New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-08-30
SLIPPING CLUTCH
IS A BAD HABIT
Once Started It Is Difficult to
Remedy and Unnecessary
Wear Will Result.
ALWAYS engage IT GENTLY
Intentional Slipping Is Also Disastrous
and Is Usually Due to Disinclina-
ton to Shift Gears-Start
on First Speed.

"The person who ~habitually slips the
clutch in use Is counting danger" says
william II. Stewart Jr.. president of
the Stewart Automobile school. "He
increases the wear tenfold. so that
finally 1t will hardly hold at all. Then
some day he will need 1t badly to pull
him out Of a tight place and it will
fail entirely.
'The purpose of the clutch Is to con-
meet the engine to the transmission
and to d~iscOnnect 1t at the will Of the
operator. This Is necessary, particu-
larly for shifting gears, to prevent
grinding or stripping. When allowed
to engage 1t should always be done
gently, sc as not to break some part
Of the transmission. This caution ap-
plies particularly to the low speed
when starting the car from a stand
still, as the strain Is then excessive.
As the clutch is engaged the accel-
orator pedal is depressed slightly to
give the engine sufficient power to
carry the load. As the clutch takes
hold 1t must do so smoothly, speeding
up gradually until 1t moves ut the same
speed as the flywheel. 1t Is evident
from this that the clutch slips first and
holds afterward.
Most Serious Fault.
"Sllpping In this manner Is a neces-
sary evil that causes the lining to wear
out In time. The length Of time may
be long OF short, depending on the
driver. One Of the most serious faults
Is to drive with the feet on the clutch
and the brake pedals. The clutch is
partly released by this practice, caus-
Ing almost constant slipping, and the
car will lack speed. To overcome this
the driver feeds more gas, causing the
engine to overhead, and also wasting
gasOlene.
"We now come to intentional slip.
ping, which Is also disastrous If on
tinued. 1t Is usually due to a disincli-
nation to shift gears. The car is ap-
preaching a block In the traffic which
will probably open n we do not arrive
too soon, so we slow down slightly. We
have choice Of several methods. If we
throttle down too far the engine will
stall. If we shift to second speed it
may delay us, and then many drivers
dislike it. forgetting that gears were
placed on the cars for just such DC
~casions. A third method Is to allow
the a to coast by throwing out the
clutch and then engaging it again. This
gives an Intermittent motion to the
car to which they object, but 1t is
nevertheless superior to the following
method (and the last one that should
be emplOyed). This consists in slip
ping the clutch and driving the car at
a speed intermediate between high
and second. This should lever be
done. Either stay in high and stop
when the obstruction Is reached or else
drop into second gear.
Taking Hill on High Gear.
"Another example of slipping the
clutch is where the driver tries to take
a hill on high gear and finds he cannot
quite do it. Instead of shifting to Sec
ond speed he crowds the engine all he
can and then slips the clutch slightly.
Another practice to be condemned is
starting on second speed. The first
speed is provided for just such use and
1t strains the mechanism severely be-
sides wearing the clutch to start habit
ually on second speed.
'Take good care of the clutch. pre-
vent slipping either through wear or
intention and you will be repaid q
thousandfold."