REALL good point, xviper.

 

I'd throw it into second

 

Ok, I was exaggerating when I said 20 mph, maybe closer to 5-10 mph. That said, it is solely a judgement call. Let me ask you a question, do you take it out of gear when waiting at a stoplight? I do, I think it may be a little easier on the pressure plate springs, throw out bearing, other clutch related parts and possibly the hydraulics. I would bet that most people take their transmission out of gear when waiting for a light to turn green.

As far as taking the transmission out of gear rolling up to a stop sign or stop light at 5 mph, like I said, is a judgment call. I am a very defensive driver. I scan all around, typically my rear view when approaching a stop. In addition, I ALWAYS slow down considerably early (in gear) so that when somebody approaches from behind, I have that cushion in front of me.

I don't take it out of gear until I am real close to the intersection and don't do so until I check my rear view. Lets face it, shit happens sometimes that is beyond our control. You could get struck by lightning, who knows. Do you look in your rear view mirror EVERY single time you come to a stop light or stop sign? If not, then it doesn't matter whether you are in gear or not because if an accident is going to happen, it will happen as accidents do happen that are beyond our control. You could be stopped at the white line of an intersection with nowhere to go due to cross traffic. If somebody approached you at a high rate of speed, depending on your surrounding environment, lets be realistic, you could be a sitting duck.

I don't even drive my S into town anyhow, thats what my CR-V is for