Having purchased or are planning to purchase a personal car, we diligently learn the rules of the road in order to obtain a driver’s license and become, as we think, a full-fledged driver. At the same time, not everyone and does not always remember the rules for operating a car, in particular, its main component – the chassis.
Meanwhile, this area is fraught with many mysteries and secrets. For example, how not to burn out the clutch when moving away and performing this or that maneuver on the road. First of all, let’s understand at least superficially what it is and what functions this unit performs on the car.
What is clutch
The clutch serves to disconnect the crankshaft and gearbox for a short time, as well as for their subsequent connection. This operation is necessary when starting a car and to change speed while driving. The most common on cars and most trucks is a single-plate friction type clutch.
It consists directly of the clutch mechanism and the release drive.
Critical wear of the disc is easy to determine when driving in fourth gear: if, when you press the gas pedal intensely, the engine roars, but the car does not run faster, the disc needs to be changed. This may be accompanied by a burning smell.
The greatest and most common threat to the linings on the clutch disc from inexperienced motorists occurs when the car starts moving. Therefore, we will consider this process in detail.
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Braking on a car with ABS
In a car without ABS, all 4 wheels lock when braking. ABS works in such a way that when braking, the wheels are blocked only for a short time, thanks to a sensor. As soon as he “realizes” that a wheel is blocked, he immediately sends an impulse to the solenoid valve of the hydraulic unit. As a result, the brake fluid pressure decreases or stops and the wheel rotates freely again.
The ABC system allows you to apply impulse braking without driver intervention. Therefore, there will be one simple rule: if the need arises for a quick stop, you just need to press the brake pedal all the way. Smart electronics will do the rest itself.
When off-road, you need to be guided by the situation: sometimes it is better to turn off ABS. For example, on a sandy slope, where it is important that the wheels are constantly blocked. Therefore, the driver needs to constantly assess the situation and not rely blindly on electronics.
How to get moving correctly
So, your engine is started and running in neutral. You depress the clutch pedal and engage first gear. Now you need to smoothly connect the crankshaft to the gearbox. This means that you need to press the driven disk against the flywheel rotating at a speed of 20-25 revolutions per second. To prevent the car from “jumping” and the engine suddenly stalling, we will perform this operation in three stages.
- Stage 1. Release the clutch pedal slightly. The pressure plate springs will bring the driven disk into light contact with the flywheel - your car will move and slowly begin to crawl.
- Stage 2. Hold the pedal in this position for two to three seconds. The rotation speeds of the flywheel and disk are gradually equalized - your car accelerates.
- Stage 3. The car drives confidently on the road - the torque is 100% transmitted to the gearbox. Release the pedal and remove your foot from it. A further half-engaged state of the clutch will burn the discs .
At the traffic light
According to numerous testimonies of novice drivers, some driving instructors teach to wait for a green traffic light with the clutch depressed and first gear engaged. It would seem that the discs do not touch, there is no threat of the linings burning. But in this case, the release bearing wears out. In the end, this negatively affects the engine in general. Therefore, put it in neutral and release the clutch pedal.
In a traffic jam
Perhaps the greatest threat to traction comes from driving in traffic jams. Some drivers do not take their foot off the clutch pedal for a long time, turning it on and off, leaving the engine in first gear.
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The driven disk almost constantly rubs against the flywheel disk, and asynchronously. As a result, additional heating occurs, which contributes to more intense abrasion.
Try to move in traffic jams, covering short distances in stages, turning off the gear in between and releasing the clutch.
On the descent
On steep descents, you cannot turn off the gear. It is recommended to descend at first speed with braking using the foot brake, and be prepared, as a last resort, to use the hand brake. There is no need to use the clutch pedal. Moreover, it may pose a risk of engine stalling.
How to learn to release the clutch smoothly
To learn how to release the clutch smoothly, without jerking, there is one simple exercise. It is performed with the engine running and the handbrake on. When releasing the clutch, it is important to catch the moment of engagement, when a slight vibration appears and the speed begins to drop.
