Stopped at a red light with a MT car. 1st gear clutch in or neutral?

[StageLeft]

worrying about smog clogging your air filter...or your lungs. Are you going to stop breathing?

What do you advise?

 

[Bignate603]

worrying about smog clogging your air filter...or your lungs. Are you going to stop breathing?

What do you advise?

There's one or two posters that should probably just hold their breath.

 

[HannibalX]

Love how you had to turn a joke into a personal attack. Notice the smiley. I completely understand that situations on the road vary and I wasn't there. Usually that situation arises when one is following to close, but not always, which is why I put the word "usually" and the smiley face afterword.

Go grab a beer or something and chill out, sheesh.

You must have taken it the wrong way, didn't you see my usually and my smiley face?

Take your cheap shots somewhere else.

 

[JDub02]

Years ago in driving school they taught us to always stay in gear while stopped in case you have to move rapidly in an emergency situation. Not sure how I feel about it now though, I do both and don't have a standard.

I was taught the same thing in my MSF course 5-6 years ago. I don't listen. Red lights give me a chance to stretch when on my bike.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Ok too bad I was late for the party.

Until the person behind me is stopped = in gear. Short light = in gear.

Anything else = neutral, for a few reasons.

1) hydraulic systems don't like to be 'held down' like that for long periods. I.E. it's better for the slave and master cylinder
2) the throwout bearing wears out faster if it's in gear but clutch is in
3) it's just easier.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I was taught the same thing in my MSF course 5-6 years ago. I don't listen. Red lights give me a chance to stretch when on my bike.

You should listen. I've had a few close calls and one VERY serious situation where I would've gotten creamed had I not been in gear and gotten the F out of the way.


Stay in gear until traffic behind you is mostly stopped, then pop into neutral.

 

[alkemyst]

Clutch in, revved to 4000 and drop it when the light hits green.

helps improve my reaction times.

 

[Thump553]

I always do the clutch in/first gear at normal lights, and have been driving manual for well over thirty years without ever wearing out a clutch (one broken clutch cable). Then again, most of my driving is on the East Coast where the driver behind will lay on the horn approximately 0.001 seconds after the light changes.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Ok too bad I was late for the party.

Until the person behind me is stopped = in gear. Short light = in gear.

Anything else = neutral, for a few reasons.

1) hydraulic systems don't like to be 'held down' like that for long periods. I.E. it's better for the slave and master cylinder
2) the throwout bearing wears out faster if it's in gear but clutch is in
3) it's just easier.

1) The slave and master cylinders only wear during cycling (i.e. when they are moving). There is no additional wear on the master or slave cylinder from being held at the end of their travel. In fact, you place more wear on the master and slave cylinders by going into neutral (because that cycles the clutch twice instead of once). Furthermore, by this logic, holding your brakes on at a stop light is just as bad since the brake hydraulics operate in exactly the same manner as the clutch hydraulics. Basically, this "reason" is simply not tenable if one has any understanding of how the clutch hydraulics actually work.

2) This "reason" has been addressed several times already. T/O bearings just plain do not fail from holding the clutch in at a stop light. They fail for any of several other reasons, but holding the clutch in at a stop light simply is not one of them. Period.

3) This is the only valid reason. It's a perfectly good reason and if it's more comfortable for you to put the car in neutral, then by all means do so. Just don't think there's any mechanical reason.

ZV