Brake Pads vs. Clutch?

Do keep in mind that Clutch friction only lasts for the duration of changing gears which brake friction lasts the entire time you are applying the brakes.

So, yes, using engine braking will make your clutch wear out sooner as opposed to throwing it into neutral and pumping your brakes all the way down a hill, but given a choice between my clutch going out suddenly and my brakes going out suddenly I'll take the former, thank you.

 

If you maintain your car properly, your brakes are going to go out suddenly. Even without using the engine to brake, pads still last a long time. Also, a clutch may only be slipping significantly during gear changes, but its' friction material is much, much thinner than a brake pad.

Even if your pads wore through going down a hill, you would still be able to stop on the backing plates. If somehow, you lost all brake pressure and pumping didn't help, THEN you still have engine braking and the emergency brake. If none of that works either, then your death is your fault for buying a Ford.

 

That's messed up; family and friends have owned quite a few over the years, never had an issue with them, but still funny to hear this.

 

lulz. I have a question in the effort to save gas in my automatic. is it bad to put the car in nuetral when going down big hills so the revs stay low? or is this amazingly foolish?

 

The way I understand it is cops consider you braking after passing them an admission of guilt. I've passed many cops when I was pushing the limits of what they'll tolerate and looked in the rear view mirror and saw them touch the brake but only after we were far enough apart that I'd have a good view of their car in the mirror. They are testing to see if you knew you were speeding because many people will slow down and pull over as soon as they think the cop is about to turn around and give them a ticket. The cops I saw was going above their tolerance were hard on the brakes before we passed and they turn around very quickly in pursuit.

Your best bet if you see a cop is never touch the brake unless you see him or her early enough you know there's know way they've clocked you and never ever touch the brake after they've passed. A radar detector can also be helpful because you'll know if you've been clocked or not.

I do not condone or promote the intentional violation of the law. The above information was posted for educational purposes and is no way intended to provide instruction about how not to be caught breaking the law. If you utilize any of the information provided in this post, you do so at your own risk with no liability held to me or www.scionlife.com. If you read this far into this babble, you must really be bored. Have a great day.

 

Bigfieroman Sorry I've been busy. I use this method in little sticky situations. Light speeding nothing outradious. 40-45 in a 35 mph spots as you slide by the police, sometimes they watch you go by hitting the brakes. Light downshifting helps you to slow down fairly quick but not as noticeable to police in traps (none of this is endorsed or recommended). and now I'm older and so much wiser and drive a little slower, maybe 5 mph over. My driving record is clean and good habits and no tickets = saved $$$$$
Sorry chadfo! did not read your post before typing. Basically what you said is same thing bottom line.

 

I have never heard of this. It could be true, as there are some weird laws out there, but it doesn't even seem to make sense. Even if I am not speeding, my reaction is to hit the brakes when I see a cop. If they don't have any evidence of you speeding (no radar, etc), they cannot charge you. What if you saw a deer and thought it was going to cross? You might have been going 5 under, it makes no sense that they can give you a ticket for just braking.

 

I would think that if you have already passed them, they would have already clocked you. I dunno, this is obviously a matter of personal preference, but I have never been stopped because the cop saw me braking when I saw him...on the contrary, most tickets I have avoided were due to keeping an eye out and braking before I was clocked. I finally bought a radar detector a few weeks ago, but I have never gotten stopped by being radar clocked. Of course, I am a young 'un, so give it time.

 

Ya if they clock you forget it. But lack of brake lights sometimes cools them down from the chase. Again we are talking old school police. Today it's "Oh Boy! sarge is going to be happy--- 42 tickets a new record" lol

 

You missed the point where I said I was testing the limits of their tolerance. I tend to drive 65 in a 55. At 10 over I'm lucky they don't just turn around immediately all the time. I've seen many brake after clocking me and passing. They were testing to see if I was watching and in a sense admitting that I was speeding. They can't give you a ticket just for braking.

 

Don't forget that at the angle that they may hit you with laser or radar the reading is lower that actual so it becomes a guess as to exactly how much over the limit your are really traveling and the one that has the brake lights on is the TARGET!

 

just hook up a switch to your brake lights so the cops don't see you braking and don't engine brake the cops can hear that when you do that

 

Yeah, that sounds safe...

 

Here's a better explanation of what he's trying to say. I know a LOT of cops and all of them admit to this. If two cars pass by them speeding 12+ over, ones is a Red Corvette with a teenager in it the other is an old lady in a Toyota Sienna minivan with kids in the back. If the Corvette doesn't hit his brakes, but the lady in the Sienna does, and they see her face turn flush red as she passes and her eyes are locked with the cop's, they will pull her over instead of the Vette.

