So, it's been quite a few months since I got my 6mt 350z (first stick car ever). I think I've got a lot of things down... but just a noob question.
What is slipping the clutch? Is that when you are giving gas and putting the clutch in just at that point where its almost fully engaged? This isn't good for the clutch, correct?
I ask because, say if I'm inching forward in traffic, I will give a bit of gas and play with the clutch to make sure I inch forward but don't fully engage and launch forward.. if that makes sense.

Also, launching - am I supposed to 'slip the clutch' during say.. a 3k launch? (Assuming I got the definition of slipping the clutch right..)
When I launch (or try lol), I'll bring the rpm's to about 3k, and let the clutch out slowly until it starts to catch, then I'll bring the clutch out and apply a bit more gas until I feel the wheels aren't going to spin but will have traction, and then put my foot down. Is this completely wrong?

Again, I don't know what I'm talking about, apologies if this doesn't make much sense..

 

Slipping the clutch is the the transitional period between clutch disengaged and the clutch fully engaged (or vice versa). This is what causes wear on the clutch--anytime the clutch and flywheel are touching and traveling at two different speeds, they are creating friciton ("grinding" of sorts).

As I have learned, the less you slip, the longer your clutch will last. However, this does not mean popping the clutch. You want to make a rapid but smooth transition from clutch engaged to disengaged (when accelerating). One of the best ways to tell if you're slipping the clutch too much is if say you start off at 3K RPM's and by the time you've disengaged the clutch, you're at 1.5K. In my observation/theory (not scientifically proven, and I'm no mechanic, so I'm not sure if I'm out of my tree on this one) the best way to handle a clutch is such that during the transitional period of the clutch disengagement (slipping) that your RPM's never go above the level they're at when the clutch is fully disengaged and they never drop or remain constant for any period of time. In otherwords, you make a linear transition from idle with the clutch pedal in (500 rpm's) to the pedal completely out (i.e. ~1500 rpm's) without a drop or bump in rpm's.

Launching at 3000 rpm's is probably a little high, especially in street driving. I think I've heard that a lot of people when doing a drag start launch at about 2500. For street driving, you want to let the clutch out until you feel it start to engage, then add a little gas at the same time as you're letting the clutch pedal out. Basically, I understand that you want to be pretty close to stalling, but not so close that you get bogged down. When driving in bumper to bumper less than 5 mph traffic, it's probably ok to feather the clutch to get yourself rolling, but try to get back to having it fully engaged (pedal down all the way) and coasting as soon as possible. I don't know if this is actually legal or accepted as the way to drive in that kind of traffic, but that's what I do, and I've never had to replace a clutch on any of my MT's ever (with 2 of them being well over 100K miles). In the Z, you can get by keeping it in 1st probably down to 5 mph, but anything lower, it's probably best to just feather the clutch and coast; or just wait for traffic to get a little bit ahead of you, then launch and ride it a bit, then stop, rinse and repeat.

Good luck with your learning! Next thing to learn once you've got launching mastered is some rev-matching on down-shifts, and maybe some heel-toe .

-Chris

 

^overall a pretty good synopsis... one thing to clarify though

Disengaged. With the clutch pedal down all the way, the clutch is disengaged. (engine disengaged from the transmission). Engaged is when the pedal is fully released (engine is engaged to the transmission).

 

Ok, yeah, I thought I had that backward the whole time I was writing...just too lazy to check up on it, I guess.

Thanks for the correction.