Clutch in or out at the lights?

[M_Six]

My former boss would freak out if you sat at a red light with the vehicle in gear and the clutch in. He said it ruined the clutch. I usually sit with the car in neutral and the clutch out until I think it's about to turn green, but I was wondering what other drivers do. And was my former boss right? Does it hurt the clutch to sit with it in gear and the clutch in?

[Panerissimi]

Clutch out, gear neutral, parking brake lightly on.....see opposing light go to amber, clutch in, 1st engaged, brake on, parking brake released...advance when safe to do so.

[Incompatible]

Besides giving your leg a workout, you're putting additional wear on the throwout bearing and hydraulic seals. Over time this might/might not shorten the service life of these parts.

[jaybird124]

Seriously? Are you really talking about this? This is the best way to spend your time?

With most any car, a clutch and related components are going to last a long time. Who really cares if you get an extra few hundred miles out of it with all the crap your having to do at a light. Just enjoy the car and stop being neurotic.

[quickfast]

Yes I have heard of clutch life going down by as much as 50%-75% because of people doing this. Theres a huge thread on bimmerfest somewhere about this. The way throwouts are designed you should never hold it down. Ever. In fact I even stopped using my clutch except to get into first gear. You should work on clutchless shifting. Dont expect your car to last long if you keep doing this.

[thekurgan]

Keeping it out of gear can save your life, cracks me up how many poeple fly through red lights these days. I'll take the extra second or two to get it in gear.

[O-cha]

Originally Posted by Incompatible

Besides giving your leg a workout, you're putting additional wear on the throwout bearing and hydraulic seals. Over time this might/might not shorten the service life of these parts.

+1

Originally Posted by quickfast

Yes I have heard of clutch life going down by as much as 50%-75% because of people doing this. Theres a huge thread on bimmerfest somewhere about this. The way throwouts are designed you should never hold it down. Ever. In fact I even stopped using my clutch except to get into first gear. You should work on clutchless shifting. Dont expect your car to last long if you keep doing this.

Not the clutch itself, there is a thrust bearing that pushes the pressure plate which pulled the clutch off the flywheel. It's not meant for continuous operation.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by jaybird124

Seriously? Are you really talking about this? This is the best way to spend your time?

With most any car, a clutch and related components are going to last a long time. Who really cares if you get an extra few hundred miles out of it with all the crap your having to do at a light. Just enjoy the car and stop being neurotic.

Thanks for your concern, but I'll spend my time as I see fit. If you feel this post is wasted time, feel free to avoid reading further.

[Vertigo//SD]

Clutch out, gear in neutral... which allows me to do a few iPhone text messages, while keeping a wary eye on traffic and my surroundings. Talk about multi tasking...

[wasupdu]

Are you guys serious? I always thought that as long as the clutch pedal is FULLY pressed that there's nothing to worry about. Is this for real?

[fatmatt0116]

I for one would like to know

[thekurgan]

See what O-cha said above, he's right. It is undue wear on parts that aren't meant to be depressed for extended periods.

[quickfast]

Ok i was kidding my first post, i thought i exaggerated enough so that it sounded sarcastic. however, it does make me wonder how many people on this forum know how a clutch really operates. on the bare bones level, take a look at this

[epbrown]

From what I've read, keeping the clutch depressed was a big deal back in the 50s and 60s, and hasn't been since. I switch neutral more out of habit than concern.

[Burt Reynolds]

Nuetral unless holding on a hill. I did not know it caused harm either though...

[WAMz4]

I sit at lights with the clutch out. But I do down shift to slow to a stop. In the 80's when i was learning to drive I had a drivers license tester tell me I was suposed to to keep control of the car. But I've talked to a lot of people since that dont downshift to slow down at traffic lights.

[GP20]

Originally Posted by Burt Reynolds

Nuetral unless holding on a hill. I did not know it caused harm either though...

Wait, you leave your car in gear and the clutch pushed in when holding the car on a hill? But your M has the hill-start assist.

[nickpapa]

0-cha is right. but on my last car (before i knew this info), i used to sit at every light with the car in gear and i mean ALL THE TIME. but i still went 190k miles without ever changing a clutch, or throwout bearing.

[CalRick]

Originally Posted by WAMz4

I sit at lights with the clutch out. But I do down shift to slow to a stop. In the 80's when i was learning to drive I had a drivers license tester tell me I was suposed to to keep control of the car. But I've talked to a lot of people since that dont downshift to slow down at traffic lights.

Your evaluator is basically correct. While one doesn't need to be anal about it and downshift all the way to first, you should keep the engine in a reasonable power band in case someone does something stupid and the best avoidance is power rather than brakes. Besides, it's good practice.

[double0jimb0]

My sarcasm meter may be broken, probably from too many beers last night, so I might be walking into this.

But I always leave the car in first, clutch depressed, when sitting at a light. Got to be able to react immediately if you need to get out of the way of some idiot. On more then one ocassion, when I've left it in nuetral and had to make an emergency slam into first, I've accidentally put it in reverse. This is not a problem if you were already in gear.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by double0jimb0

My sarcasm meter may be broken, probably from too many beers last night, so I might be walking into this.

But I always leave the car in first, clutch depressed, when sitting at a light. Got to be able to react immediately if you need to get out of the way of some idiot. On more then one ocassion, when I've left it in nuetral and had to make an emergency slam into first, I've accidentally put it in reverse. This is not a problem if you were already in gear.

I used to think along those lines as well. It's a holdover from my sportbike days when I always kept the bike in gear with the clutch in until someone came to a stop behind me. People sometimes miss the fact that there is a bike between them and the car in front, so I always watched the car coming up behind me to make sure it was going to stop in time. Once it did, I popped it into neutral and relaxed. Probably not a bad practice even in a car. Depends on the situation, I guess.

[reRESERVEDFX]

Mark, I actually do the same thing I mean almost all of us have warranty on that thing and clutch job isn't that difficult, nor expensive. On the other hand, rear ends of our cars are.