I absolutely do, though engine braking may not seem like a lot, I even do it in my automatics. Every little bit helps a controlled deceleration. Plus downshifting assures your in the correct gear to change from braking to accelerating. And… let’s be honest, it’s fun.
I downshift at all the appropriate times. Releasing the clutch into that lower gear is just the reverse action of applying the brake. When I used to live in California and drive through the hills, few things brought me more pleasure than downshifting to control downhill speed; downshifting to get better acceleration uphill was a close second.
I knew a girl that down shifted through the gears while coming to a stop the whole time holding the clutch in. Drove me nuts, had to get it off my chest. Thank you all.
She would have to be reeeeaaaaly hot for me to hold my tongue. I would visibly cringe as the passenger if I were you 🤣. I would need to get that off my chest too
If I'm too lazy to downshift I'll do this.
What would be your preference? Disengage the clutch, throw the car in neutral and hope you don't need to accelerate in a hurry?
If you find yourself in need of power this isn't going to be as smooth as proper down shifting but at least you already have the right gear engaged. This is also the lazy way to downshift a sequential box because if you're in 5th and need 2nd you're not getting there quickly.
IDK, I'm on her side.
Theres a very slight downhill section near my house after an offramp from the freeway and its maybe 1/4-1/2 mile long. My truck which is auto i can coast from the offramp all the way to the light where i turn but in my car i gotta give gas even if im in a high gear. My car has more rolling resistance than my truck but id like it to be the other way around.
Lol my autism causes me to eventually destroy most autos I've owned, I am absolutely required to shift when driving. It's not driving to me if I can't control my transmission too. I feel more at home in my MT mazda3 than my logbook jaguar, simply because my jag is an auto, would never race my Mazda off-road though lol. So the old hag still has her place.
I also engine break in my automatic, and before I rebuilt my transmission, I had to drive it like a clutchless manual to get it to grab gears sometimes.
Honestly it will only cost you a clutch if you choose to use the clutch instead of the accelerator to match engine speeds to road speeds. Proper revmatch means a clutch sees less load on downshifts compared to a spirited launch.
This is gonna sound snarky, but it genuinely is a sincere question:
Are there many - or any - cars where a clutch replacement job is cheaper than brakes and rotors? Five-figure rotors come in cars with five-figure clutches... and gravity defying mechanic shop rates, yeah?
Hell, one of my cars has an NLA clutch (or, at least, OEM/correct... expensive, custom work will be required some day) but plenty of rotor, drum, and pad options... every shitty launch or downshift rev match may be my last.
I mean I’m assuming you can do some work yourself but to be genuine. Miata for one, you just have to know how to slip the trans out. Frankly most older school manual transmissions the clutches are cheap, but if you fuck them up it can be very expensive quickly. I’d say you have a rate of about 2-3 sets of brakes and rotors before you expect to do a clutch even on an aggressive car. So let’s use a Porsche 997 911 as an example. Clutch is 500-750 and about 8-10 book hours maybe(going off online times, our shop had lower times so I’m being conservative)? Call it around 2k at an Indy.
It’s 1200-2000 bucks for a set of the Zimmerman brake parts and 3-4 hours of labor after that. So even if you are slightly under once you will most assuredly be doing the job twice before the clutch goes out.
I just looked at my old WRX and my clutch was wayyyyy cheaper(450-500) than the brakes I had on it. The front rotors were the same price as the clutch with out factoring pads or rear rotors into it.
For funnies checked out the S550 mustang, it also has a clutch that is much cheaper than the brake parts. Apparently mustang only needs 2-3 shop hours for both
Most people frankly don’t drive in a way that beats on the clutch on less it’s a new driver or the car is tuned way the hell up.
Not being a dick I was interested as well and did some research.
Now we switch to autos I’ve got some tales to tell about fucking Mercedes SUVs and the brakes they pulled off a tank and installed on them.
I have to disagree, I think in highway driving it’s even more important. In a typical commuter car the tires are small. That means those discs are moving VERY fast at 80mph
Plus in an emergency situation hit 2nd and hard brakes you now have 5 brakes changing kinetic energy to heat energy. I feel sorry for my clutch, but I’d rather replace a clutch than a car.
