What it Means to Double Clutch
From the desk of Tony Muglia, Automotive Department Head:
Now, here’s a saying that I just have to laugh about “DOUBLE CLUTCHING” in a late model car. What does this really mean and when would you need to double clutch? Is it when you’re racing, driving a truck, or does it really just sound cool when said in the movies?
I asked my students here at Oklahoma Technical College what it means to double clutch a standard transmission. I got all of the usual answers from pushing the clutch in twice on every shift to not really sure why. Well, the truth is there is no reason to double clutch any late model car or any car all the way back to 60’s. That is when they started making synchronized transmissions.
So what is double clutching? On older cars when you shifted you had to match the speeds on the 2 shafts in a transmission. Here is how you shifted, push in the clutch shift to neutral and let the clutch out. Then rev the engine and push the clutch in and shift to the next gear.
In the past, you had to double clutch a transmission so you would not grind gears. Students here at Oklahoma Technical College learn on late model cars and trucks of today and know that they now have synchronized transmissions and the internal transmission parts take care of the double clutching.
So all my gearhead friends, when you hear someone say they had to double clutch when they are racing like in the movies or on a video somewhere you can just laugh because they all they are doing is wearing out their knee.
Quote of the day: Don’t be afraid to dive into something new because remember it’s just nuts and bolts.
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