Clutch in or out at the lights?

[BlackSapphireZ]

i do half and half, and nearly @ 100k its fine.

i've heard BMW's clutch lasting for up to 200k with proper driving.

[thekurgan]

Originally Posted by 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.

Warranty or not, who wants to get stranded, and what if the clutch fails right when you need it most? Just a thought ... plus if you take the time to put it in gear, watch how many assholes blow through the red light

[Hawkeye]

I am usually in gear, for the above logic. I am also a sport bike rider as well so it probably carries over. I have had to bolt a time or two for a car behind me not slowing down :\ (on my bike that is)

[RichardTS]

This thread is useless without a proper engineering analysis. Depending on the actual bearing used for the throwout, the bearing lifetime calculation UNDER LOAD might yield as much as 80,000 hrs or as little as 3,000 hrs. Unless we know exactly which *** or SKF bearing BMW uses for the throwout we cannot look it up in the bearing catalog and make the calculation. As an engineer I would presume that BMW has a very good idea of the clutch longevity under the expected normal driving conditions. It would be standard to design the bearing longevity to be close to that of the clutch.

It would be normal to presume that you would need to replace the throwout bearing at the same time as the pressure plate and clutch disc.

I would guess that the entire rational for neutral with clutch out comes from the old British sports car days when this was a necessity because of carbon throwout bearings instead of ball bearings.

But being an old British car driver, habits die hard - at lights, mine is in neutral with the clutch out...

[RichardTS]

To the thread moderator or censor program:

F*A*G is a bearing manufacturer and NOT a derogatory term!