Originally posted by: Polishwonder74
Originally posted by: DrPizza
keeping the clutch all the way in is *not* going to add any wear to the clutch.
(unless my understanding about how clutches work is completely incorrect)
from what I recall (I'm not a mechanic), the clutch works similarly to the way your brakes work... you can ride your brakes, wearing them; you can have the brakes not engaged, or you can lock up the brakes. The clutch works the same way... pushed all the way in, it's like the brakes not touching...
All the way out, it's like having the brakes locked up. And, slight pressure on the clutch will result in some slipping/frictional wear on the clutch.
Anyone able to confirm this?
Keeping the clutch disengaged will save a bit of wear on the clutch, but now you're putting all that pressure on the throwout bearing to keep her disengaged, when you could just drop her into neutral and slap the clutch together completely so there's no slippage.
So yeah, you're exactly right, but working your throwout bearing too hard could cause you to have to rebuild your clutch just as easily as riding her too hard. And that will almost definitely ruin an entire saturday, especially if she's one of these fruity new front wheel driven cars, which can be a real biatch to deal with.