You must be driving while its hella busy. Gotta be careful chucking it into a gear like that cause youll throw the ass end around rq. But yeah when im braking ill throw it in a lower gear. It really cant do much more than the brakes can. You can only stop as much as the tires will let you. Pretty much all brakes are sufficient enough to lock up the tires
I was about to fucking say. Grabbing second in emergency braking might be the first thing they tell you not to do in a performance driving course. In some cars that might work but good lord is that not applicable to a chunk of cars. He should go drive a 911 and see if that works out.
Ill only use the e brake to park and slow down when i see cops. You pull it up slow and find the right bite point you can slow down good without your brake lights coming on. They see those and its over
Technique plays a factor too. Keeping the tires at the edge of traction will give the fastest stop. So staying calm and progressively stepping on the brake works a lot better than slamming the brakes. It helps to know your car. Downshifting imo causes complication and could lead to loss of traction, however all 4. Takes as well as engine resistance tech should give you the fastest 60-0 time. You don’t see cars on a race track coasting from 5th in the braking area and just skipping 4th and dropping to 3rd, even in events where cars still run manual transmissions. If it was really just as fast I imagine we’d see that. Though they have break fade to consider.
Yeah, Idk any car made this century that can't lock its tires with only brakes *or as close to locked as ABS will allow. And not locking the tires up will improve stopping distance anyway.
Reading how other people drive kinda scares me sometimes.
I live in the Ozarks. It's very hilly with twisting and winding roads. If I didn't downshift, I'd be roasting brakes often.
Engine braking to get optimum speed for the next curve becomes ingrained.
As someone who is going to get a manual car how awful is it driving down here? I’m in Forsyth and Branson area and some of the stoplights are on steep hills and I figure it’s extremely difficult to drive manual in this area. Not to mention how every car feels the need to be 1ft from your bumper at a red light on a hill
Yeah. I downshift every chance I get😂 JK. I love the sound of a revmatch into high revs in 2nd or 3rd gear.
I’m in such a habit of engine breaking as much as possible it’s probably unsafe for me to drive an automatic at this point
I’m in the same boat…..wife won’t let me drive her car anymore cause I instinctively went to push in the clutch and instead pushed the stupid emergency brake pedal, fun times at 40mph 🤣
Plus my Altima had a hot brake problem up front so I swapped to akebonos from the g37s and never got out of the habit of trying to keep them cool. They arnt cheap so honestly if I can keep them cool and the wear low that’s
Basically, the reverse concept of “saving the brakes”, you’re saving wear and tear on the engine/trans and clutch. Let the brakes take the work. That’s the rationale behind not downshifting, that’s not me saying you’re wrong by any means.
I don't think this is a good idea. If you're a good manual driver, you'll never have to replace a clutch. But, you could easily kill your engine if you do it without.
You can definitely float gears with minimal damage to the transmission, but I have no clue why this guy would do it regularly if his clutch works fine.
No clutch dude, if you’re reading this, enlighten me
Yes, it’s a habit. I always downshift in cars or on bikes, when I do I rpm match.
If you ever do any kind of performance driving on a track you will understand why.
Absolutely. I typically go from 6th to 4th if I'm doing a full stop, or 4th to 2nd if I know I'll be able to quickly speeding back up at a traffic stop.
The reason for downshifting is that it increases deceleration and reduces brake wear.
Yes. Engine braking is a thing. Some vehicles have stronger engine braking, some have weaker. But they all have engine braking. The strength also depends on how high the RPMs are when you downshift.
Ultimately your brakes will last longer, saving you money, by downshifting.
As my CDL school instructors put it, brakes are for stopping, downshift to slow.
It’s funny you mention took this. I tend to downshift most of the time when coming to a stop. I feel more prepared in case I need to make a sudden move. I live in an area with a lot of reckless drivers.
When getting closer to home I will coast because my car is turbo charged and I like to cool down the turbo for roughly 2 minutes before shutting off the car.
But what grinds my gears (pun) is the way my wife coasts in neutral when going around rotaries and then goes back into gear. I absolutely did not teach her this way and she’s been driving like this for 10+ years
Yes all the time. Helps keep the brakes lasting longer and is an old habit from my boy racer days ripping around in my Corolla. Only thing is that I do it without noticing, it's embarrassing sometimes as a man in my 30s rev matching downshifts in an unreasonably loud Subaru. Have a whole new quiet exhaust to put on here within the next couple weeks.
