I talked to Chris Allanson recently (Z-cars) and he said that for hillclimbing it would be better to have the clutch lever mounted on the gearstick. Apparantly it gives you better control and a better launch than a foot mounted one. Anyone heard of this before?

Adam

I supose it would make it easier to slow into a corner, left foot on the brake rather than on the clutch and right foot on the accelerator.

Won't help somebody of my meagre ability What I need is a slotted track and a guide like a Scalextric car

If you can get your head around using a gearlever clutch and you intend to use left foot braking then it may help, but it is so diferent from our regular driving style that in the heat of competition mistakes will be made. I have run a ZZR powered Jedi single seater in sprints and hillclimbs for over 7 years and everybody I know uses the convetional 3 pedal layout and all of the top boys, self included (Harewood FTD Champion 2000), use a manual gearchange. If your new to motorsport may I suggest that you keep it simple, learn the car and find your limits. Once your comfortable it will be easier to use a hand clutch but I doubt it will be faster.

If on the other hand you just fancy trying something different then go fo it

I've been thinking about this idea a bit. My own driving isn't that good, and from the couple of track days I have done I've struggled to blip the throttle just before lifting off the clutch after changing down going into corners. Seems to me I'd need 3 legs to manage it - and I'm useless at the toe-heel thing. That's why the idea of a hand clutch seems attractive.
What would be the best way to wire it up so you kept the original pedal but also had a hand clutch as well? I can't think of a tidy solution.
Indylight, what are your thoughs on blippping the throttle / toe-heel in a BEC? I assume with 7 years experience you're probably a *touch* quicker than me

Hi

A friend of mine has had the misfortune of
losing his leg.

He has just this set up on a rather special
2CV. This one does not roll.

Paul G

p.s. He's the bloke in Saving Private Ryan
who gets his leg blown off on the beach,
his false one that is.

It will not be a case of getting used to it as I have only ever driven a BMW 320 and an XR2i round a field before. It will be different but I will keep the pedal just in case.

Adam

I am limited on space at the footwell and a clutch lever on the gear stick sounds like a solution but can I use hydraulic system?

Yes, talk to Chris Allanson @ Z-cars, he mentioned it to me. I am using a GSXR 1100 engine with a hydraulic clutch. Are you using a car engine, if so it is not possible unless you have sequential gear change (which I doubt if you are low cost).

Adam

Car engine but what stops me using a bike brake lever as on handlebars mounter on the gearstick and i just have to squeze the lever as a foot pedal I reckon the lever is strong enough???!!!

I doubt if you would get a hand operated master cylinder to shift enough fluid to operate a car clutch. The travel is a lot more than a bike. Most foot operated clutches have more travel which would be hard to translate to a hand lever which could be spanned with the fingers. Bike levers have only a couple of inches before they reach the grip. Car diaphragm springs are a lot stiffer than bike clutch springs as well.

quote:

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Originally posted by alainmengoli@hotmail.com
Car engine but what stops me using a bike brake lever as on handlebars mounter on the gearstick and i just have to squeze the lever as a foot pedal I reckon the lever is strong enough???!!!

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I have the clutch lever mounted on my gear stick, but it is in an off road buggy instead of a kitcar and using a honda vfr800 motorbike engine.

The concept works really well, with the bike engine you only need to use the clutch when going down the gears and for out and out acceleration it changes gear in fractions of a second. As it is a hydraulic clutch a remote reservoir was used and mounted just infront and above the lever.

The amount of forced needed to operate the clutch is tiny, two fingers will work piece of cake and the travel required is no more than 2cm total.

Actually driving takes a lot of thinking because it is such a new concept but really easy then you get the hang of it.

I have uploaded a pic to my achieve. You can see the gear selector and clutch lever on the right hand side of the steering wheel as you look at it.

Hope this helps

Nice buggy Chris.
I too like the sound of the VFR but thats a lot of effort to get the exhaust next to your right earhole...

John

thats true but it looks cool, I will post a pic of the manifold soon, that too nearly 6 hours to make by hand, but it works like a treat.

As for the noise it is a fairly quite race can, this combined with a helmet makes for a fairly quiet rag. The worst problem is the rear brake caliper is only 4 inches from the maniflod so the brake fluid keeps boiling and the brakes stop working, will have to fit a heat shield later today!