When I learned to drive stick, I was taught to leave the car in neutral with the clutch engaged because leaving the clutch pedal pressed to the floor at stoplights would result in more wear and tear on the pressure plate. The problem with this method, of course, is that you're slow off the line because you have to shift into 1st. Recently another friend told me that this was not the case and that there's nothing wrong with holding the clutch pedal in. Who is right?

Matt

 

http://www.howstuffworks.com/clutch2.htm

Just read this thinking it would help. The pressure plate has no springs. Its the diaphragm spring that would wear out. I don't think it would be noticeable though. Technically, the more the diaphragm spring wears out, the less wear on the PP and clutch.

Blake

 

I suspect the "in neutral at stoplight" advice dates from a time when bearings, etc. were much less durable than today. I believe that this advice was to reduce the use of the throughout bearing, which does nothing when the clutch pedal is not depressed. When the clutch pedal is depressed, the one race of the bearing must rotate at engine speed and the other is at rest.

Today's bearings are so good, I don't think I've ever heard of a bad throughout bearing. They seem to always outlast the clutch, and you replace them with the clutch.

 

Thanks for the information.. this is excellent news. I'll now change my driving behavior to reflect this discovery.

by the way, just to nit-pick spelling.. it's called the "throw-out" bearing.

Matt

 

Forget wearing out the clutch...think safety:

That soccer mom is coming up fast and can't stop...minimize your reaction time... GAS+Clutch...avoid finding 1st gear.

$.02,
Aaron

 

That spelling wasn't a nit-pick; that one was a huge brain lapse.

 

RedY2KS2K is right on this one. But if you've ever had to pull the transmission to replace a $12 piece you'll still think this is good advice (which I do.)

 

As I recall, I never had a problem with the throwout bearings on my previous Honda Accords, but they were mid-to-late 80s cars.

As for throwout bearings going bad in today's cars, for about 10 years or so, Jeep's had NOTORIOUSLY weak throwout bearings and I had to pull the tranny easily twice as often to fix that darned bearing than for the clutch...and the stock clutches weren't particularly stout.

Not quite apples to apples, I know, but both applications (sports car and four wheeler) are potentially hard on anything relating to tranny's...

 

I use neutral to save on the throwout bearing. I don't bang the clutch plates together when doing so (smoothly, at about the same rate as a normal shift release)

Never had to replace the clutch in any of my cars.

 

Jim, I hear ya, but in this case, Honda is raping you for about $100 for that $12 part I don't know if that should make you feel better or worse about the tranny R&I