putting in neutral when stationery

[clayton4115]

hi all

does anyone put their car in neutral when stationery, say at the red lights? as putting in neutral puts pressure of the engine, is there any long term benefit / problem associated in doing so?

[civ04]

i dont think theres any real benifit or problem with it.personal preferance really.

[civic_07]

sometimes i do that but only in very busy traffic lights, some of them go on for up to 5 mins b4 you get the green :D

[clayton4115]

lol 5mins, i would be putting the ignition off, if i had to wait that long

[aaronng]

hi all

does anyone put their car in neutral when stationery, say at the red lights? as putting in neutral puts pressure of the engine, is there any long term benefit / problem associated in doing so?

Putting it in neutral does not put pressure on the engine. Just be aware that you will take extra time to get into gear and accelerate off the line if you notice a huge truck coming towards you.

[mars_panas]

Like people who drive manual like myself I always put it on neutral at the lights, that way i don't burn my clutch... in auto would be the same deal put it on Neutral so you don't wear out your brake pads... :p

[beeza]

In an auto I would have thought that it would be more wear on the gear box by putting it in Neutral and back into D all the time?
I don't think it would wear the pads as you are stopped.

[mars_panas]

guess i was wrong than... well i don't really think it will harm the gear box if you put the car on neutral on a auto transmission...

I know some of my mates they do it because they cbf putting their foot on the brakes for a couple of minutes...

[aaronng]

I don't think it would wear the pads as you are stopped.
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Putting it to neutral is good because you can lightly press on the brakes to keep the car stopped. If someone rear ends the few cars behind you, your car will take the hit, but roll forward and absorb the impact. If you had it in D with your foot fully hard on the brakes, then the rear of your car would crumple instead. Hehee

[VTECMACHINE]

Like people who drive manual like myself I always put it on neutral at the lights, that way i don't burn my clutch... in auto would be the same deal put it on Neutral so you don't wear out your brake pads... :p

HUH!?! Your worried about using brake pads at stationary... So that means that when you are stationary, you constantly hold the clutch at friction point? when the clutch is all the way in, you will not burn the clutch. However, you will ruin your pressure plate.

[VTECMACHINE]

I know some of my mates they do it because they cbf putting their foot on the brakes for a couple of minutes...


Have you explained to them what a handbrake does?

[mars_panas]

HUH!?! Your worried about using brake pads at stationary... So that means that when you are stationary, you constantly hold the clutch at friction point? when the clutch is all the way in, you will not burn the clutch. However, you will ruin your pressure plate.

I was talking about auto about the brakes...

but for me i just use hand brake and leave it on neutral... (for manual)

[ksyu223]

Put it in neutral if expect to be stationary for awhile. It saves alot more fuel.

[dmx]

Putting it in neutral does not put pressure on the engine. Just be aware that you will take extra time to get into gear and accelerate off the line if you notice a huge truck coming towards you.
LOL... just RUN RUN and RUN...


guess i was wrong than... well i don't really think it will harm the gear box if you put the car on neutral on a auto transmission...

I know some of my mates they do it because they cbf putting their foot on the brakes for a couple of minutes...
what a point put in N on auto (u still have to lightly push brakes), better pu on P and release the brakes

[mars_panas]

The better option would be the hand brake... which someone already said...

[beeza]

It dosen't feel so great on the gearbox going from P to D though,I mean it's not bad only if your on a incline.

[clayton4115]

well i use the handbrake when i am at the lights and foot off the brakes.

[trism]

basically, due to the nature of autos, the trans/engine is "stalled up" when you are stationary, and foot on teh brake.

if you are at a stop in a manual, and you put it in gear, release the clutch, but foot on teh brake, you stall.

an auto has a stall/torque convertor. basically transfers the energy from teh engine into the liquid in the stall converter, putting a load on teh engine.

when in neutral, the stall converter isnt active. try it next time youre in an auto. when in neutral, the revs will be at idle. put it in D, and hold the brake on, watch the revs drop slightly. load on teh engine. in stop/start traffic eg city driving, this can use up to 5% more fuel than having it be in N

[beeza]

Nice one Trism :)

[dahon]

Put it in neutral if expect to be stationary for awhile. It saves alot more fuel.

when i shift to neutral the engine kinda revs a little, would that use a little more fuel or is that normal as the gears are disengaging and putting no pressure on the engine? does that use fuel?