If the car has front-wheel drive, then the “rear” begins to tend to “sit down,” as it were. In the figure, in the article “Driving a car. Part 3. Pedals”, this is position 2 . At this point you just need to stop your foot. Stop and hold! Because further release of just 10 millimeters will set the car in motion. You need to ensure that when you release your foot to this point, the engine does not stall.
Well, one more exercise at this stage is gas work. With the engine running, you need to practice smoothly pressing the gas, gradually increasing the speed to 1500-2000 rpm, trying to memorize the sound of the engine by ear.
For a car with an automatic transmission, everything is somewhat simpler; you don’t need to operate the clutch. “Automatic” will do everything for you:
- Press the brake pedal with your right foot.
- Move the gear selector lever to position “D” (or “R” if you need to go backwards)
- Smoothly release the brake pedal - the car will start moving, you can add gas
- To stop, press the brake pedal. If you don’t drive any further, move the gear lever to the “P” (parking) position.
We only looked at how to start on a flat road. If the road has a slight slope, then the start of the car's movement is greatly simplified. You can start moving even without adding gas. It will be enough to engage the gear and release the clutch pedal to the engagement point. The car will start moving.
But what if you need to start on a hill? Future drivers will have to take this exercise during the traffic police exam. All other motorists will face this test on the road. And in winter, on slippery roads, you have to “pass” this exam very often.
Riding in extreme conditions
Driving with slippage truly “kills” the clutch, which often happens in unforeseen, extraordinary conditions. When we happen to get out of a puddle or a snowdrift, we are forced to speed up the engine, giving it high speeds and sharply engage the clutch.
In this situation, not only the linings on the disk burn fatally. Such harsh operating conditions also threaten more serious damage, including to other vehicle components. Therefore, if possible, ask to be taken in tow. Don't burn the clutch.
Whether or not to depress the clutch when braking in manual mode
Different driving schools explain it differently: some say that you need to squeeze, others insist that you need to use the clutch pedal only when the car has almost stopped, so as not to stall. We will say this: you need to brake according to the situation, since the way the clutch works depends on weather conditions and the condition of the road surface.
Adviсe
For an experienced driver, there is nothing difficult in driving a car, but for a beginner, many skills seem simply fantastic. For more successful learning, there are many techniques that will allow you to quickly learn how to drive a car. There are also some tricks:
- It is best to start training in winter, immediately after the New Year holidays. Winter management is much more difficult. In this case, you will almost immediately begin to acquire emergency driving skills;
- It is considered correct to start moving uphill with the handbrake, but this is not always justified. It is advisable to immediately learn how to do this “from the brakes”, quickly moving your foot from the brake pedal to the gas. This skill will help you out if you have problems with the parking brake;
- Develop the habit of checking the gear lever before starting the engine, this will save you from unexpected “jumps” of the car during planting. It is advisable to start the engine with the clutch disengaged.
Conclusion . Unfortunately, training in our driving schools is quite formal, and later you have to learn a lot on your own. Therefore, the question of how to learn how to properly release the clutch smoothly is not uncommon. There's really nothing complicated here. The main thing is to understand how the clutch system in a car works.
The principle of operation of the flywheel Does it make sense to install a lightweight one?
How to learn to ride a motorcycle
Welcome! The flywheel is one of the important parts of the car, which must be carefully cared for in terms of driving, because if you drive carelessly (start with slipping, engage gears without squeezing the clutch, etc.), then the flywheel and the clutch itself will not last long long life and as a result will wear out greatly and require replacement.
Why does the flywheel wear out over time? How does this part actually work? And which flywheel is better to put on your car to make the car go faster? In fact, I get asked these three questions very often, so today we will look at them in more detail!
What causes flywheel wear?
