you ride the clutch,or halfway pressing the clutch. It's okay!! Mommy and Daddy will buy you a new BMW!

I love how this video explains more than just about not pressing the clutch pedal

Great video with good visuals details and good explanation.

Thanks very much for this information ❤

0:30 bro why is gear shifter under the hood?

Ahh the elusive BMW v6.

Isn't it good when you answer a question no one asks and yet it becomes one of the most factful vids on KZfaq?

My dad asked me after around 3 years of asking why I wasn't as smooth as him, i told him 'I don't ride the clutch', to which he responded, 'Why not'. I wish we had this video back then.

I don't ride the clutch while driving, but I have a terrible habit of riding it while in neutral at a stop light (resting my foot on it). This was informative from the mechanical aspect. Nice job on the animations. Helps to see a visual with the verbal description.

Thanks god, here in Germany everybody is learning to drive on a manual transmissioned car.

Thank you for the knowledge

the only clutch video that doesn’t usurp precious minutes of my lifetime

This is a very burning topic my friends.......glad that the patreons put up....... It was a habit I used to practise ......but I have changed now......it takes time

Anyone else triggered by that BMW having a v6 instead of the straight 6 it should?

Fantastic video...Good clarity on the subject..

I've always wondered how the clutch works. Thanks

You have to depress the clutch slowly though when you start running in first gear or else the engine would stall if you release it too quickly. You can't really avoid riding the clutch in constantly crawling traffic or else other motorists will be annoyed at you for always stopping your car because only at neutral at stop or when the vehicle is above stall speed can you take your left foot off that pedal. It's not always as simple and straightforward as this video suggests. However, it's really a good habit to keep your foot off the clutch when you're not using it as that would cause unnecessary wear.

Thank's guys! After watching this video I completely stopped riding the clutch by ripping it out and buying an automatic.

thank you so much! I tried this and it works perfectly on my automatic

I was used to do ridding the clutch. Thanks a lot for making me aware that it is not good.I will change my driving habit.

Americans be like : "What is a clutch ?"

As a Clutch manufacturer in the United Kingdom this is a very informative video. Clutch and Transmission issues are common talking points but mainly fail due to driver or install error. Please look out for our videos in the coming weeks.

Well explained, very much helped by excellent graphics.

Love ur channel. U make science come alive.

You are doing a great job....👏👏👏

when the shifter is like 5 ft from the driver

Thank you so much, before this video my driving teacher told me to not half clutch and I didn't understand why do I have to? And then when I saw this video I realized how important was teachers' say.

your channel is really useful i like it so much

And my driving instructor told me to partially press clutch and apply brake when needed when driving bumper to bumper in traffic.

This message brought to you by BMW and Nike. Thanks sponsors!

Wonderful video bro. It is very useful.

Nice explanation you take us in to new technology world in different aspects tnx a lot

With low RPM and low speed, it would take a while (a long time) to destroy a clutch with a half-clutch technique. If you don't smell your clutch burning, then you are okay.

Excellent video as always !!!

THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION.

Very true and nice education...even with motorbike ,partial pulling of clutch can damage your motorbike engine .

the things you learned at 3am from a recommended video ... noice

So I should drop the clutch every time I change gear, got it

Thank you for this insightful video.

I just found you out and I really enjoy your videos. I always wondered how small things like that work and I feel I now got a better understanding of it. This doesnt apply on motorcycles right? And can you make similar videos for motorcycles?

The key phrase this needs is "don't partially press the clutch *for extended periods of time or to offset lazy shifting practices*". Slipping the clutch (aka partially pressing) is absolutely required for smooth starts from a stop (1-2 seconds of slip), when moving slowly forward or in reverse (generally slip it to get moving then push it all the way in until more power is needed), and is also a good idea to smooth out RPM differences when shifting gears (maybe .5 seconds of slip). Dumping the clutch to avoid any slip is very hard on all of the components and is actually very hard on the clutch as it must pick up the "slack" of the RPM difference between the engine and transmission suddenly and harshly. If anyone wants to argue, tell it to my 70k mile clutch that still grabs like new when I got it with 8 miles on the odo.

Just putting it out there that I've put well over 300k miles (~500k KM) on three manual-trans cars while occasionally doing partial clutch engagement to, say, assist in an accidental or unintended start from 2nd gear. I have never once had to replace a clutch (due to such "abuse" or otherwise), but the tone of this video makes it sound like you can get away with such things about ten times tops before the whole clutch burns up. Still worth it I guess to scare people who actually *do* ride their clutches.

The best video out there on the subject.. Thanks.. 💥✨

What great animation!!!

"This saves the engine from Stalin" Damn

When I tried to teach ma daughter how to drive a stick. She told me "dad this is America we don't do that here"

Nicely explained 👏🏻👍🏻

I personally like how it shows the crankshaft pointing the wrong direction… kinda hard to connect the nose of the crank, where the harmonic balancer bolts on, to the flywheel where the clutch bolts on

Z4 with a v6? Ok.

Thanks for the update :) i will definitely stop doing this to my car!

this taught me a lot. also made me realize that switching gears is kinda like switching gears on a bicycle. specially while going up hill you gotta pedal up using the small gear so your legs wont strain too much and stall trying to push a bigger gear. it all makes sense!! edit: except in order to change gear you must pedal the bike, for a car its the opposite

A pretrip inspection 3D animated video would be superb--bet it'd do really well.

Well the friction material will not wear on low loads when resting your foot on the clutch, but the throwout bearing sure will. I think this is the more important takeaway as to why you should not rest your foot on the clutch.

This was so painful to watch.. The only time the clutch pedal should ever be touched is when starting, changing gears and stopping. End story. Like wtf

Lol these videos always get recommended to me on a Sunday morning 😂😭