Basically they tell me they like to understand where people are coming from if they kinda cruise a little over, think about a lot of people just go over a little without thinking about it. But if someone slams on their brakes, AFTER they saw the cop and obviously the cop has already seen them they see it as an insult of sorts, because basically it's like you think if you hit your brakes it's going to change the fact that you were speeding just now but it's ok cause you braked. Or you hit the brakes to play stupid so if the cop pulls you over they will be like "oh well I wasn't speeding I was going the speed limit when you pulled behind me." It's the same logic as if you get pulled over and admit you were doing something wrong, apologize, and thank the officer for doing his job, and promise you'll be more careful you're more likely to get a warning than if you play dumb and pretend you weren't doing anything.

They see the braking as an admission of guilt, and your way of thinking it's ok cause you braked when you saw that there was a cop there.

I can honestly say I've been cruising a good bit over the speed limit and have seen a cop in the distance and engine braked to slow the car down so as not to make it as obvious, there's no way for me to prove this helped, but I can tell you I've never gotten a ticket when using this method.

Same disclaimer as above though, I do not condone speeding, especially if you're in a hurry because the more going on in your head the more dangerous your driving can become. I am the kind that if I am going over I make sure to never exceed 5, on the interstate 8. If you're going double digits over the limit you're basically asking for a ticket, and the odds of you making it through life like that without getting a ticket for it are probably lower than winning the lotto.

 

Doesn't always work But that is pretty much the way it works, most of the time.

What was the original post again lol!!

 

A cop tailed me for ages today in the carpool lane. I had two kids in the back of the car, whom I guess she couldn't see (there is no age minimum for a passenger in the HOV lanes here). I told the kids to wave their hands in the air and when the cop saw them, she finally passed me. I've driven thousands upon thousands of miles in the carpool lane with my daughter hidden behind tinted windows in the back seat (of a chevy astro van), and this is the first time it's aroused any attention. I know it was because of the car - because it just doesn't look like a kid hauler!

 

In my younger years I spent a lot of time in traffic court (many citations for speeding, smoking tires, etc.) and one of the saddest things I learned is that the incompetent driver is much more likely to get a break. Judges seemed very sympathetic to those claiming; "I didn't know how fast I was going" and very unsympathetic to those who knew what they were doing. It's always irritated me that some semi-aware soccer mom who can't drive for ____ is forgiven but the guy who smoked the entire county police force at a charity auto-X is crucified for doing 20mph over a speed limit that is 30mph below the safe speed for a competent driver in a competent car.

I'll never forget the time I was seeking some fine/point reduction for a speeding ticket (64 in a 55!) and the case before mine was a middle-aged asian woman who caused a 3 car accident with thousands of dollars in damage and minor injuries by making a left turn from the right lane, cutting off the car in the left lane and hitting an oncoming car. The woman couldn't speak english so her son interpreted for her. She basically told the judge that she didn't know what she was doing so the judge reduced her fine to $25 and waived the points. When I appeared and asked for lieniency since I was only 9mph over, the judge gave me the full fine and points because I already had a few 10-20 over speeding tickets on my record. Apparently the facts that I had never even been involved in an accident at the time or that I've only been involved in one accident in 30 years and over 500,000 miles driven, my CDL, motorcycle and class 1 locomotive engineer licenses count for nothing. The best thing you can do is tell the cop and the judge that you didn't have a clue what you were doing. They seem to sympathize with that...

 

ignorance of the law IS AN EXCUSE! Who would have guess THAT!
Tell you what though, in my second coart appearance all the people before me were in the left land of a 2 lane road and got no break - I was in the right lane and had my bogas speeding ticket dismissed on a good driving record - 40 in a 35 at midnight on an empty road and the cop claimed to have clocked me at 50 while I was on cruise control at 40 where he was driving to endanger me - excessive speeding and tailgating.

 

ScionFred,
You didn't get a break because of your record. They consider you a habitual offender. You've done it before and you're doing it again.

The little lady should not have gotten a break. My view is if you are breaking the law because you are ignorant of it, then catching a break is ok. No harm no foul. However, when there's damager to person and/or property there should be no breaks. Maybe a reduction but not to the extent you described for that lady.

 

clearly some of you dont drive in detroit here. the highway starts at 70 near me, so people naturally go 80. but then it drops to 50, and then people go....

80

and the fast lane is going about 90 all the way to detroit. honestly, ive had civics pass me as im in the fast lane, meaning that 100+ happens often as well. on the streets its almost always 5 over, but then again our city cops are tough. and lame.

For the record, of COURSE I go the speed limit ;) i really dont go that fast on the highway, crazy people in the ukon xl or whatev do.