Since this mazda is my first automatic car, I am wondering if it'd help prolong the engine/transimission life if I switch to Neutral while at stopping at intersections. The switch from D to N and back to D is short, < 10 sec usually. Need your opinions.
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Volcano Vaporizer

 

That's a lot of movement for a transmision. Chunking it into drive isn't the greatest from neutral. i would stay in automatic and not constantly mess with your "shifter"

 

I HAVE to agree. Too much wear and tear on the drivetrain doing that. You can leave it in drive or replace your inner CV joints, oh, every 20-30K miles. Which would you rather do?

 

^^ You've been agreeing with me a lot today...are you afraid to disagree with me???

Just messing around.

 

i dont see wat shifting into Neutral would do....

 

Yeah? Scary, ain't it? Our relationship to this point has been tenuous at best, but, what can I say? I call 'em like I see 'em (right or wrong)and you've been making a lot of sense to me lately.
I think that's a good thing.

Ah. You young kids.
Shifting in and out of gear with an auto putsadditional strain on the drivetrain components. You get that subtle "bang" whenever you do.A shift fromthe stagnant neutral (by definition) to an active drivegear, in this case as in most, first gear. Going from an unloaded to a loaded position in the drivetrain, and visa-versa. You are in effect taking up the slack designed into these parts, but at a rate that is far more unusual than the norm. This causes additional wear on all the drivetrain parts from the torque converter out to the wheels, especially considering that one's foot would likely be on the brake @ the time.
'Understand now?

 

oh, i meant i dont get how shifting into neutral would benefit you at all.
i guess your fuel economy would increase... but only slightly tho..

 

"They" say that shutting the engine off completely during a 2-3 min light would benefit fuel mileage more. Anything under 30 secs is just the same as letting it run, as it takes that much fuel for the restart.
I have always wondered though, what this does to engine wear... on internal partsI mean?

 

Hey!! I've moved up to ninth top poster of the site!!! Whoo-who!!!!

 

Engine start-up causes the most wear of any time that an engine is running as the oil has had a chance to settle back down into the oil pan.

I definitely wouldn't kill my engine at a light and re-start it. You may save a miniscule amount of gas, but you'll burn through your starter and your engine in no time.