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Hope johnf515 has some input on the wear and tear of the gearbox while FAS.

Sometimes I've be in a residential neighborhood and the next light will turn green while the car still has momentium. It seems like the least stressful way from a gearbox standpoint is to engage in the highest gear possible, then downshift if necessary when applying gas.

In consideration of the gearbox life, I can see a suggestion to shift to neutral, crank the engine, then shift into gear....

Your thoughts?

To clarify, I believe you are talking about manual.

Shifting into neutral and cranking the engine over is the least wear and tear on your transmission, as it isn't under any load. When bump starting, using the highest gear possible (appropriate for the speed, as 5th gear won't turn the engine over at 25 MPH) is absolutely the preferred method. The clutch will absorb most of the impact, and is the "weak link" of the chain.

Gears in a manual are quite tough, and if you do manage to FAS hard enough to damage more than the clutch and driveshaft, you'll have other things to worry about. ;)

Your safest bet is to watch your clutch release and ease it out as you go for that bump start as so to limit the shock to the drivetrain.

Yes, I have a 5-speed.

Need to include that in my profile.

I find that if you just let out the clutch, you get the doubly whammy. One jolt in one direction from turning the engine over and the second from the other direction when the engine fires. I let out the clutch quickly and push in right away to let the engine come up to speed before engaging the clutch again. Much smoother that way.

Thank you for including that, krousdb. I meant to say that in my initial post.