Why Some Pro Sim Racers Use a BUTTON for Their CLUTCH!

[@neverthesame123]

Having a button for the clutch can also help with standing starts. Using a double clutch, you can release the clutch with the button, and the clutch depressed to the desired level with the pedal, it will immediately jump to the perfect clutch level every time.

[@utry_daniel438]

This is basically how those dual clutch paddles work. One of my wheels have it and honestly it’s a frickin cheat code.

[@Blankasbeast]

thats how every dual clutch work... @@utry_daniel438

[@werzheafas43]

I feel stupid for never thinking about this. I wanted to try dual clutch for years, this might give me a taste

[@coeng.5714]

That's actually what they use in real life for F1 I believe.

[@CamaroThings]

​@@coeng.5714that's why you see Lewis left hand on the top of the wheel at the start of races.

[@brianrasmussen2956]

I’ll use my pedal even though it’s slower it’s way more fun and realistic imo, but great tip.

[@TomAnderson.]

Exactly, I feel sim racing is for having fun.

[@Yukanhayt-Mhenow]

I just calibrate my clutch so it's short travel, best of both worlds

[@FordHoard]

The people that bind their clutch to a button and the same ones that turn their brightness all the way up to gain an advantage in games that are supposed to be dark.

[@dynamitedavies]

F1 has the clutch on the steering wheel, it's a paddle on each side. That a real car, not SIM

[@iamyourgreatgreatgreatgrea6291]

@@dynamitedavies Yes, but it's not a button, nor is it something they regularly engage and disengage while driving to save fuel.

[@nikaleve1657]

Honestly kinda weird, going through and making it as realistic as possible and then still doing stuff like this

[@Daz555Daz]

It's ok having a button for a clutch but it's odd that it allows it to be engaged and disengaged instantly. It should have a minimum cycle time programmed into it.

[@hurricane_valence]

And these people aren't athletes to race in actual motorsports you cannot be a kid in mommies basement and befor you come for me yes I know the story of Jans but that was 1 in a billion that he would actual make it

[@nikaleve1657]

@@hurricane_valence yeah probably, but im not even talking about it in a cheating context. Just like, you get a wheel, a whole Rig often, maybe tripples and you play a Simulator like iRacing, because you want to immerse yourself in the experience, because you want it to be realistic, and then you do hacky stuff like that you know? Whatever though, in the end it doesn’t actually matter

[@ryanboldthen6612]

@@Daz555Dazit’s because it’s not an analog input where there are varying degrees of input. It’s either on or off. Pressed or depressed.

[@Daz555Daz]

@@ryanboldthen6612 yeah I know and that was kind of my point. That's why I suggest the devs add code to add a cycle/delay time into it to create an effect closer to that of a player who presses a clutch. It would only need to be fractions of a second.

[@parkerwalsh3340]

I think I’m gonna make my clutch pedal super sensitive now 😂

[@DJYeeJay]

Ok so that’s also a thing so you’re not wrong LOL

[@eclark9965]

@@DJYeeJayI’ve got an asetek clutch to go with my invicta brake and gas. I shortened the throw and changes the curve so it actuates with just a little press. Maybe an inch or two. So i basically stab the clutch with my foot as i shift. But to be honest there’s little to no need for a clutch in stock cars. Blip the throttle to downshift and barely let off the gas to upshift

[@__-fm5qv]

thats basically what I do tbh

[@Weneedaplague]

I did that with mine playing dirt. Definitely works

[@NovocaineTV]

Hey man, this is a lot of misinformation. First of all NASCAR cars dont even use a clutch to shift since they use straight-cut transmissions, and have a emergency button clutch for pitroad. F1 cars been using a button clutch for 20+years developed by Ferrari and now used by everyone. All supercars produced in the last 10 years have a button clutch and paddle shifters. I am not even a racing guy and I know this stuff... come on.@@DJYeeJay

[@MyMomsADadNow]

Just a small gripe, but when the pedal is up, the clutch is "engaged." When you press the pedal, you're allowing the clutch to disengage the engine from the driveline.

[@cco53587]

I've always done it, not for competitive advantage, but because I'm a pleb that can't afford a 3-pedal rig. Thanks for the validation, though! 😄

[@christoforospaphitis4090]

hahaha that's what i did too hahaha

[@RockerSJC]

hahahaha, DFGT user here!

