When I was racing Formula Ford I had the only bad experience I ever had
following Caroll Smith's advice (and I take full responsibility). He
suggested every racing driver needed the ability to shift without the
clutch to be prepared for the inevitable failure. I thought I knew the
idea well (matching revs, pausing at the _right_ places, etc.). First
time I tried it the engine immediately overreved. I backed off quickly.
The revs had built so fast, I was sure I had broken the crankshaft. Cut
the motor and loaded up for home, having spent several hours on the road
for not enough track time.
Turned out I'd only sheared all the flywheel bolts (sucker revs fast
without one). Went back to using the clutch.
bob
I believe that's sage advice, and once you learn how to make the
clutch totally optional, you will reduce wear on your drivetrain parts
whether or not you use the clutch. (Think of the clutch as a crutch
that allows you to***up without paying the consequences. Then
think about how to reduce the amount you rely on that crutch.) I do
tend to use the clutch most of the time on the street (especially in
cars with Porsche-type synchros in the gearbox), but should I ever
lose the ability to disengage the clutch on the street or track, I can
probably get the car where I need to go. (Clutches are almost required
for starting a car from a dead stop. The other option is to select
first gear with the engine off, and start the car while in gear with
the clutch engaged. Not cool for the starter motor, but when you've
got to get somewhere, I suppose it's an option...)
I'd imagine that the revs wouldn't build at all with a broken crank.
(The crank would be too busy getting itself out of the engine block.)
I'm not suggesting that everyone *needs* to know how to do it, or
those that know how to do it need to do all the time. But I know it
can be done, and I believe that serious (even amateur) racers should
be able to learn to do it. (It might initially be harder on the
equipment, but don't try to learn power-shifting, just try to be able
to drive the car around and go through the gear-box. In the long run,
I believe it teaches you to be much easier on the drivetrain, probably
saving you equipment failures (read: money))
---Jim
