Q. If I live in a town with hills, how much more frequently will I need to have my clutch checked and/or replaced?

A. If you drive regularly in a very hilly area, you are probably going to wear out your clutch faster than your flatland cousin. How much more quickly depends on the hills and, more importantly, how you drive on them.

A clutch is a pretty ingenious little contraption. It takes a spinning disc from the engine (the flywheel) and engages it with a stationary disc (the clutch plate) attached to the transmission. These two plates are pushed together, rubbing and causing friction, until they engage fully. Once they engage, the two discs are spinning at the same rate and all is well. When you push in your clutch, you separate the two plates and when you release it, they press together again. When you’re in that no-mans-land between being fully engaged and not, it’s called slipping-- and nothing wears a clutch out faster.

In a hilly environment people have a tendency to rev the engine and engage the clutch too quickly, or worse yet, ride the clutch to keep from rolling backward. Because these two discs aren’t spinning at the same rate (if you’re at a full stop, one isn’t spinning at all), it can be a harsh connection when it’s made. That’s why newbie drivers have such jerky shifts causing the car to buck. It’s those two plates engaging violently, which is bad for the clutch.

Driving up and down hills makes it harder to engage these two plates smoothly, which results in more friction that causes wear and tear to the flywheel and clutch plate. Hilly driving also inflicts more stress to all of the other parts of the clutch that help make the magic happen.

For smoother starts on hills and less wear on your clutch, use your parking brake. Pull up it up about halfway, and release it as you start to move forward. Your clutch will last a lot longer that way.