# What happens when I smell the clutch?



## Artslinger (Sep 2, 2002)

What I've notice about the E46 clutch... 

On a quick launch you do not want to stomp on the gas before you release the clutch, the engagement point is to high. And If you're giving the car a lot of throttle in a first gear launch do not let the clutch out slowly it will drag the clutch. 

For a quick first gear launch, release the clutch quickly and give the car medium throttle (doing both at the same time). As soon as the clutch is released apply steady heavy throttle.

For a normal launch try letting the clutch out an inch or two first... then apply steady low to medium gas pedal pressure. 

For all other gear changes just match the RPMs to the gear when shifting... and for quick gear changes use fast and smooth throws, drop the clutch and keep the RPMs up.


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## '02-325XiT (Jul 27, 2002)

webguy330i said:


> *
> One nice thing about our cars is the DBW won't let it stall if you let off the clutch very slowly with no gas. I'd suggest you find an empty parking lot and give this a try. Just release the clutch until you feel the car start to move, then release it ever so slowly until you're 100% off the pedal. This will give you a good feel for exactly where the engagement point is and allow you to quicken your foot/pedal motions to accomodate real-world driving. The car should not stall and should maintain what feels like approximately .000000001 mph until you decide to give it gas or put the clutch in to stop.
> 
> *


I don't find this to be the case. I have learned to adjust now (have had the car about 4 months now), but when I'm "crawling" out of a parking spot in reverse, that the engine computer varies the throttle up and down by 300-400 rpm even if the gas pedal is held constant, so if I start at say 900 rpm and slowly let the clutch pedal up, that if I don't compensate and give it more throttle, that the engine will stall when the 900rpm drops to say 500.


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## webguy330i (Jan 9, 2002)

'02-325XiT said:


> *
> 
> I don't find this to be the case. I have learned to adjust now (have had the car about 4 months now), but when I'm "crawling" out of a parking spot in reverse, that the engine computer varies the throttle up and down by 300-400 rpm even if the gas pedal is held constant, so if I start at say 900 rpm and slowly let the clutch pedal up, that if I don't compensate and give it more throttle, that the engine will stall when the 900rpm drops to say 500. *


Yeah it will do that depending on your clutch position (i.e. how engaged it is). If you're feathering the clutch at very low speeds, the ECU tries its damnedest to keep you from stalling.

The next time you're in a parking lot, let the car come to a complete stop and try launching the car (very slowly) in 1st gear with NO gas. You'll see how it takes over in that situation as well.


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## '02-325XiT (Jul 27, 2002)

webguy330i said:


> *
> 
> Yeah it will do that depending on your clutch position (i.e. how engaged it is). If you're feathering the clutch at very low speeds, the ECU tries its damnedest to keep you from stalling.
> 
> *


What I was referring to was not the engine speed decreasing with the clutch engagement. If you hold the clutch in, and apply a small amount of throttle, say to about 900RPM and hold the throttle in that position steady, and don't enage the clutch, the engine speed will slowly cycle up and down by 300-400RPM wiithout you moving anything. (Anti-pollution stuff?). So my speculation is, if I'm feathering the clutch based on 900 RPM, and the ECU nows drops this to 600, the car stalls unless I re-adjust throttle or clutch.

I have learned to "feel" this happening, and compensate with more gas or more clutch slip, but this aint the ultimate driving machine. Clutch, DBW throttle, and shifting are all much less pleasant to drive than my E36 was.


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