Driving under 3mph vs. slipping the clutch
 

Hello,

My apartment has a semi-steep ramp that I need to slowly creep in at an angle to avoid scraping. I usually up the ramp in 1st at <3mph which sometimes results in lurching and other unpleasant grainy noises (which I'm assuming to be normal). Recently though, I've been slipping the clutch on and off, as if I were in traffic, to avoid the lurching.

I know neither is likely causing more than normal wear, but I'm curious as to what other people would do and why.

Stop and go?

If your car isn't lowered I would consider complaining to the apartment complex. If that doesn't work I would look up the laws or guidelines on how steep an entrance or such can be. Depending on where you are you might be able to complain to the city to force them to fix it.

That or find another entrance, if there is one.

I also have to slip the clutch when getting in/out of my driveway.
The worst is when doing a reverse parallel park up a steep hill!
Just part of the fun of driving a manual car!
It might be easier with the slightly lower gear ratios on the 2017 model.

My understanding is that even though slipping the cluth isn't the best thing for it, doing so at low speeds isn't terrible.

That's a lot of thought process for this task. New to MT?

This car's 1st gear is pretty tall and very forgiving at low speeds, and I can go 1 or 2 mph and keep it from lunging. You can also engage and disengage the clutch as needed without running the clutch and slipping it like crazy... I'm sure you'll figure it out and get used to it with enough practice

Edit: wait wait wait, you have a my17 with that embarrassing hill assist, what's the problem exactly?

pic of said ramp please

Well, now there, @cat94, I have a similar situation.

My driveway is not only steep, it has a crown where the driveway meets the sidewalk.

In order to not scrape the underside, I have to hit the crown at a 45 degree angle, without a passenger (my car is stock height).

So, when backing out into the street, because of the crown and blind spot, I have to go very slowly, since it is up hill ......thus slipping the clutch quite a bit.

I have taken the car in and out every day, for the past 4 years and my car's clutch is just fine.

Not to worry.


humfrz

I'm guessing you have had limited experience dealing with municipalities, after the concrete or paving project has been approved and the job is finished......:D


humfrz

meh, I have 6 ridiculous speed bumps to get in and out of my complex everyday so this is a dilemma I face all the time -.- fucking hate speed bumps with a passion especially when I see people who don't give a crap about their cars jump over the bumps with no regard. Anyways, the bumps were a problem with my first FRS and even more so with my current FRS since they have the factory lowering springs..if I go faster than 6 MPH, after the front wheels go over and the car starts coming back down, the underbody hits the bump half the time (not to mention I get some squeeky noises coming from the suspension which I assume are due to the lowering springs since I never heard such things with my first FRS)..if I go slower than 5 MPH the engine starts lugging as it tries to go up each bump..so similarly I end up having to ride the clutch while engaged in 1st but I will also change it up half the time and leave it in 2nd gear which can ride the bumps at 5 MPH without stalling out or using the clutch but it does sometimes lug the car and make it slightly jerky..

my 2 cents, slipping the clutch at such a slow speed shouldn't be too detrimental

i dont mean this in a condescending way (since this is just typed out words), but it seems like you just need more practice driving manual. the FRS/BRZ is pretty easy to drive manual compared to a lot of sports cars out there.

^x2
Either learn some throttle control or just keep slipping the clutch.

? :sigh:

going under 5 MPH to avoid scraping/bottoming out has nothing to do with the car being an easy manual to drive..our twins can be clunky especially at low speeds

Yep, thats what I meant.

I should clarify - I'm not actually having trouble doing either. I was mostly wondering what people's preferences are when there's no other choice but move the car very slowly. But I am new and also curious :D

The brake assist was a lot worse than using the handbrake when I was first learning...

The ramp isn't terrible, but just after you get up there's a big dip in the middle for the gutter too. Also visibility going out of the driveway is bad and so going out slowly is necessary.

New to driving?

what i meant by "easy to drive" included having to drive at low speeds, stop and go, etc. Our cars can easily be creeping at like 3mph without needing the clutch pedal work. my place has an insane driveway ramp upwards and then sidewalk and immediately down to the street basically being a giant speedbump. i scrape for sure, but i try to minimize the scrape as much as possible. slip the clutch to get to like 2-3mph and after that its just slight throttle control.

MOVE !

There is no better car out there. There are better living/parking situations.

Additionally...you won't own this car for long without scraping it's front end once in a while...it's inevitable.

I personally have no problems with the car being "clunky" at low speeds.
Car doesn't have a heavy clutch, a grabby clutch, or much torque...

