by "Klaus Schmoll" (klausschmoll)
Published 04/22/2017 at 17:21
by "Klaus Schmoll" (klausschmoll)
Published 04/22/2017 at 17:21
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STARS: 1
This is my first car with an auto box, so don’t laugh! Are there any benefits to putting it into neutral when sitting at a red light? We all do it in manual cars because of the extra strain on the clutch springs. Well, and holding the clutch down gets old after a while. But is there a reason to put a classic torque converter auto box into N? Less strain on the converter? Is that even a thing?
"FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem" (fuelstratifiedinjection)
04/22/2017 at 17:24, STARS: 2
No, only with manual transmissions.
http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/the-worst-driving-habits-with-each-type-of-transmission-1785113367
"Viggen" (viggen37)
04/22/2017 at 17:24, STARS: 0
Just leave it in drive.
"E90M3" (e90m3)
04/22/2017 at 17:24, STARS: 0
I drove auto cars for over 8 years before I got a manual and I never put it in neutral at a light, i really haven’t heard of any benefits of doing that.
"Honeybunchesofgoats" (honeybunche0fgoats)
04/22/2017 at 17:26, STARS: 7
I’ve only ever seen taxi drivers do that. As a general rule, never do to your car what taxi drivers do to theirs.
At best, I don’t see it helping. At worst, I imagine it puts more wear on the transmission one way or another.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/22/2017 at 17:27, STARS: 0
Once in a while I’ll put it in neutral out of laziness to rest my right foot on a flat surface, but there’s no benefit to it other than that.
"Alfalfa" (alfalfa-romeo)
04/22/2017 at 17:27, STARS: 0
No benefit, and potentially harder on your transmission.
"facw" (facw)
04/22/2017 at 17:35, STARS: 2
My car recommended doing that at long lights. I’ve seen other sources recommend the opposite though (with the explanation that engaging and disengaging the transmission puts more wear on it than just leaving it alone).
And actually, I think the point is moot, because most modern computer controlled automatics shift the car into neutral on their own when the car is stopped and the driver’s foot is on the brake.
"Chuckles" (chucklesw37)
04/22/2017 at 17:37, STARS: 1
I’ve owned a mix of manual and automatic cars, and if anything, I’d think that shifting into neutral at a light would be bad for the car. Shifting into neutral isn’t the problem, it’s shifting back into drive when the light goes green. I’ve had a few automatics that would get angry every time you shifted into drive. It was fine once you were in drive, but it would sort of lurch when you moved the shifter to drive. It probably doesn’t make much difference, but if you do it daily, that would add hundreds of shifts into and out of drive.
My high school physics professor instilled in me the idea that “Any part is designed to do it’s job a certain number of times before it fails.” If you follow that logic, you can only shift your automatic so many times before something breaks. I’d just leave it in drive, unless you really need to give your foot a brake.
"Echo51" (echo2047)
04/22/2017 at 17:40, STARS: 3
Try left foot braking for a change
"Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap" (ddadragon)
04/22/2017 at 17:50, STARS: 0
I don’t. I mean if its a really long light, just throw the parking brake on.
"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
04/22/2017 at 17:56, STARS: 0
I think the owner’s manual of my Dad’s Camry recommended doing this if you were going to be sitting for longer than X amount of time. That said, I can’t imagine you’d glean much, if any, benefit from doing it and, as others have said could do more damage due to human error.
"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
04/22/2017 at 18:06, STARS: 1
I don’t bother doing it myself, mainly because going back into D often produces a jerk which can’t be good for anything, but there is an advantage: your car will use less fuel in neutral, which I saw proven some years ago with a Focus with DCT that I hired for a week. When stationary the trip computer switched from l/100 km to l/hr and if you engaged N the consumption would decrease and the car would burn less fuel per hour. Admitttedly that was a DCT which drags the clutch when stationary to produce creep, but it’s the same idea. The drag of a stationary torque converter will increase engine load and hence fuel consumption.
As another example, newer buses with ZF Ecolife gearboxes engage neutral when stopped for more than a few seconds and re engage drive when the driver releases the brake. Some cars do the same, although stop/start is becoming more common now.
"Jarrett - [BRZ Boi]" (jarrettw)
04/22/2017 at 18:09, STARS: 1
Don’t bother:
https://youtu.be/6zzEtxJkC7Y?t=436
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
04/22/2017 at 18:10, STARS: 0
I need to get better at that, but it’s really rare that I shift info neutral anyhow. Only when I know the wait will be long.
"Little Black Coupe Turned Silver" (littleblackcoupe)
04/22/2017 at 18:20, STARS: 0
I rather be able to zoom ahead/to the side if something happens behind me quicker. Same reason why I leave it in 1st at lights when driving stick.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
04/22/2017 at 18:29, STARS: 0
I asked this question maybe a year ago because I had a cabbie who kept doing it. After lots of Oppo-pinions, I decided there’s no good reason to do it.
"promoted by the color red" (whenindoubtflatout)
04/22/2017 at 18:30, STARS: 0
Nah, it’s a negligible amount of strain.
"wafflesnfalafel" (wafflesnfalafel1)
04/22/2017 at 19:36, STARS: 0
yeah - I will still drop my wife’s car into neutral when I know I will be sitting for a while sometimes, especially if it’s hot out. Maybe it’s irrational...
"victor" (victor)
04/22/2017 at 20:58, STARS: 0
That car doesn’t have auto brake hold? Weird.
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
04/23/2017 at 00:52, STARS: 0
i put my car in first gear when waiting at lights.
"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
06/05/2017 at 20:23, STARS: 0
I do this too.