[@notrotom]

same here with my t150 lol, planning on upgrading the pedals sometime

[@aaronschurmann5923]

haha yes we are doing it like the pros :)

[@mrdider1]

​​@@RockerSJC I use a DFGT too (from 2014), and after year using, I made a clutch pedal, and a handbrake (both analog), and 12 extra buttons from a pad (apollo), for a 10 $ or less (very chip was) and it still works today 😁

[@omarostorga5028]

Sim racers: your game isn't realistic! (Uses bumper cam and a button for clutch)

[@donnycorn3086]

Well your game isn't fun

[@NovocaineTV]

every supercar released in the last 10 years has a button clutch. and F1 been using it for 20+ years. Ferrari developed it.. So whats not realistic?

[@donnycorn3086]

@@NovocaineTV i think it comes down to the car they use. The series mentioned, NASCAR cup series, probably doesn't have one, which led to the idea sounds stupid for a button for a clutch. But I'm not sure bout NASCAR having a clutch button irl tho.

[@StarRecovery]

@@NovocaineTVF1 has a paddle not a Button

[@nickbittner5938]

​@@NovocaineTV if it isn't a button clutch car then it's very relevant lol

[@docsgearheadgaming2503]

this will only work in sims that dont calculate shift times. Try this in AMS and your gonna fight it the entire time. And blipless downshifting where you want the extra engine braking would be a nightmare with a button and lead to a ton of compression locking. Would much rather have control over speed of the clutch.

[@michaelbuckers]

If you use a dogbox, shifting is as fast as you can engage the gears, and the entire reason you need clutch is to start from a standstill. Button or analog, it's superfluous. That said, dog collar gears aren't standard and cars with street gearboxes that use synchromesh require using clutch.

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

Me kicking an old flight stick for the clutch cause my Driving Force GT only has two pedals...

[@pingu3440]

many years out of the dfgt , one of the best

[@LithFox]

I remember back in the day when we did this as a limitation and then we went away from this because we wanted the realism and then we went back to it because everyone wanted to be esports. Which goes back to a video you did a few months ago where I commented saying eSports was the death of things lol

[@LGTV121]

Yup. Most esports player get caught cheating anyways. IRacing is getting bad because of all the garbage racers on the platform. Most people on there can’t even pace under caution but IRacing won’t do anything about them. Oh, and it doesn’t matter what their Irating, safety rating, or license class they are.

[@JoeXTheXJuggalo1]

Look at it this way. In the early 1800e we used to use tap on a device to send messages (morse code). We advanced up to using phones and cordless phones. Now here we are pretty much 200 years later tapping on a device to send messages (texting).

[@godlyBlade]

Humans are really good at optimizing the fun out of anything.

[@neonnerd1364]

I'll keep using my clutch. If I wanted to use a button for the clutch I would've stuck with a controller 😂

[@Grim_Prospects]

Right? Most bum sounding stuff I've ever heard lol.

[@neonnerd1364]

@@Grim_Prospects lol for real. The whole point in using a Sim rig is for the realism lol 🤣

[@Grim_Prospects]

@@neonnerd1364 I think it's been kinda lost over the last couple years tbh. We had a huge migration of people come from the shooter and console community that don't understand that part. They race like they are on NASCAR Heat or something. No race craft, no communication, no apologies. Just rampant BS over the last 2-3 years.

[@neonnerd1364]

@@Grim_Prospects ya I used to race/drift online but I can't stand the ones that will wreck you or drive like they're the only ones on the track. Absolutely no etiquette whatsoever.

[@neonnerd1364]

@@NopeNothanks-zj1yw ya for a launch. Other than that they never touch the clutch being the transmissions are sequential.

[@TChapman500Gaming]

iRacing: "You can use a button for the clutch pedal." Also iRacing: "You must use paddle shifters for cars that use paddle shifters."

[@Daz555Daz]

You can map any button you like to shift up and shift down. No need to use paddle shifters if you don't want or don't have.

[@TChapman500Gaming]

@@Daz555Daz I suspected that, but I was mostly referring to the fact that you can't assign a stick shift to them.

[@LGTV121]

@@TChapman500Gamingyes you can. The limitations are in the shifter and not IRacing.

[@TChapman500Gaming]

@@LGTV121 Then why did the car not respond to me moving the stick into 1st? It was properly assigned and worked for cars like the Street Stock.

