Heavy Traffic
 

Hello,
I was in heavy traffic the other day. And forced to slip my clutch. Is there a better way to get these cars to creep along at <5 mph without sliping the clutch? If I slow below five without sliping my clutch (about 800-1000 rpm in 1st) my engine dies. I push in and hold the clutch to let it roll slowly too. For some reason this aperently caused a major increase in coolant tempature? Does this sound right? I got up to 217 before turning my heater on wich cooled it down to 190 - 195F.
Never smelled anything burning, everything seemed okay afterwards so I guess im alright.
BUt id like your guys' experiances and opinions,
thanks

Whenever I'm stuck in traffic, i find the car can survive in 1st @ 10km/h (~1000rpm) and what i did to reduce wear on the clutch is leave a LOT more room between me and the car in front of me (I know depending on where you are might not work... ie LA) but it lets me just idle along in 1st for 80% of the time.

I would agree i just leave enough room where i am not on and off the clutch as much

just get out and push it through traffic. problem solved.

It's normal for a car to get hotter when sitting in traffic and not moving since there is no air flow over the radiator. Once the thermostat fully opens up at ~190-195°F it would continue to climb until the radiator fan comes on. From your signature you have a '06 car, which shouldn't have any cooling issues, but with that age you probably want to flush the radiator and cooling system as the factory DEX-COOL coolant can start to sludge up. If you stick with that coolant make sure to flush the old stuff out really good and refill with a mix of coolant and distilled water (don't use tap water as the minerals will accelerate the degradation of the coolant).

If you're in heavy stop-and-go traffic I usually find it is best to use the clutch to get moving a few miles and hour and then coast. Don't continually slip it or it can overheat. When the traffic is moving along at maybe 10 mph or so you can probably just idle along in first gear but avoid sharp throttle inputs which will cause driveline lash. If you need to get off the gas make sure to use the clutch first.

If the coolant system gets a little too warm for your comfort (my '08 usually seems to hold around 210-215° when the fan comes on) you can also try turning on the A/C. That way you can set a cool or warm temp and not have to use only heat. When the A/C is running it will turn on the radiator fan to keep air flowing through the condenser, which also pulls air through the radiator and will help keep temps down.

Stay stopped until traffic ahead has moved enough for you to pull forward and not slip the clutch. Welcome to driving a stick in traffic. :D