Fuel Economy Tip - Watch the Clutch
August 21st, 2006 | by Brian Carr |Today’s tip probably falls under the realm of extremely obvious, but it is still a good reminder for those of you who drive manual transmission vehicles.
Make sure you’re not resting (even slightly) your left foot on the clutch as you’re driving down the road.
Like I said, this is a pretty obvious tip, but if you really pay attention, I bet you’d be surprised by the number of times you can catch yourself slightly resting your left on the clutch as you drive, especially beginners.
The reason this will reduce your gas mileage is because essentially, by engaging the clutch while continuing to accelerate down the road, you’re going to cause your engine to rev a little bit. And, while the engine is revving, you’re not going to accelerate as quickly as you’d like, so you’ll probably end up giving the car more gas to get to the desired speed.
In addition to reducing your gas mileage, you’ll also end up going through your clutch much faster than you normally would - which can be an expensive ordeal.
So, as you drive down the road, and you know you’re not going to have to shift for some time (or even if you don’t have to shift at that very moment), go ahead and rest your foot on the floor, not on the clutch.