[@rickardboberg]

​@@TChapman500GamingIt depends on the car (gearbox). F1 gearbox for example requires you to go through every gear from first to eight and vice versa. Any other drivingstyle would just be weird in a sim... Anyhow, the clutch exploit is as far as I know fixed. Engine braking should be and is more efficient now.

[@EmilRJohanssonRacing]

I've done this since day one. Not to save fuel, not to go faster, nothing like that. Ive always just done it to minimize back pain, which, due to my disability(OI aka "brittle bone disease"), is a daily factor for me. Anything I can do in simracing to save my back, I'll do it. Don't really care whether it's less realistic at this point.

[@jn1211]

i feel this in my bones. people and their need to have stiff brake pedals makes me shudder in hip pain.

[@PicnicAtTheTesco]

Former world record holder on Test Drive Unlimited 2 here. Button clutch mapping in H-pattern shift cars in TDU2 gave you instant shifts, in the Koenigsegg this allowed you to hit extreme speeds. I used it to hold the record on the airfield track until the servers went offline.

[@dennisrehmann2373]

Fucking loved TDU2. That F430 was bliss.

[@rankisdumb214]

Look at games like Forza Horizon 4/5 and Forza Motorsports 7. People were faster with a controller than a wheel! Reason being, you could never duplicate going from full steering lock one way then the other almost instantly allowed people to pull off turns in ways they could never do with a wheel. I set my triggers to my throttle and break and my L1 to my clutch before getting a simrig. It was as realistic as one could get using the controller while still having brake and throttle control vs 100% throttle and 100% brake only with a button

[@simonhilling]

I'm just commenting to appreciate the looping video! Very well done, Sir!🤜💥🤛

[@pascalzarn8974]

Audi did that in their Group B rally cars i believe. Not on the wheel but on the shift knob.

[@carlwhite3471]

I wouldn't mind having one of them for the rig!

[@snjert8406]

Yep!

[@mholden020]

So.... I worked in the Coke Series and prior eNASCAR WC incarnations (PEAK Series) for ten years with the drivers pictured in this video (Conti and Ottinger) and I don't know of a time when Ottinger had a button mapped as a clutch (MAYBE early on, 2009-2010 but not in the championship run a few years ago). At that level you cannot lose time on pit road, and the easiest way to lose time was to bust the rear tires loose leaving a pit stop which happens nearly 100% of the time when the clutch is mapped to a button. Further, when I was racing in Class B and I was building the cars that won the championship, none of us used a button for a clutch. To leave the pit stall we basically just dragged it out of the box to prevent wheelspin. Even more than that, nobody worth their salt uses a clutch to shift at that level. If anything, you'd move the shifter to up-shift and hold it, then blip out of the throttle (no less than 50-60%) and then back to full throttle. It'll shift instantly with no chance of the wheelspin that happens from a button-clutch like pictured. Not sure where he got this info, but it's not true.

[@DJYeeJay]

2021 coke series auto club was won because button clutch allowed a few guys to make it a 1 stop. Since then more people have used it for races that would potentially need fuel saving. You can also bind the clutch pedal really short to a similar effect to make good pit launches still possible.

[@Derangedteddy]

You should have to bind your clutch input to an axis.

[@xero4479]

That isolates controller players, and yes, I know it's a sim, but a lot of casual sim drivers use controllers to drive, especially ones that can't afford a rig

[@coffin7904]

​@@xero4479fuckin wild if youre playing iracing with a controller.

[@Evilnemo21]

​@xero4479 yeah but if you gonna pay like $15 a month to play a racing game you might aswell go all in

[@Matthew-nl9kd]

​@@Evilnemo21Shifting with a manual clutch using a gamepad though? Damn thats some skill. I can barely steer properly with one 😂

[@Daggett1122]

That would exclude too many people, and it's also very easy to fake an axis.

[@YTOnceAgain]

In a RACING game, the way you clutch is basically on/off anyway. So this whole thing is essentially about preferring your foot or your finger to engage the clutch.

[@BigMax-]

Gaming Wheel Manufacturers: Our new pedals register 10,000 different positions. Pro sim racers: the clutch is a button

[@eclark9965]

The only thing i use clutch for is whipping the car around after a spin and getting out of the pits. There’s no reason to use it in stock cars at all when you’re moving but whatevs. Sometimes people will do something just because they think it’s worth it when it really isn’t.

