Before you begin your driving lessons, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the essential parts of your car, i.e., the accelerator, brake, and clutch. For most people, the accelerator is easy to distinguish and comprehend due to its ease of use and different shape. The problem comes in when trying to differentiate between the brake and clutch.
So what’s the difference between the brake and the clutch? The brake is used to stop or slow down the rotating wheels of a vehicle. The clutch, on the other hand, transfers power from the car’s driving shaft and is used to start and stop the vehicle. In addition, it’s used to disengage gears while driving or engage them before starting the vehicle.
| Brake | Clutch |
| No rotating assembly | Has a rotating assembly |
| Produces temporary friction between a rotating(wheel) and drum | Produces temporary friction between the Gear shaft and Engine Shaft |
| Helps in absorbing power | Helps in delivering power |
| Disengaged by default | Engaged by default |
| Slows or stops down the vehicle | Used to change gears to control speed of the car |
If you’ve not driven a manual car before, you may find yourself using the brake and clutch interchangeably. This is common among beginners. However, despite their similarities, these two parts are quite different. But once you distinguish the brake vs. clutch differences, you’ll have an easy time driving a manual car.
What’s the Difference Between the Brake and the Clutch?
The manual vs. automatic car debate is one that may not end soon. For people who’ve mastered the clutch and brake and have an easy time changing gears, a manual car is the best because you have control over your car’s performance.
And some individuals prefer automatic cars because they don’t come with the hassle of trying to figure out what the clutch does or where it is. An automatic vehicle changes the gears automatically. All you have to do is to control the accelerator and brake.
But why choose a favorite when you can enjoy both cars. Contrary to popular belief, driving a stick isn’t complicated. All you have to do is to know the difference between the brake and clutch, practice engaging and disengaging the gears and before you know it, you’ll be driving with ease.
So, what’s the difference between the brake and the clutch? Let’s find out.
The Brake
The primary function of the brake is to stop the rotating wheels of a vehicle. However, you also need this crucial mechanical device when you’re driving a car. When your car is in motion, stepping on the brake causes it to produce friction against the machine, thereby making it slow down or stop depending on how much you engage the brake.
How Does the Brake Work?
So how does a light push on the brake pedal makes the car stop? Is it magic? Of course not, it’s science! And if you want to be an incredible driver, it helps to know the ins and outs of your vehicle.
So let’s get into a bit of science. According to Wonderpolis, when a car is moving, it has a lot of what is referred to as “kinetic energy” – energy in motion. In order for the car to stop, the brakes must get rid of all the kinetic energy. To do this, the brake system converts the kinetic energy to heat using the force of friction.
When you press down the brake pedal, a connected lever pushes a piston into the master cylinder, which is filled with hydraulic fluid. The hydraulic fluid is then distributed along with the system of pipes into wider cylinders that are positioned next to the brakes on each wheel.
The action of stepping on the brake pedal causes the hydraulic system to multiply the force on your foot into enough force to cause the car to stop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTUTTpy_zJs (An illustration of how brakes work)
How and When to Use the Brake Pedal
When you’re learning how to drive, it’s normal to be a bit heavy-footed on the brake pedal initially. But with practice, you’ll become more proficient. There’s more to braking than pressing your foot on the pedal.
Apart from learning the correct braking techniques, it’s essential to know how to predict situations. This is known as anticipation and planning and is crucial for safe driving. Once you master the art of planning and anticipation, you’ll find that you rarely need to use your brakes while driving, and you’re not as heavy-footed on the pedal either.
So how should you go about it?
The first step is mastering proper braking ability. Everyone can stomp on the brake pedal and bring a car to a stop. But you don’t want to do that in every day driving because it can easily cause accidents.
According to Driving Test Tips, excellent braking ability is defined by two skills sets:
- Braking technique: How you apply pressure on the brake pedal
- Observation, planning, and anticipation: The ability to observe what is happening around you, anticipating what will happen next, and planning for what action to take before it happens
Braking Technique
If you know how to ride a bike, chances are you don’t go full force on the brakes when you want to slow down or stop. Doing so can easily make you skid off the road or worse, go over your handlebars.
The best way to do it is to brake slowly until you come to a stop. It would help if you used the same technique when you’re driving a car. It is known as progressive braking.
Progressive braking involves starting light, increasing with pressure, and stopping light. Progressive braking is a safe driving technique because of it:
- Allows other drivers to respond to your actions
- It saves fuel
- It prevents skidding
- It reduces wear on the tires, suspension, brakes, and other mechanical parts.
- It’s more comfortable for your passengers
You’ll know you’ve mastered progressive braking when you stop where you intended to stop, the entire braking process was smooth, and you don’t have a jolt at the end. It takes practice. And as they say, practice makes perfect. So keep trying until you get it right.
How to brake in a manual car
If you’ve been learning how to drive using a manual car, you’ve probably noticed that sometimes you have to use both the brake and the clutch to stop. This is one of the things that make driving a manual car more complicated compared to an automatic vehicle.
To brake a manual car correctly, you need to know which pedal to press down after which. As we mentioned, the brakes’ primary role is to slow down the vehicle and bring it to a stop. The clutch, on the other hand, disconnects the engine from the wheels.
To understand how to use both these pedals, let’s take a look at different scenarios where you’d need to use them both.
- Slowing Down from High Speed to a Normal Stop
When you’re driving above 70kmph, it means the vehicle is at the top gear. If you want to stop the engine, you cannot do it until you slow down to a speed of below 40kmph. Begin by slowly engaging the brake pedal without stepping on the clutch until the speed slows down.
Next, step on the clutch, shift the transmission to the fourth gear and release the clutch. Continue pressing on the brake pedal until the speed is below 20kmph. Afterward, step on the clutch to stop the vehicle completely.
