The Double clutching and Conservation of Energy

["Daegrigg (Don)" <daegrigg@domain.elided>]

(Although a relative newcomer to the digest, I now declare that I am seduced by the double-clutching thread and will contribute my two cents.) 

Fred and many others are right - sort of.  If the objective is going here to there in the shortest time and with minimum wear on the Alfa,  the answer is to hue to the simple law of conservation of energy (or matter, or momentum, take your pick).  

The seat-of-the-pants way of knowing if you are doing this is how smoothly you motor for A to B.  

Going up the gears, Fred is right,  shifting smartly, you barely need to depress the clutch as your engine speed and transmission speed are nearly matched if you don't allow engine speed to fall, i.e., take too long to shift. 

Going down, you want to maintain your speed and the same process applies - shift smartly, depress the clutch lightly and you will slide into the next (lower gear) like butter on toast.  

Classic double clutching while fun, is unnecessary in most cars - even those with poor second gear synchros.  

Allan Johnson, in his book"Driving in Competition" ( Bond,Parkhurst 1972),  distilled it down to a simple notion -  It's how fast you exit a turn that matters - not how fast you enter.   And to exit at the fastest speed,  you must take the most economic route (line) through the turn.  That means no unneccesary scrubbing off of speed (braking) and likewise no uneconomic increase in speed (gasing it) because you have scrubbed off too much speed entering the turn.  

So,  the key is conservation of energy not consumption.  

Regarding car balance, and I admit this is more a racing/competition notion, I would never go into a turn without the motor fully engaged.  The sense of control of the car is much more important than the ability to burn up brake pads and power Corvette-like out of the turn.  

My point - and I'm sticing to it- Smooth is good. 

There, now I feel better. 

Thanks, 

Don

(6 seasons of G and E Production racing plus 29 Alfas in my life so far)
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