Idle drop at a stop - cool feature

This normal. Any change in load applied to the motor while idling will cause a change (drop) in rpm. Same when pulling up on the power window switch when the windows are already up.

Waiting in gear with the clutch for something to happen is like waiting at your front door with a loaded gun in case someone breaks in. I've seen two accident from people having their vehicle in gear with the clutch in at a light...

You can really tell who here rides a motorcycle and who does not.

Being a truck driver, that learned from the early 70's NEVER slip the clutch, and it should be out, almost all the time, only time in is to get going, or back up.....

My 2015 does this too. It brings up the idle when the clutch is in, preparation for taking off from a stop.

Ace21 said:

Material fatigue: if you look at a clutch there are little metal "fingers" on the pressure plate which can suffer from abnormal fatigue if not used within the scope that they were designed. Think of a rubber band that is stretched for long periods of time, it fatigues and it's physical dimensions and elasticity changes.

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How do you know pushing the clutch in while at a light is considered "abnormal fatigue"? Curious...

You're not going to wear out the throw-out bearing stopped for a few seconds at a light. If you know it's going to be a long light, put it in neutral with the clutch out. If it's a short light, it was red when you got there, or you don't know, put it in gear with the clutch in and be ready to go. The cries that it's going to wear out your throw-out bearing are wildly exaggerated. That's what the throw-out bearing is for. How many people are changing throw-out bearings on a regular basis?

Blown86GT said:

How do you know pushing the clutch in while at a light is considered "abnormal fatigue"? Curious...

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Yea, it's not. That's exactly what it's designed to do. I wouldn't advocate sitting in a parking lot for hours in gear with the clutch depressed, or even a light that you know is going to take 120 seconds, but for any "normal" stop at a light it's not going to hurt anything.

50+ years of driving (100s of thousands of miles many a 1/4 mile at a time) and I have never changed a clutch, throw out bearing, or pressure plate. I sometimes put it in neutral but not most of the time. All of the experts on this forum have convinced me that I don't know how to drive a manual. So the 18 that I have ordered is an A10.:headbonk:
Thanks,
Lee

Madtel4 said:

50+ years of driving (100s of thousands of miles many a 1/4 mile at a time) and I have never changed a clutch, throw out bearing, or pressure plate. I sometimes put it in neutral but not most of the time. All of the experts on this forum have convinced me that I don't know how to drive a manual. So the 18 that I have ordered is an A10.:headbonk:
Thanks,
Lee

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Never too old to learn something new right?

Blown86GT said:

How do you know pushing the clutch in while at a light is considered "abnormal fatigue"? Curious...

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Well when pressure plates are designed and engineered, the material chosen are based off of desired "cycles" over it's lifetime within a certain temp range. Generally a "cycle" would be and actual shift event, not depressing the pressure plate over extended periods of time. Sure some of that is factored, but as far as I know, not to the extent as described here.

With that said though, I don't mean in anyway that your pressure plate will be destroyed overnight, just simply wanted to state that "clutching in" all the time when at idle for a light our whatever, can cause abnormal fatigue, which in turn can cause early failure.

texasboy21 said:

Never too old to learn something new right?

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Honestly I have never seen a failure that could be definitively connected to someone "clutching in", however, I have spoken with more than one engineer of the ideas behind why it is considered to be a bad thing... For me, I am not to sure if I am convinced.

Zelek said:

Also, evasive action while sitting in neutral? Uh... put it in gear and go? Most likely if you're stopped you'll have someone else behind you in most cases. We're talking a very unlikely scenario here, but if it's possible, a good manual driver will be just fine.

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It was an honest question - I have zero experience driving manual cars, and was just curious what one would do.

Bravo said:

It was an honest question - I have zero experience driving manual cars, and was just curious what one would do.

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It's all good. You would be surprised how alert you become when you drive a manual car. I love them for the fun factor, but the other plus is it makes you a much better driver imo.

Zelek said:

It's all good. You would be surprised how alert you become when you drive a manual car. I love them for the fun factor, but the other plus is it makes you a much better driver imo.

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I'm really hoping that my next car is a 6MT Mustang - I keep going back and forth between the MT and the A10 - big pros and cons for both for me.

If I end up with the 6MT, it will very likely put me in a situation where nobody else in my family will drive the car. Even though my wife rarely drives my car as is, I still like knowing that she could drive it if she had to (I still think she could learn - she just has no interest in doing so).

I also have it in my head that the A10 will be better in the snow, as it can shift up in gears more quickly, and more accurately select the best gear for stability when I'm driving in tricky situations. Snow is going to be a big issue for 4 months out of the year, but if I want a Mustang, I have to make it a year round DD, and hope that rugged snow tires work 90% of the time (and my wife's SUV on really bad days).

Anyway, back on topic - thanks for clearing that up I can see how your reflexes would definitely increase while driving a 6MT.