hey guys,

sorry if this has been discussed.

when you are slowing down for say a stop sign or a red light, do you...
1) clutch in, put it in neutral and appy the foot brake to slow down
2) clutch in and apply the foot brake (leaving it in gear) then when you start up again, put it in first or second gear to start up
3) or engine brake to slow down (downshifting to slow down)

i have usually just put it in neutral and braked to slow down. heard this may wear down my brake pads quicker.. is that true?

 

I am sure you will hear lots of answers to this because every drivers style is different. Personally I drive fast, so when I am slowing down. I brake slightly and downshift (clutch, down shift, release clutch) to aid in slowing my ride down more quickly. It all depends how you drive.

 

1 or 3

 

same for me, I tend to have a heavy foot and when going dowhill to a stop I usually just pop it in neutral and coast down, some other times i'll leave it in 3rd or 4th to keep me from building too much speed, but yeah, lol a mix of all three really. I engine brake sometimes, neutral to the stopsign then shift, or just slow to 2nd and slowly roll thru.

 

I do 1 or 3 also depends on how im driving mostly i just put it in neutral but sometimes I use engine braking like others suggested..

Jay

 

1 or 3. Never sit at alight with a cltuch pushed in.

 

I put it in neutral and coast to the stop sign, usually blip the throttle a bit before I drop it into neutral so I can coast that long, then I slowly apply the brake until I stop, drop it in first and take off

you should try not to stop with it in the same gear and take off (like in first, or second, clutch in rolling and on the brake, stop then take off) because it'll wear the springs on the clutch plate, but obviously if you use engine braking to slow down you won't wear your brake pads faster, but your engine will be at higher RPMs causing wear. I usually don't downshift unless I need to slow down and the rpm's will drop below 2000 or Im going uphill/downhill using the engine to my advantage, but as said before, to each his own

 

You dont need to downshift (brake pads are cheaper than the clutch), but you don't need to put it in neutral right away, either.

There are two schools of thought on keeping it in first gear at the stoplight: a) It's bad, because the clutch mechanism could fail and launch you into the intersection, or b) It's good, because you can quickly get out of the way if the cement truck behind you doesn't seem to be stopping in time. I keep it in first.

 

I typically put it in neutral and brake. Sometimes if I need to slow down quickly and am not wanting to completely slam on the brakes, I'll do a combination of letting the clutch and engine slow me down along with the brakes.

As to "engine braking", I don't think the proper way is to just ease the clutch onto the flywheel and use the clutch as a brake. When I'm thinking about slowing down for a turn, I'll put it in second and rev the engine up to whatever rpms it needs to be in in second (nothing too extreme, I brake a bit before I do this) then drop the clutch and let the engine slow me down. It takes awhile to get used to this, as it's counterintuitive. You're wanting to slow down, and you're giving it gas (quite a bit sometimes).

 

3 for me.

 

that's actually what engine breaking is, the RPM's shoot up to 4k or so and your car is moving faster than the gears allow and it slows your car down to the speed of the gear you downshifted into when you lay off the gas

I rarely engine brake unless I'm going downhill, or slowing for a turn I drop it into second at about 25-30mph, or I try to keep it in third if it's not a bad turn, but there's this really awesome turn on RT80 near Kemptown MD that goes right onto clarksburg RD and it's a sharp, banking 120 degree turn that's on freshly paved blacktop... mmm... yummy to keep it in third gear round that bad boy

EDIT: oh, and pete, if your clutch failed and connected to your tranny without giving it any gas, wouldn't the engine just die and your car wouldn't move? and if I saw somebody behind me bearing down on me like that you bet your **** I'd pop it in first, floor it and drop the clutch faster than my brain woulda known what happened

 

all of the above.

 

Well, the car would move, though maybe not far, but I mostly agree with you. Like I said, I keep it in first, though I mostly worry about it in the Miata, where I feel more vulnerable. If you hear tires squealing behind you, you're not going to have a lot of time.

 

Yea, you would lurch ahead maybe a foot or two and the engine would keel over.

 

i like to downshift to slow down, mostly to keep my rpm's up so i can take off again if i'm turning. i even do it at a light so i can take off it it turns green again before i have to stop. but i drive hard, unless you drive hard like i'v read quite a few of us do, i'd put it in neutral to slow down. but it's really just a matter of your driving style

 

tru I agree with everyone...basically for me..its depends on the situation im experiencing...so basically all three for me.

 

Lots of times I do an option #4: (you didn't list this one)

engine brake, but help it with the real brakes. Engine braking only does so much for you... if you ever need to stop in a hurry the real brakes are the only option anyhow.

Also, going into a sharp turn, engine braking is a bad idea, as it throws the stability of the car off on a FWD car. Those front tires already have a lot of work to do in turning the car at high speeds, asking them to slow the car down too... well, its a good thing they are Z rated. Better, though, to use the brake, which in mild braking will use the rears more than the fronts from the electronic brake proportioning. So slow the car down with the rears, and save the fronts for steering. But if the road is straight, a little engine braking never hurt anyone. I've heard it said that it causes more wear and tear on the clutch and engine, but I've had a couple cars go over 150k miles while engine braking all the time and had no problems. Last one doesn't even leak oil.

Picking up a tC tommorrow. But its automatic, as my wife can't drive a stick. Oh, the sacrifices we make for the ones we love...

Of course, us real gearheads know how to use the automatic shifter for engine braking too...

 

Lol yeah...I know all about that...I used to drive a 00' pathfinder and never did me any wrong as long as u drive it right.