h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As has been mentioned in the article, we are all sometimes forced to drive a car with a broken clutch.
In a short an sweet manner, I will try to explain the easiest way of doing this.

From a standstill:
a) Make sure there is nothing in front of your vehicle, or for at least 20m(eters) ahead of you. Getting a car going without a clutch does involve a large amount of lurching forwards.
b) Ensuring the engine is off, engage first (or second, I prefer first) gear. When the time comes to move, turn the key as if to start the car. Because the gear is engaged, the car should hop forward. What's important here is to remember that your car is being propelled by the power of your starter motor, so don't do it too often

Whilst moving
Drive normally. (Though if normally means insane, then drive un-normally). When the time comes where you would normally change gears, follow this guide:
a) Pull out of first gear, into neutral. You should be coasting now.
Trying not to take too long about it, grab the gear lever and apply slight pressure in the direction of second gear. A slight pressure will usually suffice. At the same time, blip your accelerator. As the revs fall, the gear should pop into place due to the pressure applying to the lever.

This whole idea works surprisingly well, though you might want to practise on your particular car

Dunno if this explanation is any better than in the original post, but it's saved me walking home on many occasions.

do you, and your car(s), suffer from a lot of clutch problems then, or is it because you can't be bothered to press the clutch.

I posted this bit on the double de-clutching bit...have to get used to the site's format, sorry....

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SOmetimes, when getting old, and a bit weary [but still alert]..the left leg can get tired with heavy clutch pedals..[something modern drivers won't know about], so clutchless, smooth changes get conducted.
At one time, I drove buses for 25 years...not the modern, plastic fake buses, but real one's...often with a crash-type gearbox [sraight cut gears, no synchromesh]....that needed double de-clutching.
On a typical urban bus route of, say, 30 minutes duration, there would be an average of, for example, 30 bus stops to stop at. Allow at least 3 downshifts per stop [Bristol FLF 5 speeders could not be stopped whilst still in top gear]...another 3 shifts back to top gear...I make that at least 180 clutch movements, or ...360 if double de-clutching...this is not counting traffic gearchanges, junctions, ec.so , conservatively, increase that figure by, say, 50%?..so that's between 270 and 540 clutch movements...in an hour!

7 hour shifts....5 day week......49 working weeks in a year....that's over 300,000 clutch movemements [or gear shifts].....and that doesn't include overtime, or more intensive routes, junctions, traffic stops, etc.....as mentioned above..

So I think we can be forgiven for the odd clutchless gearchnage in our driving lives?

Whatever the reason for making clutchless gearchanges, a properly executed one is as smooth and a clutch assisted gearchange.

The clutchless gearchange can be considered to have 4 steps

1) Preparation for disengaging the current gear.

To ease disengagement from the current gear, the driving force acting on the gears needs to be minimised. This is achieved by adjusting the throttle so that the engine is neither accelerating or braking the vehicle.

2) Disengaging the current gear.

Once the throttle has been matched to the current road speed, the current gear can be disengaged by applying a very low force to the gear lever to select neutral

3) Preparation for engaging the new gear

Before engaging the new gear the engine speed needs to be matched to the speed required for the new gear.

For up changes, this means reducing the engine speed - this is best achieved by reducing the throttle to about the right position for the required engine speed and letting the engine coast down.

For down changes, this is best achieved by giving the throttle a quick blip to make the engine speed a little too high and then letting it coast down

4) Entering the new gear

When the engine is running at about the right speed for the current road speed / gear, the new gear is selected by applying a medium force to the gear lever in the direction of the new gear

Isn't that what it says in the Entry?