Dipping clutch for a second - taking the edge of speed

[Scoobman]

So....
Sometimes when I am driving along a straight road say a motorway - no hazzards and I begin to slowly gain on car way infront and I just want to take the edge of my speed in a smooth way - without going near the brake. I dip the clutch for a second take power away from the wheels and it just takes that edge of my speed in a smoother way than braking. (Its almost like a dab of the breaks would be too severe in the situation)

The purists may think this is a bad habit and that the car should not coast for even a second. But it sometimes works for me. What do you lot think?

(The rules are there to be understood and then you can make judgement on when to break them

[Gingerbread Man]

Depends how far the car is away, but I'd just take my foot off the accelerator for a while. Takes power away from wheels, surely a better move than dipping the clutch?

My 2p

David

[stefan1]

You'll get more retardation from just backing off the gas, thanks to engine braking (although that is sometimes a bit limited in a turbo car). Dipping the clutch removes the drive, but also removes any engine braking.

And then when you re-engage the clutch you should match revs to avoid any drivetrain shunt.

Bottom line - just back off the gas. Can't see any benefit in depressing the clutch at all.

Kind regards

Steve

[supermono]

If dipping the clutch doesn't work, you could roll down the window and hold a plastic bag out.

Anything but touch the brakes ("breaks", lol)

SM

[timskipper]

If you cannot activate the "breaks" without it being severe; I would suggest you have other things to worry about!

p.s. if you take the bulbs out you can stil use them and remain "advanced".

[Scoobman]

Yep perhaps I am just being daft
and just use my brakes LOL

[Strangely Brown]

How about just looking further ahead and using acceleration sense. i.e. take your foot off the throttle.

[henrycrun]

On a freeflowing motorway there shouldn't be any need to use the brakes

[LordGrover]

henrycrun said:

On a freeflowing motorway there shouldn't be any need to use the brakes

True, but it's not a crime to brake - I sometimes get the impression some ADs (present company excepted ) think anyone caught braking on the motorway should be hanged, drawn and quartered.

[Yung Man]

Scoobman said:

Yep perhaps I am just being daft
and just use my brakes LOL

Why don't you double de-clutch and drop down a(one) gear then when you are happy with the reduced speed just slip it back into top.

Either way it seems pointless to me, If you read the road ahead a bit more you might not need to do anything other than lift off the gas.

Edited by Yung Man on Wednesday 13th February 15:04

[Scoobman]

Strangely Brown said:

How about just looking further ahead and using acceleration sense. i.e. take your foot off the throttle.

Condesending responses like the one above - is why I think I will stop posting.

You have never been in a car with me so how do you know what my observation skills are like

Seeing as I was extensively trained in surveillence in a previous life .... I some how suspect that my powers of observation might be a touch better than yours.

______________________________________

This is my last post in advanced driving - no hard feelings
Best wishes all.
Scoobman

[Strangely Brown]

Scoobman said:

Strangely Brown said:

How about just looking further ahead and using acceleration sense. i.e. take your foot off the throttle.

Condesending responses like the one above - is why I think I will stop posting.

My answer was no more condescending than your question was... err... stupid.

Scoobman said:

You have never been in a car with me so how do you know what my observation skills are like

True, but I wasn't belittling your observation skills, merely your ability vary the speed of your vehicle in a sensible manner.

Scoobman said:

Seeing as I was extensively trained in surveillence in a previous life .... I some how suspect that my powers of observation might be a touch better than yours.

Good for you. It's a shame you weren't trained in the ability to remember what they taught you in driving lessons too. Even the most basic novice knows that if you want to slow down (or simply stop gaining on the vehicle in front) the easiest thing to do is take your foot off the loud pedal.

Scoobman said:

This is my last post in advanced driving - no hard feelings

None at all. Bye.

Edited by Strangely Brown on Wednesday 13th February 16:14

[timskipper]

Scoobman said:

Seeing as I was extensively trained in surveillence in a previous life

In my previous life I was a chicken.

Anyway this explains it all. Those Ford Expeditions I see Jack Bauer and his mates tooling around in are all automatics.

[andy_quantum]

If there's enough room and no danger, I've found moving left to right ever so slightly can do more to reduce speed than lifting off, a little controlled weave if you will.

If you're rapidly approaching another vehicle it can be a bit aggressive as you're in one mirror then the other, but thats probably not a good scenario to be in anyway

[timskipper]

andy_quantum said:

If there's enough room and no danger, I've found moving left to right ever so slightly can do more to reduce speed than lifting off, a little controlled weave if you will.

Goodness me they're all coming out today! Are you a spy too?

Edited by timskipper on Wednesday 13th February 19:09

[p1esk]

Scoobman said:

Strangely Brown said:

How about just looking further ahead and using acceleration sense. i.e. take your foot off the throttle.

Condesending responses like the one above - is why I think I will stop posting.

You have never been in a car with me so how do you know what my observation skills are like

Seeing as I was extensively trained in surveillence in a previous life .... I some how suspect that my powers of observation might be a touch better than yours.

______________________________________

This is my last post in advanced driving - no hard feelings
Best wishes all.
Scoobman

Hey, steady on. What Mark suggested was perfectly fair. Don't give up on us too easily.

Best wishes all,
Veronica.

[King Herald]

Scoobman said:

Strangely Brown said:

How about just looking further ahead and using acceleration sense. i.e. take your foot off the throttle.

Condesending responses like the one above - is why I think I will stop posting.

You have never been in a car with me so how do you know what my observation skills are like

Seeing as I was extensively trained in surveillence in a previous life .... I some how suspect that my powers of observation might be a touch better than yours.

______________________________________

This is my last post in advanced driving - no hard feelings
Best wishes all.
Scoobman

Wow, I find it hard to understand your indignation, after all, dipping the clutch is the LAST thing I would do to lose a little speed on a motorway.

You dip the clutch, the engine revs higher, you release the clutch, your engine takes the drive again and speeds you back up slightly. And leaving the throttle where it is you will just speed back up to your original speed

As most others have mentioned, backing the throttle off a fraction is by far the simplest way to achieve the objective.

[_Neal_]

King Herald said:

Wow, I find it hard to understand your indignation

I don't! It seems to be an increasingly common (and often legitimate) complaint on this section of the forum that a genuinely and innocently-asked question gets very short shrift from regular AD posters for no real reason. Sure, the answer may be so obvious to them, but it's clearly not to the person asking the question!

Everyone has to start their learning somewhere - if you think a question is so moronic that you can't post a response without potentially causing offence, why not just grit your teeth and post nothing?

Neal

[Strangely Brown]

_Neal_ said:

King Herald said:

Wow, I find it hard to understand your indignation

I don't! It seems to be an increasingly common (and often legitimate) complaint on this section of the forum that a genuinely and innocently-asked question gets very short shrift from regular AD posters for no real reason.

No real reason eh? Are you sure you wouldn't like to [re-]read the OP and perhaps reconsider your defence of his indignation?

[rsv gone!]

Probably only me that thought this thread was to do with Cadence Clutching