[@HugoRBMarques]

Great channel. Great videos and shorts. Good stuff for people to post comments supposed to go on other videos. You should try doing an iRacing podcast. It could be fun.

[@DJYeeJay]

Thanks! haha it happens a lot, and I totally get how it happens, and I always get a kick out of it

[@marianovontrani418]

I think it was AUDI at IMSA that had a button for the clutch on the shifter as well as the pedal when they needed the feet for braking and keeping the turbo spooling in certain corners. Not as unrealistic as you might think.

[@NoCluYT]

I simply wouldn't do that. Sometimes the excitement of replicating the real stuff is better than being competitive.

[@zenon459]

I still use a DFGT wheel so I have my clutch binded to a button close to the rim, I've never had a problem in any sim

[@TreeFPV]

its funny how iracing dudes take the game so seriously yet they bind clutch to a button thats impossible to do in real life, honestly iracing should patch that

[@Malfehzan]

Half the users have wheel/pedals sets without any clutch, they will NEVER disallow button alternative.

[@shaunster2]

Thank you. Trying to get through rookie with this tip helps

[@vinceksushifish217]

It actually is kind of realistic. The Pikes Peak Audi S1 had a button activated clutch.

[@RetroDillon]

Going from Auto, to Manual, then Manual w/clutch is life changing and well worth sticking it out, you will improve your lap times greatly

[@captainteamcarry3]

Once I went from controller racer to sim racer I found myself torn between better lap times and enjoying the realism I paid for. 😅

[@zefzec4462]

I drive with a logitech flight yoke and having only 2 pedals use a button clutch as well as button shifters. It’s incredibly fast.

[@TrebleWoofer1]

yup. I discovered this when I was a kid back in the late 90s early 00s

[@heskeydatruth4300]

Use your foot like god intended

[@R3AL-AIM]

I actually used the cheap 458 wheel for awhile on FM7 and had my clutch/ebrake mapped to the two right thumb buttons and then I just used the paddles to shift. The wheel wasn't the greatest for racing, but what it was fun for was drifting. That setup actually worked better than you think lol

[@syger4572]

Double clutch paddle go brr

[@anonamos225]

This is the difference between sim racers and just your good ol fashion core gamers.

[@drwang4884]

I just didn’t want to buy a handbrake so I applied it to the clutch lol

[@stonebakedpuddingaming]

I’ve done this soon changed it back though

[@drwang4884]

@@stonebakedpuddingaming it’s still there but I never use it I just use a gnarly rev to start my drifts now 😂

[@stonebakedpuddingaming]

@@drwang4884 I play and stream carx never used a handbrake for drifting at all

[@Lo-Fi-_-Gaming]

Never thought of that. I am just racing for fun. But I got some game challenges where you really need to do the fastest laps. Might try that.

[@Chonkems]

I don't really play sim racers much (occasional asetto corsa with my father) but it's cool to learn a lot about my dad's favorite hobby.

[@-row-garfield3129]

I use the clutch pedal on my wheel and in games, like codies F1 games, where a pedal is not really supported, i pull just enough so that it engages (2 mm or so) and just release at the start. In my opinion easier than a button, where you always have a wall before engaging/ releasing the clutch

[@iRacinVR]

I do it too. It also eliminates miss shifts.

[@displayname3730]

you can also use the brake and accelerator at the same time and just magically get through any corner. Works with every racing game/sim I ever played.

[@Nkdvhn]

We had button clutch and launch control in our formula student car with 9 level to adjust for different slip. Gave us easy 4th place in acceleration since drive just went full throttle.

[@SebastianWoodard]

Also, I imagine it's help on the road side of things with those heel toes, and allows them to maintain left foot brake right foot throttle and thumb on the clutch. Also, it's not entirely unrealistic. It's possible IRL. A lot of heavy machinery have a push button clutch on the shifter, a Fett wheel, and right wheel brake pedal, and a throttle, and a throttle on the wheel too, so you can basically set an RPM (say you're running something needing a specific RPM to hit the specific PTO speed for whatever they're using needs) but you can use the floor throttle still but now you basically just moved idle up to whatever you want. So, it's not entirely unrealistic to imagine a push button clutch in a racecar.