It dosen't feel so great on the gearbox going from P to D though,I mean it's not bad only if your on a incline.

no not P, just neutral N. just push the lever up to N then abck down to D when i wanna move. i do it all the time in the traffic + handbrake. lets you rest your foot. plus its cool when your in traffic going down on a hill, jus roll down. hehehehe

[cracker]

interesting...

[clayton4115]

is it possible to put the car to D from N while the car is moving, ( auto ) will this fuk up the auto transmission?

[trism]

when i shift to neutral the engine kinda revs a little, would that use a little more fuel or is that normal as the gears are disengaging and putting no pressure on the engine? does that use fuel?

read my post just above




is it possible to put the car to D from N while the car is moving, ( auto ) will this fuk up the auto transmission?

no, its just like knocking a manual into neutral.

[beeza]

Clayton means from N to D.Is that what you mean Trism?

[dahon]

read my post just above

yeah i jus read it.. accidentally skipped it hahaha
um im sure u can go from N to D when the car is rolling slowly without damaging the box.

[trism]

Clayton means from N to D.Is that what you mean Trism?

i read it the wrong way lol

if you did it at low speeds. like, rolling down at slight incline at 5km/h it wont be a prob.

i dont see how you would be doing any quicker than this anyways lol

[kazam]

im manual, and i put my car into neutral wen im travelling at a speed that i dont need 2 stay in gear like especially going downhill or something, and surprisingly my GBOX needs REPLACING and my BREAKS are FINE... very strange... if i dont need 2 become stationary then i just throw it in2 a higher gear, like 3nd would be ideal, but i dont wanna risk the revs going real high suddenly so i'll put it in2 4th, so its not like i force it back in to 2nd or watever..

[dahon]

yeh for a manual its easy to decide what gear u need, depending on speed. i used to use 3rd gear alot and engine brake on hills with my old manual. neutral to a selected gear is dependant on the driver, but with auto i dont entirely trust the ecu/auto box to select the proper ratio at high speeds shifting from N to D. id only recommend it at low speeds ie traffic to preserve your auto box..

[nny911]

It is fine to do as long as your car isnt equipped with one of those locks that you have to [put your foot on the brake before you can release out of Park] (this is for auto cars btw)

cos i used to have a golf and it had that feature and i constantly put in neutral at the lights and going downhill. but soon enough it broke and i couldnt get it out of park so it got towed and fixed. not too pricey but still such a hassle. lucky it only happened at my girlfriends house.

anyways in the long run it will save u petrol cos my golf was equipped with a electronic meter like most euro cars. which shows how much petrol u use per hour [and it varies from when u idle and rev] and at the lights in (D) it was 0.9L of fuel per hour and when i shift it into (N) or (P) it was 0.8L of fuel per hour.

and with an auto engine leaving it in D at the lights does put light pressure/strain on the engine cos if youve notice on flat road if you leave your car in (D) it goes forward without u pressing any gas. with your brakes on and (D) in gear you will notice the pressure of the car moving forward but once in neutral there is no pressure. so i guess neutral may be to your advantage

hope this helps!

[nny911]

im manual, and i put my car into neutral wen im travelling at a speed that i dont need 2 stay in gear like especially going downhill or something, and surprisingly my GBOX needs REPLACING and my BREAKS are FINE... very strange... if i dont need 2 become stationary then i just throw it in2 a higher gear, like 3nd would be ideal, but i dont wanna risk the revs going real high suddenly so i'll put it in2 4th, so its not like i force it back in to 2nd or watever..

i suggest you actually downshift. its alot safer in emergency situations (even though we may be lazy) cos u never know shit happens a truck or anything could be heading your way and you need to step on it out of there. but cos ur panicing and ur still in neutral.. could be a problem. and u got you think of other variables that make your gearbox wearing out not just the brake issue. i dont know if you do this but, going too slow in a higher gear than necessary makes ur gearbox/engine struggle when you step on it that cant be good too.

