The Dolores star., 1918-08-30
SLIPPING CLUTCH
IS A BAD HABIT
Once Started It Is Difficult to
Remedy and Unnecessary
Wear Will Result.
ALWAYS engage II GENTLY
intentional Slipping 10 Also Disastrous
and 10 Usually Due to DisineIina-
ton to Shift osars-start
on First speed.

The person who hnbitually slips the
clutch in use Is courting DANGER" says
William H. Stewart Jr.. president Of
the Stewart Automobile school. HE
Increases the wear tenfold, so that
finally It will hardly hold at all. Then
some dny he will need 1t badly to pull
him out Of a tight place and It will
fail entirely.
The purpose Of the clutch IL to con.
meet the engine to the transmission
and to dlsconnect 1t at the will Of the
opers tor. This 10 necessary. particu-
larly for shifting gears. to prevent
grinding or stripping. When allowed
to engage 1t should always be done
gently. 30 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 It must do 80 smoothly. speeding
up gradually until 1t moves at the same
speed as the fywheel. It is evident
from this that the clutch slips first and
holds afterward.
Most Serious Fault.
"SlIpping In this manner Is a neces-
sary evil that causes the lining to wear
out in time. The length Of time may
be long or 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 overheat, and also wasting
gasolene.
1--WE now come to intentional slip
ping. which Is also disastrous II con-
tinued. 1t is usually due to a dlsincli-
nation to shift gears. The car Is mp
preaching a block in the traffic which
will probably open II We do not arrive
too soon. SO we slow down slightly. We
have choice Of several methods. II we
throttle down too far the engine will
stall. II we shift to second speed 1t
may delay us, and then many drivers
dislike 1t. forgetting that gears were
placed on the cars for just such oc-
casions. A third method is to allow
the car 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
speed intermediate between high
and second. This should never be
done. Either stay in high and stop
when the obstruction is reached or else
drop into second gear.
Taklps 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 1t. Instead of shifting to sec
end speed he crowds the engine NIL 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
It 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 win be repaid
tNnsssa ,safnld~