How does the clutch actually work?
09/11/2018
Over 40 years ago, the magazine "Auto Motor und Sport " had a "Question Time" section. A relevant topic was given and the explanation of the readers and editors was added. In issue 17/1975 , the not-so-simple question was: "How does the clutch actually work?"
Here are the answers printed at the time:
"A clutch is a connection between two machine elements. The transmission is connected to the engine via the clutch, and the engine drives a clutch driven plate. A clutch pedal can be used to connect or disconnect the driving disk to the gearbox." (Günter T., 30, mining machine engineer)
"I'm not familiar with it. I'm not that well versed in technical matters. I only drive for pleasure." (Maria B., 37, tour guide)
"The clutch disk is lifted out, exposing the gearbox. Then you can change gear and it engages like that." (Mike P., 31, police officer)
"You need the clutch to be able to shift gears. It is used to match gears running at different speeds. If the rotational speeds are too different, the teeth can break off." (Marianne R., 29, secretary)
"When I operate the clutch, two gears or something like that come apart. Then I can engage the gear so that it goes where it belongs. When I let go again, the gear is locked in this position." (Bernhard S., 33, civil servant)
"I don't know anything about that. I only know that you mustn't let it slip because otherwise the brake pads get hot and the plugs get sooty." (Else H., 51, graphic designer)
"The gears are based on different speeds. Since you have to switch these speed ranges to short or longer ranges, you need the clutch. You have to bring the faster-running engine into line with the gearbox. The plates are there to bridge this sudden jump. The basic principle is that you have to bring two different speeds to a common denominator." (Josef B., 31, typesetter)
Well, some of the answers weren't that bad. In any case, it would be hard to assume that you would get more correct answers in a street survey today.
Of course, the test department of auto motor und sport also provided an explanation of the technical term "clutch":
"As a power-transmitting element between the engine and gearbox, the clutch has the task of compensating for the disadvantage of the combustion engine, which only delivers sufficient torque above a certain speed. It must therefore gradually transfer the engine torque to the initially stationary transmission drive shaft when starting up. In addition, the clutch enables the necessary interruption of the power flow when the vehicle is stationary and the engine is running, as well as when shifting gears. Single-disc dry clutches are predominantly used in automotive engineering, while fluid and multi-plate clutches are used in automatic transmissions ."
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