Just curious what your thoughts, comments are regarding above. Dealer told me to go Neutral each time for clutch preservation. He told me to treat it as though I have a clutch pedal in the car. "Would you have your foot on the clutch fully depressed in 1st gear while waiting for the light to turn green?" No. Hence, his recommendation to hit both paddles when sitting at a red light. Knowing the car defaults back to neutral after 10 minutes of engagement, the question is does staying in 1st for a couple of minutes or so hurt the clutch over time? Still unsure after 7 mos. of ownership: sometimes I go Neutral and sometimes I'm just too lazy and stay in 1st.
There seems to be 2 different opinions on this issue.One that one does save clutch wear by shifting into neutral (I do it-can't hurt!).The other that it makes no difference.
My F-1 feel like it's in neutral until I give it some gas at a stop. The F-1 feels disengaged when sitting at a stop light. I can't imagine any if much clutch wear is happening then. To answer your question on a manual tranny, I did not sit in neutral unless it was a long stop light.
With manual, unless it's going to be a while, I generally keep it in 1st with the clutch depressed until I can get moving again.
Some people say for safety it's better to keep a car in gear. As far as excessive wear there's no definitive answer. One thing for sure is if you put the car in neutral there is no wear
I disagree with this sentiment-- I was relaying the thought about treating it like a three pedal car-- therefore I felt my response would possibly help in deciding whether to stay in gear when stopped in an F1 car.
While mine is a 6 speed, I did read my manual and the F1 section specifically says to keep one's foot on the brake at a stop. I read this portion only out of interest for the book. Apparently this tells the computer to release the clutch. I believe this is a job for Rifledriver!
The reason why you keep your foot on the brake while stopped with the F1 is because it will automatically change to neutral within 10sec. if you do not brake. Leaving it in gear while waiting at a light will not wear the clutch anymore than when it is in neutral. With a manual transmission, it is adviseable to put it into neutral while stopped. Leaving it in gear with your foot depressing the clutch pedal does cause wear.
Not to mention the fact that some rather nasty things can happen in case you get rear ended. It is advised in some countries to put the car in neutral, with the hand brake on. In the case of a crash it is argued that the car will not be catapulted as far.
What most are not saying is the difference of a manual and F1 while stopped is the throw out bearing. The reason you don't sit at a light in a manual with the clutch depressed is the strain that puts on the TOB, not the clutch itself. An F1 is designed to stay in first with the brake depressed. You are NOT wearing your clutch doing this. You are if you sit with foot off of break however, thus the reason the car will go to neutral... both as a safety feature and a mechanical failure prevention. There is no need to put the car in neutral. Also, downshifting is RARELY needed in the F1 except while tracking/racing it. The only other times you need to maually downshift an F1 is for 'fun' or to hear that blip. I have full expectations that my clutch will survive fine for 30k+ miles. (and I am getting close)