[trism]

see, alot of new, euro luxury cars actually have neutral on stop built into the gbox. so as soon as you pull up, it chucks it into neutral. soon as you put the foot on the go pedal, it puts it into gear. barely noticable, but saves petrol

its similar to the cylinder deactivation. at a constant load, cylinders are shut down, soon as you put the foot down, the ecu starts them back up again. its done in a fraction os a second, and isnt even noticable.

this is the reason why we(well, the yanks lol) can keep building on engine sizes. i mean, chevs new 6-7 litre engines have fuel efficiency compared to a small six when freeway driving, and light traffic driving, due to cylinder deactivation, but they still retain epic torque/power for when needed

[nny911]

guess i was wrong than... well i don't really think it will harm the gear box if you put the car on neutral on a auto transmission...

I know some of my mates they do it because they cbf putting their foot on the brakes for a couple of minutes...

you can still use handbrakes at the lights with an auto. therefore your friends doesnt need to leave his lazy foot on the foot brakes lol:thumbsup:

[nny911]

see, alot of new, euro luxury cars actually have neutral on stop built into the gbox. so as soon as you pull up, it chucks it into neutral. soon as you put the foot on the go pedal, it puts it into gear. barely noticable, but saves petrol

its similar to the cylinder deactivation. at a constant load, cylinders are shut down, soon as you put the foot down, the ecu starts them back up again. its done in a fraction os a second, and isnt even noticable.

this is the reason why we(well, the yanks lol) can keep building on engine sizes. i mean, chevs new 6-7 litre engines have fuel efficiency compared to a small six when freeway driving, and light traffic driving, due to cylinder deactivation, but they still retain epic torque/power for when needed


lol but then again. if you have a 6-7 litre engine....what the eff for if you aint gonna push it hard.. so basically at the end of the day your fuel consumption is gonna be mighty high:D just like the toyota aurion with its 200kws and low as fuel consumption ratio.. but still why have a 200kw car if people gonna drive like a grandpa. like even if people try to drive it slow. it has all the power . doesnt that tempt us we are human

[beeza]

So really the lesson here for auto's is to just leave it in D all the time when driving.You will use a little bit more fuel but it's better than the wear and tear on the gearbox and then having to replace/rebuild it after a few years of in and out of gear.

[VTECMACHINE]

what a point put in N on auto (u still have to lightly push brakes), better pu on P and release the brakes

Might aswell just put in P, put your handbrake up, and turn off your car.

LOL why you guys worrying so much about a little bit of petrol here and there?

The way I see it, if you are going to mod your cars... expect higher fuel consumption. If you worryed, go buy an echo.

[EuroDude]

For a Manual you should put it in neutral since holding the clutch down wears the bearings.


Dont think it matters with an Auto

[aaronng]

im manual, and i put my car into neutral wen im travelling at a speed that i dont need 2 stay in gear like especially going downhill or something, and surprisingly my GBOX needs REPLACING and my BREAKS are FINE... very strange... if i dont need 2 become stationary then i just throw it in2 a higher gear, like 3nd would be ideal, but i dont wanna risk the revs going real high suddenly so i'll put it in2 4th, so its not like i force it back in to 2nd or watever..

Of course, because you're not meant to put it in neutral when travelling at speed. What has probably happened is your synchros have worn out when you put it back into gear from neutral when you are at speed. :)

[aaronng]

It is fine to do as long as your car isnt equipped with one of those locks that you have to [put your foot on the brake before you can release out of Park] (this is for auto cars btw)

cos i used to have a golf and it had that feature and i constantly put in neutral at the lights and going downhill. but soon enough it broke and i couldnt get it out of park so it got towed and fixed. not too pricey but still such a hassle. lucky it only happened at my girlfriends house.

I think you will find that it was the brake light switch (which is also used to disengage the Park lock) that failed.

[markCivicVti]

Ironically its better for fuel consumption to stay rolling in gear.. as the momentum keeps the engine running... where as in neutral it has to use fuel to keep it idling.

[kazam]

i dont know if you do this but, going too slow in a higher gear than necessary makes ur gearbox/engine struggle when you step on it that cant be good too.

yeh im not that noob, :p i put it into a comfortable gear were the revs sit at around 2500 - 3000 not just suddenly downshift into 6000rpm vtec..

so aaronng your sayign i SHOULDN'T put it in2 nuetral? y but?

[aaronng]

Ironically its better for fuel consumption to stay rolling in gear.. as the momentum keeps the engine running... where as in neutral it has to use fuel to keep it idling.

I agree 110% :thumbsup: