Clutch down, engine on?

Tee Hee Johnson

Tee Hee Johnson

Tee Hee Johnson

Soldato
Joined
30 May 2007
Posts
5,014
Location
Glasgow, Scotland
Stayed at a friends this weekend and her family pap the clutch down before starting any of the cars!?

Is this common practice? Why? When i think about it i dont see it easing up on anything as the clutch wouldnt be in gear anyway...?!

Just curious! :D

Craig!
 
Always do, better that than misjudging the gear position in a morning stupor and shooting forward into the garage wall.

Seriously though, I either do that or wiggle the gearstick before turning the old girl over.
 
On some cars you need to else it won't start, some do to save load on the starter, I don't because I know its easier to replace a starter than clutch release bearing. I don't think it makes a jot of difference tho tbh
 
See i thought it was probs something to do with keeping it in gear, as they all do that too.

I just give it a wiggle before i start also, only lurched forward about 3 times in the years of motoring lol
 
I always do it, always have. I've been told it reduces load on the started and as my first car had a duff battery I thought that every little helped :p

I also always leave my car in gear when parked so I see it as good practice just incase I forget to drop it into neutral.
 
The clutch in my Cinq was always a bit ropey which made getting first whilst stationary with the engine running a bit hit and miss so I got into the habit of starting it in gear with the clutch down. Still tend to do it most of the time in other cars too now. For the same reason when stopping at lights/junctions I tend to grab first on the approach just before the car stops then hold the car in gear with the clutch down whilst waiting at the junction.
 
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eidolon said:
You have to press the clutch to be able to start the Boxster, safety feature I guess.
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Same here with the Evo, although I think it's due to the aftermarket alarm. The DC5 Integra also won't start without the clutch down.

I do it as a matter of habit anyway due to living on a hill. When I started driving it wasn't uncommon to try an start the car with it in first which gave it a bit of a jolt :p

What drives me batty is that my gf ALWAYS puts the car in neutral at lights even if they are about to go green.

Won't be reasoned with!
 
Gaijin said:
What drives me batty is that my gf ALWAYS puts the car in neutral at lights even if they are about to go green.
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I find that some people need to pull off in a set routine, when I first passed it was in neutral and handbrake on regardless of the situation and if I tried anything else it'd all go wrong.
 
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