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Clutch in or out at stop - survey

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I was told that in the early days England used a yellow light in their traffic signals both before red and before green so you had notice when the light was about to turn green so you could release your emergency brake and put the car in gear. John

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Early days????? Still do.

Current sequence:

RED = Stop
RED + YELLOW = Get Ready to Go
GREEN = GO!
YELLOW = Get Ready to Stop, AKA GO FASTER! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
RED = Stop
 
OK, I'll fess up. Up until reading this post, I always have the car in gear and the clutch in at stoplights. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonono.gif This is why I love this forum so much, I doubt that I would have ever learned the "why not's" about this any other way. Also, I promise to always put the car in neutral and leave the clutch out at stoplights from now on! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif Now, one more thing... on flat ground or downhill I almost never start off in first gear, always second. Is this doing any harm or causing any needless wear on anything?
 
After several decades of British car ownership, I can't help but put the xmsn in neutral and let the clutch out whenever stopped; no matter how brief.

Even during seven (7)years of daily MGB & Healey driving in San Francisco, my only clutch system failure (twice, no less) was the hydraulic hose rupturing.
 
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Now, one more thing... on flat ground or downhill I almost never start off in first gear, always second. Is this doing any harm or causing any needless wear on anything?

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Nope, I didn't even know they had a first gear until I read this post.---Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
i had a friend that would sit at traffic lights foot on clutch,in first gear, on a nice bright summers day while using this technique a bumble bee entered the cockpit,in his attempt to swatt the flying creature he removed his foot from the clutch shooting through the intersection,he was very lucky no other cars were going by,so i put the car in neutral and take by foot of the clutch pedal allways! but i must admit when i first start the car i do depress the clutch pedal,dont know why just habit i guess.
 
I usually put the car in neutral while waiting for a stop light as well as holding the emergency brake up and also I open the drivers side door and place foot firmly on the ground. I do this so driver's behind me know I'm not going to leap out as soon as the light turns green.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif
 
Foot off clutch, in neutral.

I don't select first gear immediately. I go to second, then first, then let out the clutch.
 
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Foot off clutch, in neutral.

I don't select first gear immediately. I go to second, then first, then let out the clutch.

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Barefoot!Thats called the KISS SHIFT; Kiss second before going to first. You can do it with shoes on too---Keoke- /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Without realizing it, that's how I drive all my manual shift vehicles. I think it comes from learning to drive on a non-syncro-meshed first gear...put it in second to stop the spinning and then select first to go.
 
I, too, always go backwards through the gears. A habit I got into with a Chevy truck and column shift. All those rods flying around had to be properly aligned (along with a few planets) to have any hope of getting into first.
 
Nuetral, Clutch Out, wiggling the stick back and forth in nuetral. Looking when the other light turns yellow, so I can slip it in and when I see the green, start like a dragster.

Seriously, people in the city honk there horn if there is a split second delay when the light turns green. Most don't even know what a stick is here. Alot of parking attendants can't drive a stick.
 
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