Re: (Double) Clutching at Straws

[james <james@jua.res.cmu.edu>]

On Fri, 7 Feb 1997 quattro@rogerswave.ca wrote:
> >
> I did that for a month.  The hardest part was getting the car 
> rolling.  Pushing the gear into first would make the synchros drag 
> the car along, they would prevent the gear from engaging at first but 
> once the car rolled enough the gear would pop in and it was time to 
> step on the gas.  I usually took a long time to slow down for a light 
> just like the truckers do, to prevent from coming to a full stop.
> Unless the rpm's are exactly mached the synchros will not allow 
> engagement of the gear.  If perfectly mached the gear will slide in 
> just as smooth as if it was done with a clutch.  Do not try this on a 
> car with old synchros, they will grind.  My Rabbit was perfectly fine 
> if driven without using the clutch, the Coupe on the other hand does 
> not like it (old synchros).
Shifting without the clutch isn't a bad idea, and a well trained driver 
may reduce long term maintenance costs on the clutch/throw-out bearing, 
but using the friction of the syncros to "drag" the car up to the speed 
where 1st syncronizes with idle speed seems excessive.  I'm not sure that 
I would want a 200k mile car that had been driven this way.
OTOH, this is an excellent limp home method.  I would argue that it is 
easier on the car to kick it out of gear at about 2-5mph, use the brakes 
to stop, shut the car off, put it in first, and use the starter to start 
the car moving from a dead stop with no wear at all on the syncro.  In my 
experience, most Audi's are geared low enough that you don't experience 
any bucking at all if you just turn the key with the car in gear.
Of course I had to disconnect the stupid clutch safety switch on a 
toyota.  Do newer Audi's have these?

James