I would think if it was that hard of a hit, your engine would shut down anyways.

 

I do the neutral shifter shimmy as well.

Edit: I also have to keep my hand on the shifter while it neutral anyway to keep it from rattling anyway.

 

I was taught to put it in neutral at stoplights. If you think about it, the '08 euro-spec'd MINIs have that auto-off feature when the car is in neutral, and when you depress the clutch the car turns on again.

 

^ Another one who does the shifter shake. When I was learning it was to make sure I was really in neutral. Now I think it's out of habit / boredom.

 

although i havent driven a manual in over 4 years, i remember i did that as well. I also think it was something that just carried over from the learning stages when i had to always make sure it was in neutral before letting go of the clutch. Once i get my MINI, i will surely be doing it again! haha

 

+1... For the past 15 years I've done this in every manual tranny car I ever drove! Always wondered if it was adult-onset ADD, but I guess I still somewhat normal...

 

I've only had my manual for a month now, so I can still unlearn some bad habits, but I was warned at the dealer not to keep it in at the light, so I leave it in neutral while waiting for the light.

Now, heavy stop and go traffic, what's to be done? Will shifting in and out of 1st to neutral and back every 30 secs or so cause more wear than leaving it in 1st with the clutch in? What do other heavy traffic drivers do?

 

Best suggestion I can give you is to allow a little distance between you and the guy ahead. By that I mean, let him move up a few car lengths before you in turn move, instead of spacing closely. It will give you a chance to fully get into first (or maybe even second if traffic is flowing well enough).

 

In heavy traffic you should try to lay off the clutch as much as possible--the wear and tear comes when you're re-engaging the clutch. So like what daffodildeb said, try to go for a smooth average speed rather than stop-and-go.

 

Warned? About what?

 

LynnEl: warned about having the clutch in at the light. I didn not drive stick before this car, so the Priceton Mini dealer was happy to teach me while I waited for the car to ship.

Daffodildeb and Mauberly: thanks, that's what I've tried to do, although in New Jersey anything more than a car length in distance is just an invitation for someone to fill that space. What about having the clutch partially in while inching forward? Does that avoid the wear and tear of the re-engage, or is it just the same/worse?

 

Riding the clutch is a sure way to doom! Do the best you can with car lengths, even though there will always be buttinskis.

 

Gender specific, of course.

 

If it's stop and go, don't worry about putting it in neutral. Remember, all of that shifting in and out of neutral means that you're pushing in the clutch anyway. If you're not going to be stopped for more than a few seconds at a time, might as well leave it in gear and use the clutch.

 

I would guess if I am hit from behind by a drunken mess driver ...
what is the difference if my foot is on the brake or my foot is on the brake and clutch....
If I was in neutral I would be thrust into the intersection. and would certainly die a horrible death.
If my foot slipped off the clutch the car would stall and i would be saved from death.

 

So I'm darned if I do and darned if I don't. Thanks. That's how I've been driving but on my way home tonight I did leave a car length in there a few times to try and find a happy medium. Of course, there were a few drivers that took advantage of that at times, myself included upon other drivers...

 

It is not necessary to use the clutch when shifting to neutral Simply, apply the brake and when your revs drop to abut 1k, slide the shifter into neutral, without engaging the clutch.

 

In heavy traffic I try to mitigate that by keeping pace with whoever is in the neighboring lane(s). You don't need to hug the bumper of who's in front of you; you only need to occupy the space that the merging car needs. Also, when planning out your moves, pay attention to the person in front of the person in front of you, not the person in front of you.

I generally don't have problems with people merging in front of me... but then again, I try to avoid heavy traffic when possible.

 

as everyone else has said, work on pacing yourself to minimize the whole stop & go (& prevent people from taking advantage of your space), or see if there's any way to change your work hours/route so you can minimize/avoid the traffic, life's too short :P

As for in & out of first gear, it's a lot cheaper to replace that throwout bearing & clutch then replacing the synchros inside your transmission. It's a personal judgement call, how long are you sitting there, every time you let the clutch out you're spinning up the input shaft and every time you take it in & out of gear you're working the synchros & engagement rings.

 

I do that all the time. I've lost 2 clutches in 35 years... my 68 XKE (well used) and just recently my Toyota Truck 4wd (well used too) but still 2 clutches, but yeah I do that all the time (shift to neutral without the clutch).

 

I wiggle my **** as well when I sit in traffic.

MINIs have cable shifters. There are two cables. One relays the back-and-forth movement to the trans, the other the side-to-side. Inside the floor mounted shifter assembly is a lever that translates the sideways movement into a fore-and-aft to work the cable and the transmission linkages. Persistent wiggling can wear these items, it will generally show up as more sideways slop in the shifter over time. Still, most of the shifter components are pretty beefy, so an occasional wiggle wont add much to the wear.

One thing that should be avoided though is resting your hand on the **** when cruising. Any fore or aft pressure on the **** puts tension on the shift forks inside the transmission and can cause increased wear.

 

And if you are driving properly, the only time you are touching the shifter is when you are shifting. Otherwise, both hands on the wheel.

(I am a performance driving instructor and it is one of my pet peeves)

 

^^ What he said...whatever you do, don't leave your hand resting on the shifter while you are driving. That is a very bad habit. I only touch the shifter when I'm actually shifting. When I come to a stop, I put it in neutral, let off the clutch, and just sit there. No need to wiggle the shifter. When I'm ready to go, I push in the clutch, put it in gear, and go. Pretty simple. I've been doing that for 25 years now. I've never had to replace a clutch on any of my cars. I've had some of them for over 120k miles before being sold.

Now if you're at the track, that's a different story.

 

*THREAD HIJACK*

Boo Chickenhawk

Go State!

*And we're done*

 

when cruising, but in neutral, I also move the shifter left and right. Is this a big no no?