5spd question?
 

I was in a friends car the other day, and at a red light he had the car in first, and the clutch to the floor until the light changed to green. He said that is how he was taught to drive a manual. I have seen others do this as well.

I have always put mine in neutral, and left the clutch alone, and shifted into first as the light changed to green.

Needless to say, this became a big debate....So which is better for the car?

um i don't think it matters

I usually pull it out of gear while i wait, and then put it into first when the opposing traffic's light turns yellow

Better with clutch out in neutral. I heard it puts undue stress on the throwout bearing (whatever that is) to hold the clutch in all that extra time.

i leave the clutch out as well while waiting for traffic lights. esspecially after a good hard days work. easier on me and the car that way.

And, if the hydraulic clutch fails..no surprises!!!

I do it both ways, depends on if it's a long light. Then I will pull it out of gear and let the clutch out.

I guess I got into the habit when I had an older Ford Ranger and the clutch was messed up so I would have to put it into first before I stopped moving or it would'nt go into first.

Sometimes, I forget if its in or out and I just sit there and wait for the rpms to go down and then get moving.

There are two schools of thought on this one. One is, let the clutch out, and it saves wear on the throwout bearing, which is not itself that expensive, but is inside the clutch, so if it went, you'd need to open up the clutch housing, so you might as well rebuild the clutch.

The explanation I've heard for the other method, holding the car in 1st, is that if you are hit from the rear at the intersection, you'll probably be startled and pick your foot up, which means the car stalls, and the engine stops it from rolling into the intersection. Otherwise, you'd end up releasing the brake and rolling into traffic.

Myself, I put the car in neutral and release the clutch, and I'll stick with it until I hear a better reason to switch (although I've heard this from experienced drivers) .

That's a moot point. The throwout bearing is replaced every time the clutch is replaced and can easily handle the strain. The only way this might be a problem is if you tried to go cheap on the last clutch job and just left the old throwout bearing in there.

Saying that you should sit in neutral to save the throwout bearing is akin to saying that you should shift without the clutch to prevent it from wearing. Even if you hold the clutch pedal to the floor every time the car is in neutral, the throwout bearing will still outlast the clutch unless there is something defective.

Aaron

My rule is to step on the clutch as little as possible.

I leave it in gear and keep my foot on the clutch for 3 reasons

1. If somebody behind you cant stop in time or doesnt stop in time you have a good chance of just letting the clutch out so you can get out of the way, no screwing with the shifter.

2. I think its a fatser way to take off, agian now screwing with the shifter

3. I think its less wear on the drive shaft bearings, with the clutch in Nothing after the clutch is spinning, But with the car in neutral and clutch out the whole dirve shaft assembley is spinning.

I guess its the way I have alwasy done it.

i used to do this (push the clutch and leave it in gear) until one day the clutch wouldn't work.

i found out that one of the prongs (there are two prongs) on the fork-lever that pushes the throwout bearing had bent. the mechanic said it was probably due to excess stress. i think it might have been all those times i had the clutch depressed while in gear waiting at traffic lights.

maybe it was just an isolated incident that happened to me, but i play it on the safe side now and leave it in neutral unless i'm in gear.

Take it from someone who has 316K mi on their original clutch. If you want it to last, keep your foot off the thing at a stop light. You will wear out your throw-out bearing much sooner if you don't.

316,000 miles on your original clutch? Either your clutch was replaced by a PO and you don't know about it, your clutch is using the rivets as friction material, you shift without using the clutch at all like a semi driver, or you're BS-ing. Plus, if you have an NA, then there's no way in hell that the rubber center hasn't deteriorated by now.

I have never in my life had a throwout bearing die before the clutch itself, and in my experience 150,000 miles on a clutch is doing well.

Aaron

This is no BS. I've owned the car since 60K mi. so I know it's the original. There are many other techniques to preserve a clutch. I should mention that this is a Hon-duh. Yes the rubber centered 944 clutch won't last no matter what you do. Time will get you in the end.

I just sold my 73 VW on Saturday that had the same issue. If you didn't downshift into 1st gear, when you started to go it would pop out of gear.

With the Porsche I just do whatever I feel like doing, usually depends on how long the light is.

With my Mustang, I can't hold the clutch in that long so I usually put it in neutral.

Ahh, thought you were talking about a 924/944 clutch.

Still, 300,000+ miles on a single clutch is pretty much unheard-of and it's most certainly not something the average driver should come even remotely close to expecting. 100,000 miles seems to be the median clutch life in a sporting car from what I've seen. Something mundane like a Honda will have a longer clutch life because the driver isn't double-clutching or rushing through the gears as much. This is nothing against Hondas, I loved my old '88 Accord, but you're less likely to see a Civic clipping apexes than a 944.

Aaron