What is double de-clutching?

Some might call double de-clutching a dying art, that is if it’s not dead already. This driving technique may have been commonplace in the first decades of motoring but it hasn’t been a necessity for everyday driving for a very long while.

Double de-clutching is when you change gear by selecting neutral as a middle step in the gear change process, and bring the clutch pedal up as you do so. You then need to press the clutch pedal again to select the desired gear, hence the name.

For example, to perform a double de-clutch shift from fourth to third gear you would follow these steps:

1. Press the clutch pedal.
2. Pull the gear lever from fourth into neutral
3. Release the clutch pedal
4. Press the accelerator pedal to raise engine speed slightly
5. Press the clutch pedal again
6. Select third gear
7. Release the clutch pedal again

It seems strange and complex to most drivers now as there’s really no need to do this in any car built after about 1960 or so, and many cars made before then as well. This is because car gearboxes started to be fitted with something called a synchromesh, which helped to make sure the gears didn’t grind when you selected a gear that didn’t perfectly match your road speed.

Very old cars without a synchromesh gearbox needed to be double de-clutched on every shift, otherwise it could damage the gearbox. It was once a very normal part of driving a manual car, but those days are long gone now. Not only are most new cars automatic or single speed, in the case of electric cars, but synchromeshes have made this technique a thing of the past.

That’s not to say it’s not a good technique for advanced drivers to learn, though. It still helps to reduce wear on the synchromesh itself inside the gearbox and contributes to a smoother drive. It can be fun to learn a new skill, too. It’s also more relevant to truck drivers, though more and more trucks are automatic rather than manual anyway.

Do you own a car which requires double de-clutching when changing gear? Let us know in the comments section below...