[@liamgbooth]

Using a button clutch can help you left foot brake with downshifting in a manual gearbox set up.

[@Nickyy64]

Guess I gotta change my binds

[@Mandilore89]

This is like a virtual "quick shifter" (which some motorcycles use).

[@LilLou97]

To save fuel you can: 1. Stay in higher gears in slower zones 2. Coast in neutral when you have momentum

[@mc-qx6ue]

Electric Clutch Disconnect is what some people call the clutch button on construction equipment. Hold the button, shift the gears…

[@wotwott2319]

binding the clutch to a button instead of a foot pedal works in real life too. F1 cars has the clutch bound to a pedal underneath the shifter to help with launching from a standing start.

[@underSTATEDexcellence]

I’m no pro and I used the 12 button on my Fanatec as the clutch and I also use the launch feature in iRacing.

[@MOVEOV3R]

Wheel I use a clutch for fun then got used to it and drove my first car that was actual stick

[@deplant9902]

I was fully expecting him to say bumpdrafting in formula cars😂

[@bradleyandrews2138]

If a simulation is being used to develop a real race car or scenario then this falls short of accurately recreating a result that is achievable whether it is fuel consumption or lap time.

[@Harmonic14]

No one is using iRacing to develop a race car lmao

[@WLS_Churchill]

Developing a racecar in a game ? Lmao you ain't M Motorsport, your sim is worthless to "develop" a racecar.

[@patriksuc4838]

F1: i am 4 parralel universes ahead of you

[@jonf2009]

...... Hmmm now thats a thought, have a box that connects to a button and depresses a servo to disengage the clutch on press then wire it to the stick .......

[@RocketDraco47]

You can change the sensitivity of the clutch on most games I’ve played so just lightly pressing the clutch peddle will engage it 👌. I actually have my clutch peddle set as my E break because I don’t have a shifter or E break so drifting is difficult. Trying to find the paddle shifters or E break when the wheel is spinning around constantly isn’t fun 😅

[@T.K.9]

I am a stickler. So I always use pedal clutch. Its called simulation in the first place. Cause yoh wanna similate irl scenario. Although I can understand the button or wheel paddle clutch. Like the GT3 mclaren wheel for fanatec. Some people might have leg complications not allowing them to use pedals for clutch. Hence theh exist as buttons or paddles just below the gear paddle.

[@buffhorses]

Been doing this with Forza since motorsport 3. Switch the left bumper and A button , and slow cars got a lot faster.

[@pedromlopes12]

Clutch also helps to come back in straight if you oversteer in a corner

[@Mash333]

That 0.5 millisecond saves sooo much fuel, lol

[@istockvr]

AWESOME VIDEO

[@samuelhayes5198]

Some le mans cars have a coast button, the Porsche 919 had a button labelled "sail" that was for coasting as an example

[@Obi-WanKannabis]

When simracers start disregarding the simulation for performance, they become gamers and not simracers,

[@sonneck12]

the thought behind that is hilarious... yeah i wanna sim race cuz other games arent realistic now i cheat cuz i cant handle my lack of talent

[@djaydeved]

reminds me of the janky shit i'd try in a car game i curently hold a world record in a game called apex point (alteast i think i do, among the folks in the discord theoretically, back when the eg6 was top dog in the time attack circuit, i devised a silly stratigy that i never got working because i dont have H shifter grab reverse to slow down really REALLY fast, burry into the corner and then brake at last possible moment but then the FD came out and made that jankery completely irrelivant cause it would upset the car A LOT

[@valkeitos]

I did this on my wheel a while ago and it was fun

[@ninjaknight-jn9ky]

Dogboxs have entered the chat.

[@dannywhite132]

I cant remember the game but I swear there used to be a sim that let you multi bind buttons. So you could just bind shift up and clutch to the same button making it instantly shift

[@vizionthing]

That incoming patch to catch 100% instant peddle changes, gonna mess with a lot of players

[@assil4real]

Oooooo he did that on the end

[@tombaily29]

Irl engineers: should we make a rocket popelled clutch mechanism 😮

[@enmattiskan]

They should make button clutch have some built in travel time

[@x1_n_only_jtm_]

That's really cool!

[@huddystone7994]

Hand operated clutches are in every level formula car nowadays. Some TCRs and GTs even have them. The BAC mono, a road car has it.

