The Washington times., 1928-01-25

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could save repair bills, especially for
such matters as replacing universal
How many ever have considered
the relationship between skillful
clutch use and the cars riding
qualities?
The answers are obvious when It
is recalled that nine drivers out of
every ten utilize the clutch for just
three purposes:
Engaging it to transmit power
from en- he to transmission.
Disengaging 1t TO interrupt that
power.
Disengaging and engaging it in
gear shifting.
A few motorists sti11 use the
clutch for coasting purposes. The
other uses OF the clutch are known
to. or at least are practiced by, only
handful of today's operators.
Coasting, another one of the de-
nounced processes, still Is the most
effective means of econominzi1g on
fuel. It's unpopularity Ii traced to
its misuse. This Is considered an
unfortunate state of affairs because
it IL resulting in a great economic
waste. The genuinely skiIlfu1 drivers
today do coast. but not on down.
grades where the danger element
should be obvious. They do 1t
principally in the Cities in traffic
and congestion where q car often
has enough momentum stored up
to propel 1t for some distance.
One motorist has figured out that
1t is possible to coast almost so per
cent OF the mileage Travelled in
traffic. Through force of necessity
he IL obliged to start away quickly
on the flash of the green light. He
quickly attains q speed of more
than twenty miles an hour. but
often he Just .as quickly notes that
the lights at the next intersection
will command him to stop. 1t is
here that he presses out the clutch
and coasts, allowing the engine to
idle.
He maintains that, in many in.
stances, by coasting up to the
crossing behind the wastefulIy
hasty drivers of today. he does not
have to use his brakes and arrives
just in time to start off when the
traffic moves again, doing so with
out shifting gears.
vanced in opposition to the plan of
coasting is that excessive use of the
clutch tends to weaken the clutch
springs. The motorists who follows
the plan described points out that
by coasting in the manner outlined
he saves using the clutch for an
excessive amount OF gear shifting.
This, service experts agree. saves
engine power as we'll as wear and
tear on the clutch facings and re-
lease yoke.
Retard's Speed
The clutch, used as a brake, can
be OF great assistance to the driver.
Most motorists know that an
engine. especially il it is of high
compression, can be a most effec.
tive brake. 1t will not bring the
car to a dead standstill, but 1t will
greatly retard the cars speed.
This Is done merely by removing
the foot from the accelerator. The
engine then starVes for air and gas
and the action is such that the
car itself is forced to keep the
engine in rotation against the lat
ter's resistance (compressioR). How
the clutch figures in this process
is simple.
The clutch, broadly speaking, is
the coupler between engine and rear
driving wheels when the transmits
sion is set for any one of the gear
combinations. The arrangement is
the same whether the car is going
forward or backward, but for the
sake Of simplicity consider the for.
rHTo rd TpanffnY nTINy TT xNyn1Nl1
that If the clutch were disengaged
the car would run so free that all
opportunity to utilize the engine for
braking purposes would be sacri-
feed. This, however, is not the
case.
The minute an idling engine is
| released from the car, through de.
clutching, it's speed is reduced to a
minimum. II, then. the clutch Is
engaged again the pistons of the
engine will resist the sudden speed
| they are forced to travel. This
greatly increases the engines brak-
| ing effectiveness. and if the process
is repeated several times in quick
succession the reduction in the
cars speed will be surprisingly
| rapid.
Such a process is not recon-
mended for daily use, but it does
we'll illustrate the point that closer
| acquaintance with the clutch gives
| to the driver additional safety fac
tors which will serve him effectively
| In an emergency
BY such coasting. and by inter
mittent application of power through
| clutching. driver can give his
passengers a much more comfort
| able ride. at the same time sparing
| his car. Just as it is necessary To
use the brakes for comfort, so is il
necessary to applv power wisely.