If you’re moving at a slow speed, all you have to do is to engage the brake pedal until you’re below 20kmph and engage the clutch to bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
- Pulling Over at Traffic Light
In this case, the majority of drivers prefer to save fuel instead of engine braking. For this reason, they use both the clutch and brake to stop at a traffic light. However, according to carfromjapan.com, you don’t have to use the clutch if your car has deceleration fuel cutoff (DFCO)
- Emergency Stop
The rule of emergency stopping is not to touch the clutch. You have to use optimum engine braking despite the risk of stalling the engine. You should also not lower the gear even if you’re moving at high speed.
- Driving downhill
The simplest way to brake when you’re going downhill is to shift the gears to one level higher than what you were using when going uphill and then use the brakes without touching the clutch.
Important: When you need to use the brake and clutch, you should never step on the clutch before engaging the brake. You should only engage the clutch pedal when you need to shift gears.
The Clutch
The clutch is found in the gearbox close to the transmission. This mechanical device is used to disengage gears when driving or engage them when starting a car.
How Does the Clutch Work?
In a car, a clutch is necessary because the engine spins a lot, but the wheels do not. Therefore, to stop the car without killing the engine, the wheels need to be disconnected from the engine somehow. This is where the clutch comes in.
The clutch allows you to smoothly engage a spinning engine to a non spinning transmission by controlling the slippage between them. When you press the clutch pedal, the power supply is disengaged from the vehicles engine to the car’s transmission. You only need to step on the clutch when you’re shifting gears or braking.
In simple terms, the clutch is used for controlling the speed of a car and it’s also used in the stop and start operation.
Here’s a video explaining how a clutch works in detail:
How and When to Use the Clutch
By now you probably know that controlling a car’s speed is a technique. And it requires more technique when you’re driving a manual car because you have to do everything manually. But what exactly is this technique and how can you master it?
The first thing you need to do when you enter your car is to ensure the clutch pedal is working smoothly. Once you’ve ascertained that everything is working as it should. Adjust your seat to a comfortable position, wear your seat belt, turn on the engine and put the handbrake on rest.
Next, apply force on the clutch pedal and select the first gear. Next, power the engine by gently pressing down the accelerator and simultaneously raising your foot off the clutch. The point where the clutch plates meet is known as the bite point and it occurs several times when you’re driving.
However, always ensure that the pressure applied on the clutch must be lesser than what is applied during the first gear.
When to Use the Clutch
You should use the clutch when starting the vehicle, stopping, and when changing gears.
Additional Tips on How to Drive a Manual Car
Now that you know the difference between the brake and clutch and how to use both of them, how about some tips to help you have better control of your manual car when you’re out on the road?
For all the tips mentioned below, you’ll have to practice severally to get it right. So don’t be too hard on yourself when you can’t drive smoothly the first time. And if you’re a learner, it helps to have your instructor in the vehicle with you.
This way, they’ll help you observe your surroundings and instruct you on what to do in case you forget. Not to mention, it’s a great safety precaution because a trained instructor will know when to take over and what to do in an emergency.
Connect the Clutch in the stopped state
The clutch pedal is different in every car and may have a different feel or “habit.” Cardealpage.com recommends getting a feel of how far the clutch will be connected when you release it for the first time.
Therefore, before you start the engine, ensure the clutch pedal is pressed down. Once you’re certain the clutch pedal is connected securely, pull up the handbrake to avoid sudden pulls or jumps.
Afterward, shift the gear to position 2 because the first gear can cause jumps and begin letting go of the clutch little by little to get a sense of when the vehicle starts to accelerate.
Start on a Half-Clutch State
When you step on the clutch, it cuts the connection between the engine and the tires. A sudden release of the clutch will either cause a stop or a sudden run – you don’t want any of this. What you need is smooth control of the vehicle.
To achieve smooth control, you need to let go of the clutch slowly. When you release the clutch in a controlled manner, the engine’s speed will drop a little and the car will begin advancing forward – this is known as the “half-clutch” state.
When you get to this point, begin engaging the accelerator slowly as you let go of the clutch fully. Doing so transmits the power of the engine to the tires and makes the car run smoothly.
Clutch Operation Should be Fast When Driving
When you’re driving a manual car, you’ll have to change gears a lot of times to control the speed of the vehicle. This needs to be done fast to make your acceleration smooth.
Increase Speed When Going Uphill
If you’re starting the car on a hill, you are in a position where the vehicle would go down on its own. Therefore, when you reach the half-clutch state, you need to use more speed than you would on a flat surface. Otherwise, if the speed is not enough, the vehicle will go backward and it may cause an accident.
You’ll also need to use the handbrake on a slope because both your feet will be in use on the clutch and the accelerator. The handbrake will keep you from going backward.
Don’t Step on the Clutch While Driving
Most drivers place their foot on the clutch pedal when driving so that they can act fast when it’s time to engage it. Don’t do this. When you step on the clutch while driving, you may unknowingly put in the “half-clutch” state, which may cause vibrations or movements when driving. This reduces the driving force.
Not to mention, stepping on the clutch while driving causes intense clutch wear and increases the possibility of your clutch breaking down. Therefore, always place your foot on the footrest to the left of the clutch when driving at all times.
Time to Drive!
There you have it, a comprehensive guide on the difference between the brake and the clutch. As you have seen, these devices have very different purposes. To recap, the brake stops and slows down your vehicle and the clutch is used to shift gears and it’s essential for the starting and stopping process.
At first, it may seem like rocket science to understand how to operate the accelerator, brake, and clutch, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll realize that driving a manual car is quite fun. The trick is to not be in your head too much. Trust your movements, practice, and you’ll get it right!