If we talk about standard flywheels, then this happens only due to heavy loads on it, namely, as mentioned earlier, when starting abruptly, accompanied by slipping, as well as when the flywheel is installed incorrectly and when driving at high engine speeds, that is when the tachometer needle is in the red zone.
What is the operating principle of the flywheel?
The flywheel is the disc itself that transfers power from the engine to the clutch, then to the gearbox, and ultimately to the wheels, causing the car to move. When this unit operates, pendulum movements occur, namely, the flywheel does not rotate along its entire axis, but only works in one place according to the principle of a pendulum; for clarity, take a look at the figure below and you will understand everything.
Note! You can understand in more detail the principle of operation of this unit at the very bottom of the article, in the section called: “Additional video clip”!
Which flywheel is best to put on a car?
At the moment there are a lot of rumors that if you put a lightweight flywheel on a car, the car will supposedly go faster. In fact, everything is true, but unfortunately not in all cases. A lightweight version of this unit should be installed on a car only if the idle and running speed of the engine is intended only for medium speeds of “1700-∞”.
Therefore, if a lightweight flywheel is placed on a completely standard engine, the idle speed of which is “800 rpm”, then in this case, when starting the engine cold, the car will most likely operate unstably and may even stall. There is only one way out of this situation: raise the idle speed of the car through various modifications to the engine, or replace the flywheel with an old one.
Note! On a lightweight flywheel, try to never bring the engine operating torque to too low speeds when driving, because this will eventually destroy your engine from overloads!
How to replace the flywheel on a VAZ?
How to make a replacement - on the classics?
Additional video: For more details about the principle of operation of the flywheel, as well as its lightweight version, see the interesting video below:
Vaz-Russia.ru
Modern radar detector Cobra iRadar S155R RU Android
The Cobra iRadar S155R RU Android radar detector is a fairly successful solution to the problem of hiding the detector from vigilant traffic police officers. A small receiver device is mounted in the engine compartment of the car on a special L-shaped bar. There is a built-in Bluetooth transmitter.
All you need is to correctly install the small transmitter box, download the free Cobra-Radar application from Google-Store and turn on Bluetooth in your smartphone. All messages about detected radars will be displayed directly on the display of your Android smartphone. In addition, you automatically gain access to the AURA database, which marks all locations where police radars are installed, traffic jams, dangerous intersections, roads under repair, and even locations of false detector alarms. Thus, having a smartphone and a Cobra iRadar s155 RU Android radar detector, you automatically get a detector and a navigator.
In all other respects, the technical characteristics of this device are similar to other analogues. It receives radiation in all ranges: X, K, Ka. There is an omnidirectional laser lens with a 360 degree coverage circle. The presence of a GPS module helps to detect Strelka-ST using the coordinates entered into the database.
The screen of your smartphone displays information about the approach to radars, their type of radiation, a voice alert is heard, there is an intensity scale and a “Geiger counter” effect. You can make all decisions about brightness and volume yourself by changing the settings of your smartphone.
The transmitter is connected directly to the battery, for which a special mount with a fuse is included. The device turns on automatically as soon as you activate the application on your phone. The device also displays your current speed, voltage in the on-board network, and the direction from which the radar signal was received.
Based on these characteristics, you can safely travel with such a device abroad, where radar detectors are prohibited. You will not have any extra wires on the windshield or dashboard and access to the cigarette lighter is almost always free. There is no need to be afraid that the detector may be stolen when you leave your car near a supermarket or in a parking lot overnight. The performance of the device is not affected in any way by tinted glass or operating electronics inside the car. In addition, you also get an electronic compass.
According to available driver reviews, the radar detector shows good reception quality on the highway and easily detects laser and radar systems. In the city it produces a lot of false alarms. The quality of laser beam reception is affected by the accumulation of dust and dirt on the front panel of the device, so it must be cleaned periodically. At a cost of 8,000 rubles, the detector copes with its responsibilities, although for that kind of money you can purchase more functional models.
ravid.ru
