to put it simple, think of the engine, clutch and transmission like a sandwich. When the clutch pedal all the way in... it like a sandwich thats not put together yet, the clutch is like the meat just there by itself. The only time it burns is when its slipping (from when it starts to grab til your completely let off the pedal). Sitting at a traffic light with the clutch all the way in won't cause any harm... there's a lot of different opinions as to rather you should sit in neutral with the foot off the clutch or in gear at a traffic light. I was always taught to keep my foot off the clutch as much as possible. Every time you push the clutch in or hold it in... your pushing on the throwout bearing... in theory, the more you push it on it, the faster its gonna wear out. Its a fairly cheap part, but why wear something out faster than needed? I've also had people argue that in traffic, its better to keep it in 1st at a stop in case you have to roll up quickly... I've never had any trouble getting into 1st quickly
. I also think a lot of people who complain about their legs getting tired from driving in traffic are probably holding the clutch in. Most new car's aren't too bad IMO... most have a pretty light clutch, but go drive an old truck that you gotta practically have to stand on it to get the pedal to go in, You'll learn to stay off it!
