When you start a car with a manual transmission, is it better to put the car in neutral or to put the car in gear and push the clutch in?
Thanks.
I’ve always done it with the clutch in. One of the cars I had (a Chevy Lumina Z34) wouldn’t start UNLESS I had the clutch in, even if it was in neutral.
What you are describing is an Interlock.
Most manuals cannot be started without stepping on the clutch,
and now all new automatics must have the brake stepped on as
well.
In the early 70s, Lee Iacocca proposed a seatbelt interlock which
would prevent the car from starting unless the belt was fastened,
but proposed legislation failed. A five second reminder buzzer
was installed instead.
My car won’t start unless the clutch is fully pushed in.
It doesn’t matter what gear it is in OR if it is in neutral.
Clutch in. If you ever get it wrong (as will probably happen sooner or later) and leave the car in gear you’re in for a wild jump at the least. Worse, you may put your car through the garage wall, into the car in front of you or run over some poor person standing there. Not good…best to get in the habit of keeping the clutch in (I personally put it into neutral and put the clutch in).
As kferr mentioned some cars won’t even engage the ignition over if the clutch isn’t in.
This is to get the car out of park, right?
Correct me if I’m wrong Surreal, but I think you guys are missing the point of the OP. The question is not referring to whether it is possible to start the vehicle with the clutch out, or whether its a good idea, from a saftey standpoint, to push the clutch in, but which is better for the vehicle.
You’re right, Photog. I was really thinking about wear on the clutch and maybe the starter when I posted my question.
But if there are any other issues such as safety you are quite welcome to post them!
I always start every vehicle with a clutch with the clutch in. Be it car,truck, tractor, fork lift whatever.Its possible to start them with the clutch engaged if it isn’t a safety feature but many times there is just enough “juice” in the battery to start it and I want the least amount of resistance as possible.
A gearhead may be able to answer better, but from my limited knowledge, having the clutch in or having the stick between gears both put the car in neutral. They should be equivalent for starting the car.
People are encouraged to have the clutch in when starting because sometimes you leave it in gear by mistake, rocketing the car forwards or backwards when you hit start (especially if you don’t have the brake on firmly), which is dangerous, and more importantly, embarrassing.
In modern cars you can’t start them w/o having the clutch in? Damn. There goes some of my driving instruction–“If the car stalls on railroad tracks and you can’t restart the car, put it in first gear, and let the starter jerk the car forward several feet.”
Speaking from a “wear on the starter” standpoint…
I suppose it’s slightly easier on the starter
if you keep the clutch down. When the car is
in neutral but the clutch is up, the input
shaft of the transmission is connected to the
engine. Now, the input and output shafts of the
transmission are not connected - that’s what
neutral gear means. But still, it’s a little more
mass that the start motor has to get spinning
to start the engine.
Of course, almost all cars have a big, heavy flywheel (on an auto they call it a “drive plate,” but it’s pretty much the same thing) on the back of the engine, and the starter always has to spin
that up no matter what the clutch position is,
so you have to wonder if the input shaft of the
transmission is significant when compared to that.
My car requires the clutch to be on the floor to start, so for me it’s kind of a moot issue. What I’d really like is for the car to allow me to either have it in neutral, OR have the clutch on the floor. Either one is sufficient. I’m sure I could wire this up myself if I really cared, but the jobhunt is currently a larger priority…
-Ben
There are some vehicles that have an override for just this sort of event. However, the only one I am immediately aware of is my friend’s truck, a Toyota Tacoma I believe.
IANAM, but it seems to me, with the clutch pushed in, there would be less resistance on the engine due to the fact that the transmission is totally removed from the equation by disengaging the clutch plate when you depress the clutch. With the vehicle only in neutral, the clutch plate is still engaged, and the spline to the transmission is spinning, offering extra resistance, albeit a minimal amount.
As for wear on the clutch plate, either way shouldn’t cause any wear, but again, with the clutch depressed, the plate is out of the picture. By starting in neutral, the clutch plate is sandwiched between the flywheel and pressure plate, which could possibly cause slippage, again though, the wear in that case would be negligible, as the wear is mainly caused by letting the clutch in/out when changing gears. But then again, WTFDIK.
Starting in Neutral, clutch out, spins some internal transmission shafts and gears. If the transmission fluid is cold, there can be a fair amount of drag, especially if it uses gear oil rather than automatic transmission fluid or motor oil (yes, all three fluids are used in different manual transmissions). Starting with the clutch in puts pressure on the clutch release (throwout) bearing and the engine crankshaft thrust bearing, which together add a small amount of resisitance. I believe there would be less total resisitance with the clutch in than in neutral with it out, but either way it’s usually negligible compared to the resisitance of the engine turning over.
The clutch disc and pressure plate are not affected by either method. With the clutch in, each start adds a few seconds of use to the clutch release bearing, but I doubt it’s of great significance even over several years of starting.
As far as I know, all modern American and Asian cars won’t crank the starter unless the clutch pedal is down. At least some European cars do allow starting without depressing the clutch. This clutch-in-to-start feature is essentially an attempt to idiot-proof the cars, as mentioned in previous posts. There’s no mechanical necessity for it.
All told, it’s a pretty small issue, and I question whether either method is measurably better than the other.
Surreal
, what car do you have & what does the car manual state? It varies by car. Thanks.
Strange. Here in UK I dont know of any cars that dont let you start them without the clutch in.
OH…MY…GOD
Is there any one out there who hasn’t even watched a car started?
Clutch in, simply because to start in neutral, you’d probably have to take it out of a gear since most cars aren’t parked in neutral to begin with, and since you’re taking it out of a gear, why not put it into a gear at the same time rather than double-clutching just to turn the ignition?
::breathe in::
Oh yeah…
My new favorite abbreviation. 
A great post, that I fully agree with, Gary T
Heh - an older car of mine (a Toyota) would not even start if it was left in neutral, clutch out, on days where it was less than 10 F. The transmission resistance would stop it “cold”. :eek:
From a wear and tear standpoint it is a good idea to spend as little time as possible pushing the clutch pedal in.
The engine has flat washers coated with bearing material around the crankshaft. These washers ride against flat surfaces on the engine block. They are thrust bearings that are used to control end play of the crankshaft and to prevent it from having a steel to cast iron contact as the crank moves longitudinaly in its cradle. When you push in on the clutch you are pushing directly on the end of the crankshaft which puts these thrust bearings under a load, causing increased wear.
For people who trade cars often this doesn’t make a bit of difference - to them. However if you are driving an older car with a lot of miles it’s a good idea to take it eash on the clutch.
This isn’t a big deal because you can drive lots and lots of miles on these thrust bearings, but I just thought it might be something to keep in mind. And besides, I had some wear enough to fall out into the oil pan on a Toyota pickup. I didn’t know what had happened and I’ll tell you, if you drive a few thousand miles without those bearing you really **** up a crankshaft.