[@superfalcon022]

how the heck did i not think of this

[@look_its_wesley8252]

To disengage* when non-stick shift drivers talk about stick shifts

[@hexgraphica]

Many straight cut gearboxes don't require a full clutch depression and a full lift, that's why you can see in late 80s f1 onboards drivers tapping the clutch and lifting the whole right leg for instant shifts

[@Ceelbc]

Tractors have buttons as clutch IRL. So, this is not that unrealistic.

[@MatthewWood-ue1sb]

bro, im watching this video with the logitec G29 right in front of me lol, what a coincedence

[@NexXxu]

Sou um Zoomer (Gen Z) e acho que eu fui uma das ultimas levas de alguém que teve um contato com o Silvio Santos na Tv com o Show do Milhão e o Programa Silvio Santos. Eu não vi as peripécias do Silvio nos anos 90, mas consegui ver algumas de 2010, como aquela vez que ele tirou a roupa de uma pianista que estava se apresentando no Programa, aquela vez que ele decidiu se esconder dentro de um armário (eu lembro que era um momento anuncio dentro do Programa) e o meme lendário lá de quando ele cai lá na Tele Sena (eu vi ao vivo kkkkkk). Enfim, foram muitas muitas memórias boas, sentirei saudades.

[@vjollila96]

used that when i used dfgt its pedals didnt have clutch and this was so much better than auto clutch

[@kevinindy2215]

And also. Using button handbrake will help with your braking too.

[@NeverNotHoopin]

There goes the word simulation straight out the window

[@yusufateeb]

But that just defeats the whole idea of "sim racing"

[@smh9902]

One could in theory use a button to engage or disaengage a clutch IRL by using a large solenoid or pneumatic cylinder to operate the clutch.

[@mugurlutr9208]

I do powershifting and literally kick my clutch and PUNCH into the next gear withing at least 0.50 sec 😂

[@joachimhupe4018]

You will also allways have one foot on the gas and the break pedal at the same time, even while shifting

[@phoenixyip8935]

You can also left foot brake

[@Harmonic14]

Left foot braking is inherently less fuel efficient lol

[@Datadog-1]

Seeing as a clutch can be computer controlled this isn’t really something “you can’t do in real life” as much as it is something that just isn’t done. My car even has a computer controlled clutch, although I can’t manually override it with a button.

[@Gregpaulluvr124]

that is a thing that is done in real life. stick shift drag racers have a sensor on the shifter that engages the clutch and cuts throttle to make quicker shifts

[@bensta614]

Infact Audi built a ralley car (I think it was the Audi S1 from Walter Röhrl) where the clutch is operated by a button at the steering wheel. It was very dangerous because the clutch pedal did then move very fast and you had to watch the stand of your feet

[@snjert8406]

The clutch button was on the shift lever, so he could change gears with one hand and keep his feet on gas and brake

[@bensta614]

@@snjert8406 Ah thank you for the addition. I didn't know it exactly :)

[@snjert8406]

@@bensta614 no problem! :)

[@Forte_FX]

If you want the high RPM's around turns, don't forget to upgrade to the Racing Clutch & Flywheel. If your teaching a newbie Manual transmission, you can just use the stick without the clutch until they get the idea. Not like the virtual transmission cares😂

[@Garugaa]

in Formula 1 the clutch is a pedal on their steering wheel. It works like here described in the Video. It aint that unrealistic at the end

[@thefalsekingslayer3717]

I was under the impression that the clutch was only used in nascar for standing starts

[@XR6IX]

This is a real thing in real racing both in F1 and GT2 and GT3 class racing the clutch is behind the steering yolk like a paddle shifter but index finger size.

[@schmid1.079]

Those are only for starting and stopping though, not shifting.

[@nathund1]

Just to be clear, many IRL track cars use button clutches, including most F series (I know F1 and F3 have clutch paddles at the very least)

[@blankabison1331]

in nascar the only time they use the clutch now is letting it out in first gear. most drivers just match the next gear to the engine RPM and shift without a clutch.

[@maxishappy]

I just got my first sim race done is assetto corsa i qualifyied 3rd and finished 6th out of 15

[@travisobrien1533]

The clutch on an f1 car is controlled by a paddle on the back of the steering wheel. A paddle is a fancy button. Saying clutches on buttons would never be possible in real life is a bit of a stretch