Shifting without the clutch

[Chris.S.]

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to not using your clutch when you shift?

I will quite often just use the clutch only when I'm stopping-that is getting in/out of 1st gear.

I figure as long I'm shifting smoothly and using the synchros properly it would actually extend the life of my clutch.

My dad taught me how to shift w/o the clutch in high school but no-one has ever told me if it's a good/bad idea......

 

[FTSK95]

I've heard of shifting without the clutch, but don't know how to do it...How do you do it? I'm just curious

 

[93Ranger4x4]

I think you have to shift right at the proper rpm for it to go smoothy. Someone else will chime in for a better answer heh.

 

[Twitch57]

if you do so at the correct rpm you can shift without using the clutch

i think the problem is not what will happen from doing it correctly but incorrectly

 

[fastpakr]

+1. As long as you never, ever miss a shift then it wouldn't cause any damage. I don't know of anybody who can honestly claim to get it right every time with a helical cut gearbox. Since you do occasionally miss a shift without the clutch, might as well just use the thing and save the wear on the transmission. It's not like you have to replace it that often even when you use it every time. You should very easily be able to get 100k per clutch, and some people go several times that.

 

[Chris.S.]

I've heard of shifting without the clutch, but don't know how to do it...How do you do it? I'm just curious

It's all about timing.

I think you have to shift right at the proper rpm for it to go smoothy. Someone else will chime in for a better answer heh.

That's it.

+1. As long as you never, ever miss a shift then it wouldn't cause any damage. I don't know of anybody who can honestly claim to get it right every time with a helical cut gearbox. Since you do occasionally miss a shift without the clutch, might as well just use the thing and save the wear on the transmission. It's not like you have to replace it that often even when you use it every time. You should very easily be able to get 100k per clutch, and some people go several times that.

There's the answer I was looking for! I knew someone would know why it is/isn't good.

Makes perfect sense, you're right I'd like to say I'm perfect but I do miss the occasional shift so I understand exactly what you mean.

How bad is that, I'm getting so lazy I don't even want to lift my foot to press the clutch...


I'm not going to go into any more detail about how to do it, I don't want to encourage people doing it.

 

[LittleHorse]

For that reason, I don't ever do it in a car.

Much easier to get right on a motorcycle IMO...

 

[Jspafford]

I'm pretty sure it's not good on the synchros.

 

[Hahnsb2]

If you time it well so you don't use the synchros it's fine but it's pretty hard to do it perfectly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ardzOmaWiNg&feature=channel_page
That was back when I had a dying FM146 so I didn't really care about it.

 

[MikeWild]

your video is misleading, I'm pretty sure you used the clutch at the very beginning to get it going!

 

[kmack]

so if you do it correctly there is absolutely no further wear or tear than using the clutch?

 

[99RangerKrazy]

I'd just use the clutch...way cheaper to replace than the entire tranny.

 

[lyquid0xygen]

as a guy who rebuilds trannys i would say go ahead and shift with out a clutch just means more work for me lol . its vere hard on the synchros sence thay are made out of a very soft material

 

[Sunk]

For that reason, I don't ever do it in a car.

Much easier to get right on a motorcycle IMO...

Yeah it is, but it doesn't seem to like it as much. I tend to avoid it on the bike, unless the clutch hand is doing something else at the time. When driving a car, it seems like more effort to time it right than to just use the clutch so I tend not to, unless I just happen to feel like it. Which I occasionally do.

 

[AllanD]

I rebuld transmissions And I shift my own that way occassionally.

It is not the fastest way to shift but it is a necssary skill if you ever discover that you need to nurse a vehicle with a hydraulic system failure home across three states...

fortunatly I've never needed to do this on a Ranger but there was
this trip home from New England in my toyota where I could use
the clutch 8-10times before I ran out of fluid, but if I didn't use it
at all it was fine.

I used the clutch seven times between getting off the MassPike and
the New Jersey border... 2am on a tuesday, works every time...

EVERY vehicle I've owned since getting rid of my old Dart GTS
has had a hydraulic clutch.

I do not miss mechanical clutches at all...

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