The problem with your setup is you have soft springs, soft shocks, reduced travel and lowered too much for the spring rate. I'm on coilovers adjusted lower than any springs go and never have problems bottoming out at low speeds.

I would slip the clutch because lurching causes damage to the entire drive-line of the car (i.e., engine to the transmission to the wheels, basically entire structure of the car).

Yep, best to ask when you are unsure.

I can live with that. Already scraped a few times, but doesn't hurt to minimize that count.

It actually only lurches on cold starts, even after a few minutes warming up the engine (presumably because the rest of the car is still cold). But, I'll go with slipping the clutch as if I were reversing out of a parking spot.

Slipping at low speeds > lugging

I welcome you to try the 6 speedbumps in my complex...I'll take pictures later..

regardless, bottoming out was poor wording on my part as my setup has never truly bottomed out, but yes the soft shocks are indeed causing the chassis to rebound enough to hit the bump though I don't think the lowering springs have affected me too much as my first FRS at the stock ride height hit the bump just as often....and you're right, coilovers would avoid such a bounce but for DDing that is like the only benefit lol (besides better stance)..nty..not to mention I would have to initially drive slower over these bumps too :thumbdown:

Use more revs and slip the clutch when the engine is cold.

7000rpm, 3mph, drift over it



JK.

Slipping clutches is part of life, just don't ride the clutch once you're over the danger stall zone as that will wear your clutch quickly.

I would take a small amount of clutch modulation over lurching / lugging. You will learn to feel it out over time.

From what I have been told, it's alright to slip the clutch at low speeds and low revs for a short time.


Another trick is to blip the throttle a bit then modulating the clutch to control the speed.


I am also working on my stick skills, too. Looking to learn how to heel and toe this summer.


I think a nightmare situation for me would be to parallel park on a steep incline, especially since I don't have power steering haha.

Constant revs when slipping the clutch to stop the jerking or wanting to stall.. similar to a hill start or when crawling in traffic going up a hill.

Id slip the clutch. My driveway is garbage and has a wierd crown so I have to go very slowly to avoid scraping when there are 2 people in the car. But if you work on super small pedal inputs it can be driven that slowly without the clutch, just takes a fair amount of practice

Careful with the driving too slow, clutch up, as the load sensor will add throttle once the revs get too low causing the car to suddenly accelerate a few mph. Same thing if the air con kicks in as the engine idle revs pick up as it adds a notch of throttle.

I've never had a problem with lurching, cold or warm. I get the odd lurch as the clutch fully engages if I've slipped it too much leaving a stop, but that's just lazy driving.

With very careful throttle and clutch you can manoeuvre around at sub 3mph without raising the revs above idle but it takes lots of practice and risks stalling it. Certainly under 1000rpm is easy done. On hills it's wise to aim for the 1,000rpm, just remember to balance throttle and clutch together.

Clutch up, 4mph is easily doable, 3mph starts to get dicey, under that and you will labour the engine, get stutters and surges or stall and also run the risk of the load sensor or aircon accelerating you.

Slipping the clutch wears it, but it's meant to wear, it's what it's for, so if you have to do it, do it. If you don't, don't. Just be as gentle as you can. If you can smell it burning, you are doing it wrong.

What is worse for the clutch when depressed - feeding in power at low rpms, or off power at high rpms?

Being totally ignorant on the subject, I would think shifting at high rpms would cause the clutch to heat up faster and thus see excessive wear, when compared to holding the clutch while keeping the revs around 1-1.5K for several seconds to get over a bump.

I know you should try to avoid riding the clutch at low RPMs, but given this is a high revving motor that you need to get over 5K for any sort of power, low rpm "slipping" shouldn't be too much of a concern, right? or wrong?

When the clutch (pedal) is fully depressed, there isn't any wear on the clutch disk, in a properly adjusted clutch system........(jest ah messen wich ya .....;))

I reckon you're right, slipping the clutch, at low rpms when necessary shouldn't cause excessive wear.


humfrz

Clutch wear is proportional to the heat generated in it. The heat increases the more power you put through the clutch plates as they are slipping. Power = Torque * RPM (when adjusted for units). The torque is how hard you pull the car with the clutch, the RPM is ... well the engine rpm.

So the best is low rpm and low pull, gentle and enough to get you to a speed you can fully engage it.

The worst is 7k rpm and hard pulling the clutch to spin the wheels and keeping it slipping till you get to 5k rpm power band. Fastest launch though. Car will stink of clutch though.