My dad and I don't see eye to eye on this classic issue.....
He always shifts into Neutral at stop lights (its an automatic btw), I usually keep it in drive.
ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL, whats better for the car/tranny?

(my dad often forgets to shift back into Drive and ends up dropping in from Neutral as he's steppin on the gas......all in all he's killing the tranny I think)

It doesn't make a differernce at short lights, but at ridicilously long ones and traffc jambs it helps prevent heat buildup in the trans. Now neutral dropping is VERY bad for the trans. One of, if not THE worst thing to do to a transmission.

(my dad often forgets to shift back into Drive and ends up dropping in from Neutral as he's steppin on the gas......all in all he's killing the tranny I think)


You're right! He's killin' the tranny.....Shifting into "N" is not helping anything, I've heard that for thirty+ years of driving and I've always ignored it and in all that time I've only had "2" count'em TWO trannys go away ( Both due to severe abuse ) Tell Pops to learn more about the design of his tranny and he'll be able to sit at lights in gear with reckless abandon!

I agree with you guys 100%!
Definitley long stops should be in N but short stops in D.
Neutral drops reserved for rental cars.

I have been talking to pops for years and years to no avail......he's fked up one tranny for sure (but he thinks its the car and not him...could be both I say!) now he's grinding his way though another Jag tranny..... (luckily its a company car so no skin off his ass) Till this day, he sits in Tokyo traffic shifting in and out of N about 60 times a day.....I'll point him to this thread!

In and out of gear 60 times a day? Good idea.( LOL!LOL! )

In and out of gear 60 times a day? Good idea.( LOL!LOL! )
Imagine riding with him and trying to keep from bringing up the Neutral vs Drive argument.......it drives ME nuts.
The car now makes this CLUNK as it goes from N to D, sure you can imagine whats coming next......I love my stubborn dad nevertheless....its almost INSPIRINGLY dumb.....(did I mention my dad and I are both engineers??)

here's a dumb question: whats LOL mean? ( I'm sure to regret asking.....)

here's a dumb question: whats LOL mean? ( I'm sure to regret asking.....)

Obviously you're new to the internet chatting world. Laugh Out Loud

Obviously you're new to the internet chatting world. Laugh Out Loud
hahaha you got that right! (or should I say lol)
thanks man :-)

yeah, that is really not good for the tranny....

.... I will shift in to N if there is a traffic jam or something is wrong where I am stopped for awhile, I just put her in N and hit the parking brake and relax until we start moving again, then it goes in D and the parking brake releases automatically.

If it's a short stop, why shift the tranny? If it's a long stop, I Neutral it.. 'Saves the brake lights too. :p

i shift to neutral when stopped for more than 1 minute , shift back to drive as i see the lanes of traffic stop for there red light (mine would go green soon)

back in high school, a friend of mine would do the neutral thing at stops all the time, and it drove me nuts. The way I see it, if you want to play like you have a stick shift, get a stick shift! :mad:

anyways, that was a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

Yeah I figured I wasn't alone out there...this is one of those pet peeves that'll drive you nuts. All the rational arguments make no difference to the shiftaholic......kinda like the age old arguments of the one foot driver vs the guy using both feet to drive an automatic.

aw man, don't even go there.

Same thing goes for shifting in park?

Same thing goes for shifting in park?
I think so. If you shift out of gear while at a light everytime (be it N or P) you're still wearing it out, not to mention the neutral drop effect if you gas too soon.

But when you put it into park, do you hit the parking break too? Or do you let the weight of the car roll up against the tranny? If you're not using the parking break but just throwing it into P at the light and stepping off the brake pedal....I'd think this is probably worse than my dads shift to N.....(although you're saving the break lights)

my 2 cents

Up where it's cold, and I don't mean Chicago :rolleyes: it is assumed that you can warm up the engine AND transmission by letting it idle in neutral because it spins a flywheel or something. Can anyone confirm this? Any gearheads out there?

Up where it's cold, and I don't mean Chicago :rolleyes: it is assumed that you can warm up the engine AND transmission by letting it idle in neutral because it spins a flywheel or something. Can anyone confirm this? Any gearheads out there?
Acutually putting it in gear with your foot on the brake warms it up quicker. The fluid has to "fight" between the moving torque converter housing and the stationery internals.

Naw, I never put it in park at stoplights. I was just wondering. But, time to stop revving the beast!! (which is hard to do with sitting behind a huge 368)

I just put it in park or neutral in drive thrus and at really long lights where I just miss it and I know 2 minutes of sitting are coming. Other than that I don't.

I say toss it in neutral, and give it a little rev. See if you get any takers. ;) But that's just me, and I love the sound of my 279 purring and grumbling threateningly. :coolgleam: It'll be even worse when I start thinking about the added horses I'll stuff under there.
Odd part is though, I do this in the Olds too. But, I often toss it in neutral, and just drift up to the stop. For those who tease me about playing like i have a stick shift, believe me, I want one. Been having thoughts wishing I had gone with an LS1 Camaro as opposed to my Caddy. (Part of that probably stemming from the fact that she's in my garage with her hood up.)
Ok, odd striking urge... I want my baby AWD (properly done) with about 650 horses. And 6 speed stick. Or the shiftronic, quasi stick, which is just an automactic you can control, but can also let the computer control it as well. Sigh