Does a Dual Clutch Have a Clutch?

[LeXavier]

Dual-clutch models do not have a clutch. Location of the car clutch: The car clutch is located inside the flywheel housing between the engine and the transmission. The clutch assembly is fixed to the rear plane of the flywheel with screws, and the output shaft of the clutch is the input shaft of the transmission. During driving, the driver can press or release the clutch pedal as needed to temporarily separate or gradually engage the engine and the transmission, thereby cutting off or transmitting the power input from the engine to the transmission. Functions of the car clutch: Ensures smooth starting of the car. Before starting, the car is stationary. If the engine and transmission are rigidly connected, once a gear is engaged, the car will suddenly lurch forward due to the abrupt connection of power, which not only causes damage to mechanical parts but also means the driving force is insufficient to overcome the huge inertia generated by the sudden forward movement, leading to a sharp drop in engine speed and stalling. Facilitates gear shifting. During driving, different transmission gears are frequently used to adapt to changing driving conditions. Without the clutch temporarily separating the engine from the transmission, the meshed force-transmitting gears in the transmission would be difficult to separate due to the high pressure between their meshing surfaces caused by the unrelieved load.

[CameronFitz]

A dual-clutch transmission certainly has clutches, but two of them! The principle is quite interesting: it essentially splits the single clutch of a traditional manual transmission into two sets—one managing the odd gears (1, 3, 5) and the other handling the even gears (2, 4, 6). For example, if you're in 3rd gear, the computer has already pre-engaged 4th gear, so shifting happens with a quick snap, smooth as Dove chocolate. However, this system tends to overheat during low-speed crawling, so it's safer to use manual mode or switch to S mode in traffic. Some cars even come with an electronic oil pump for cooling!

[OJosephine]

Having driven a dual-clutch transmission (DCT) car for five years, my feet feel particularly relaxed—there's no clutch pedal. But it's wrong to say there's no clutch; it just divides the work of a traditional clutch between two systems. The dry dual-clutch uses two sets of clutch plates cooled by air, suitable for small displacements. The wet type is soaked in oil, handling high torque, like the Volkswagen GTI. Want durability? Remember to shift to N at red lights to reduce wear from partial engagement. Once during maintenance, I saw the opened gearbox—two sets of clutch plates shining there, far more complex than a manual transmission.

[VanRiley]

The name 'Dual Clutch' gives it away: DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) literally means a dual-clutch gearbox! One clutch handles the current gear, while the other pre-selects the next gear. It shifts faster than a manual transmission, but poor low-speed tuning can lead to jerky movements. Porsche's PDK is the top-tier dual-clutch system, capable of dropping multiple gears in a row without hesitation.