When stopping in a manual car, should we brake before pushing the clutch pedal,
or press the clutch first, and then the brake? The answer is - it depends! In this video,
we will explain why we need to push the clutch at the correct time, and also how we decide
which pedal we should push first, depending on the situation. Before we get started, make sure
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It’s important that we understand why we need to push the clutch pedal down,
so we can decide the best time to do it.
The reason we must push the clutch down when stopping our car is that we need to disconnect
the engine from the car’s wheels before it is forced to run too slowly as we stop the car.
If we forget to push the clutch pedal or push it too late - then the engine will stall. So,
when is the best time to push the clutch - and should it be before or after we start braking?
We need to push the clutch pedal down just before the engine reaches its idle speed - but when is
that? We can use the car’s rev-counter to see how fast the engine is turning.
Once an engine has warmed up it will usually idle at around 800 revs per minute -
however it makes very little power at this speed so we normally keep it above 1000 when
driving to ensure it doesn’t struggle. If your car doesn’t have a rev-counter,
then listen to the sound of your engine idling, as this is how it sounds at its minimum speed.
So whenever we are stopping we just need to push the clutch pedal down fully when the
engine speed reaches 1000rpm, so the engine can keep running as we stop the wheels of the car.
But when should we push the brake pedal?
When we need to stop from a low speed - perhaps anything under 10mph,
then the engine speed will already be very low. We can see the car is currently doing 10mph
in 2nd gear, and the engine is running at about 1000rpm. If we decide to stop now
we would need to push the clutch pedal fully down straight away - before starting to brake.
Of course, if we do the same speed once more but in 1st gear - then the engine speed will be higher
(about 2000rpm) and this means we can brake a little before we need to push the clutch down.
If we forget to press the clutch pedal when we start braking
we will force the engine to run too slowly,
and then as it struggles to keep running it will start to shake the car, before finally stalling.
When we need to stop from a higher speed, maybe above 20mph, then we will need to do things
a little differently. At these speeds, the engine will be going faster (2500rpm in this case) so
there will be time to brake a little before we need to push the clutch down at the usual 1000rpm.
We then keep both pedals pushed down until the car stops.
As before, the engine speed will vary when stopping from different speeds and in different
gears - but we should still brake first, before pushing the clutch down at 1000rpm.
Of course, if we have a high gear selected at a moderate speed, such as 5th gear at 30mph then the
engine speed can be very low and we will need to push the clutch down as soon as we start braking.
There is no need to select lower gears as we stop the car,
as there would be no benefit from doing so. With experience we soon get used to
the sound of our engine, so we don’t even need to look at the rev-counter any more - we just
push the clutch down just before it sounds like the engine has reached idle speed.
So you might now be wondering - why don’t we just push the clutch down as soon as we
start to brake to a stop? The reason we shouldn’t push the clutch down too early
is that it allows the car to freewheel without a gear engaged - which is also known as coasting.
Coasting is potentially dangerous, as it reduces the control we have over our car. When a car is
driven with a gear selected and the clutch engaged this mechanical link gives us a way to control our
speed. When we lift off the accelerator, drag from the engine will slow the car gently and reduce the
need to use our brakes. If the clutch is pushed down unnecessarily the car is allowed to roll
at whatever speed it wants to - and this can be dangerous, especially when driving downhill.
Notice the car’s speed increase as it freewheels,
but after we lift the clutch we regain control over our speed.
For more information click the banner above to watch our separate video about coasting.
If you are a new driver and wish to keep things simple, push the clutch down first when stopping
from under 10mph, and when stopping from above 10mph brake first, before pushing the clutch down.
If you are a more experienced driver, try to think of the clutch and brake pedal as two separate
things. The brakes are used to stop the car, and the clutch is used to prevent the engine stalling.
Both jobs should be done at the correct time, which will depend on the speed the car is
going and what gear we have selected - but the clutch must always be pressed before the engine
goes under 1000rpm. Sometimes that will mean we press the clutch first,
and sometimes we will brake first - just do whatever is best for that situation.
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