1st or neutral at stoplight

Is it better on the car overall to put it in first and hold the clutch in or go to neutral when stopped at a traffic light? I've always gone for 1st but now I'm hearing that's not the better option.

Thanks.

[chameleon]

Technically, its better to leave it in neutral and let the clutch out because holding the clutch in will put unnecessary wear the throwout bearing. Throwout bearings do occasionally wear down to the point where they need to be replaced but it is extreamly rare, usually the throwout bearing will by far outlast your clutch. When the clutch is worn and needs to be replaced, they always put a new throwout bearing in it because the part is super cheap. If you are more comfortable with the transmition in first at a light, I would reccomend that you just continue to do so, don't give the throwout bearing a second thought. If I'm first in line at a light, I almost always put it in first so I am ready to go.

When are you getting your Celica? Are you excited, I know I was when I was getting close to picking it up. I couldn't sleep at all the night before it was supposed to arrive at the dealership, lol! :)

[00CericaRuss]

neutral.. or your leg gets tired ;)

[Rog315]

i always put it in first unless i am sitting at a long traffic light or am stuck in traffic then I put it in neutral!

[Baldhead_J]

Originally posted by Rog315
i always put it in first unless i am sitting at a long traffic light or am stuck in traffic then I put it in neutral!

Me too.

[twanmoney]

Neutral unless im 1st at the light

Thanks for all replies!

Chameleon:

OMG am I ever excited! The car has been at the dealership for a week or so and I've gone over to visit with it a couple times already. The days are passing soooooooooooo slowly and, like you, I can't sleep at night. I'm getting it next Friday (7 days from now) and it's too long to wait.

Meanwhile, I'm reading all I can on the various celica forums. Thankfully, celispeed is based in Canada not far from me (I'm in London, Ontario and they're in the Toronto area) so I can converse with other Canadian celica enthusiasts.

Thanks for your advice. I'm proly going to stay in 1st at a light since that's what I've done for years, unless my leg gets tired.

I'll continue to post mostly newbie questions/comments because that's basically what I am. This is a fantastic forum. I'm 40 and know very little about cars. I can't believe how much the younger folks here know ... makes me wish I spent more time learning about cars when I was younger.

Regards.

[Johan]

All you guy's seem to put the car in first gear when you are the first car at a trafficlight. I think that is not such a good idea.
I'm not talking about the the throwout bearing , that is no point, but I'm talking about safety here.
What would happen when your foot slips off the pedal ??? Or, you want to pick something out of the glovecompartment and before you know it you are standing in the middle of the crossing.

Don't tell me that is BS. I've been working for the police more then 10 years and this strange accidents happens more then you think.....................

[Oo DaRk StAr oO]

When Im at a stop light I leave it in Neutral. My foot get tired. BTW second car is a stick.

[pokgai]

I leave it in neutral until about 3 seconds before the light turns green. I usually know when the light changes so I'm ready.

[soceur]

:stupid:

[TeeAREdee]

Originally posted by Johan
What would happen when your foot slips off the pedal ??? Or, you want to pick something out of the glovecompartment and before you know it you are standing in the middle of the crossing.


if your foot slips off the pedal you stall, you would have more of a chance getting rear-ended then being in the middle of the crossing. I do see your point, but it seems pretty rare for that to happen.

I'm sure a lot of ppl here go into neutral without their foot on the brakes, just because they feel the ground is level. That seems a bit more dangerous because I'm sure most of them have experienced the car moving backwards and almost hitting the person in back of you. don't lie.....I know its not just me. :gap:

[Oo DaRk StAr oO]

I hate it when your on a slope and some jerk off gets right on your ass and when the light changes you have to jump on that sh!t.

[zcs626]

no its funny when they do that b/c you watch them in your rear view mirror while you roll back and they get scared ****less. muahaha

[dx3162]

what happens if you have an auto and your foot slips off the brake pedal? should auto's be in park at every light?

[gregRowe]

I usually leave it in neutral and watch the other light. When the other light turns yellow I throw it into first. Of course, this works best in low traffic interesections where N + S go at the same time, and E + W go at the same time.

Okay, thanks for all the replies. i realize it was a pretty lame question but I wanted to know.

[Johan]

you're welcome.............. :D :D :D :D :D

[chameleon]

Elliott, don't be afraid to ask "lame" questions in the newbie forum, the whole reason it was created was to answere these types of questions. Beleive it or not, this exact question has been asked quite a few times before! So don't worry about your question being stupid, or "lame", the only thing that could possably be stupid about a question that you want to know the answere to is not asking it.

[The Game]

Neutral works for me!

[GT-Skid]

Neutral. Just in case your foot does slip off

Well I'm going to be doing a combination of the above TOMORROW! I get my car in less than 24 hours! I'll post pics soon as I can.

[Edison_Chen]

neutral w/ brakes

Well I got the car yesterday and for the most part I'm staying in first when stopped at a light. But today, I was in neutral on a busy intersection and had the music blaring (Alan Parsons!), went to put it in first and hit reverse instead. Didn't hear the beeping and started to creep backwards when the light changed. Came darn close to hitting the guy behind me, then stalled, finally got off and felt like a jerk because everybody was looking at me in my new black celi driving like an idiot. Oh well, I may have looked (and felt) foolish, but I bet I looked GOOD...

[oldster]

I always leave it in gear, rarely do I have it in neutral unless there is a traffic stoppage of some kind. One of the reasons I do it is because of situations like you just experienced. I like to be ready when the light or situation changes.

[RiCeY GtS]

hhaha! that happened to me too! black celi..trd kit.... STALL lol.. *HONK HONK* its very scari.. cuz i learned stick in this car... i use to alwayz worry about stoplights.. but now im ok.. ive had 2800 miles on stick driving :)

[ludatic]

i usually leave it in neutral and watch the other lights, or if i'm ready to go i go to first. however.. it's "illegal" to leave it in neutral at a stop light, ur car's supposed to be in gear at all times... supposedly.. according to DMV ppl during the driving test. but then again some homo friend told me this, and he claimed he got marked off 13 points because he put it in neutral rather than 1st at every light, but i dont' believe him, he sucks at driving =-X but yea i guess u leave it in first so u can take off when the light turns green, otherwise honk honk

[FreeBird]

Wow, I never thought this thread would get so many replies for such a noob question. Thanks! I just asked because I heard that there's some wear on the clutch if you leave it in first. Nevertheless, I went 10 years on my Mazda MX3-GS before I needed another clutch. And now I'm leaving it in first.

[ludatic]

Originally posted by FreeBird
Wow, I never thought this thread would get so many replies for such a noob question. Thanks! I just asked because I heard that there's some wear on the clutch if you leave it in first. Nevertheless, I went 10 years on my Mazda MX3-GS before I needed another clutch. And now I'm leaving it in first.

well it depends on what kind of "wear" ur refferring to, chameleon already explained the thing about the throwout bearing, and like he said, it'll outlast the clutch anyway.. there's a difference between wearing out the springs in teh clutch and wearing out the clutch plate aka burning ur clutch