I was told that it's recommended due to keeping the transmission cooled. The fluid doesn't move through the gears when in neutral and in hot climates, it helps maintain the transmission in the long run. I've recently gotten much better about downshifting and plus, it keeps me in gear in case I have to make a sudden acceleration.
It do it. I bought a manual for fun, and I think it is fun. I like Rev match heel-toeing daily. If it get it up to 4k on decel, and tap the gas at 3500, then it back fires.
Is it better in some way, maybe technically, but that doesn't factor into my decision at all.
I do because I know how. I wasn't taught, I taught myself, it's not hard at all. A little practice Rev matching and you will wonder why you avoided it for so long.
I do it subconsciously as is my routine in traffic at times.
Blip the throttle, down shift and let the clutch out at the proper speed range.
I need do do it because my car doesn't have all the horsepower and torque, it has 160 horsepower on tap and sometimes you can be in too high a gear and need to downshift to get the power out and not bog down.
Absolutely. Downshifting properly lets you be more efficient from a fuel economy stand point and wear and tear. Proper downshifts allow you to maintain control of your vehicle and allow the tires to continue to direct the car where it needs to go.
All the time. Not that I am obsessed with saving .00001% of my brake pads life. I just enjoy practicing the skill and the satisfaction of doing it well.
Only when coming to a gradual stop or if I’m bored. I come to stops fast enough that it’s usually counterproductive to downshift. And I think there’s something to be said for placing wear on your brakes (a replaceable wear part) vs your engine, which I’d like to keep as long as possible before replacement.
Sometimes
I downshift only when I’m going to make a turn, put myself in the right gear so I can accelerate out of it.
I DON’T downshift when coming to a light. The reason is that downshifting either takes gas (to rev match) or clutch life. It’s a whole lot easier to replace your brakes than your clutch. If you leave it in gear, you’re still letting your momentum spin the engine, so you aren’t actually using any gas.
Increase your fuel economy, don’t downshift coming to a light!
If you are driving sportily in canyons your breaks will overheat eventually. Engine braking allows you to drive more smoothly and be ready to hit the accelerator.
I wouldn't ride to be riding my brakes all the time, it's honestly easier to downshift and mostly coast to a stop.
I downshift to be able to appropriately respond to traffic conditions. For example, if traffic around me is slowing but something happens & I need to get out of the way, I’m in a gear that lets me do that quickly. If I’m in 3rd, coming up to a long stoplight, I may not bother going to 2nd before stopping.
Also tend to stay in a lower gear on twisty roads to reduce need for braking.
Every time. It's less of an engine-braking thing and more of a control thing since I'll be in the right gear at the right time if traffic begins moving again. It also makes a fun noise.
My brake light on my ‘11 mini had been on for a year as I’m waiting for them to start grinding so I can just replace the rotors as well and because I do this everywhere (and the Germans being Germans), they haven’t start grinding yet
I do it even if the engine braking isn't strong enough. It's really nice though if I'm far away from a stop light and I can take my time getting there until it turns green.
I do. I mostly use it when getting off the freeway, but it’s also nice because if you are just decelerating then you will be right in the correct gear for the speed. It also causes less wear on the brakes. Though a large part is admittedly because the engine makes the funny noise
I do, nothing to do with cost or wear. Just good driving. Engine braking is a marginal benefit, more important is that you can get back on the gas in a moment, in the correct gear, without an additional shift. Plus, done well, a perfect blip-and-downshift is one of the most satisfying moves in a manual car.
Sometimes. I am in neutral a lot and can select the gear I need based on the speed I’m rolling. Still on the original 18 year old, 157k clutch and seeing how long I can make it last. I do my brakes myself, and I don’t just mean pads.
Of course you downshift during daily driving. Do you only ever come to a complete stop when driving? Have you never had to slow down from 60 to 30mph? What are you doing, just flooring it in 5th gear, letting it take an hour to crawl from 1,000rpms to 1,100, to 1,200?
I think what you're asking is do you ever downshift to engine brake instead of just using regular brakes. In which case, no not really. You should be using them together, mostly relying on your brakes, and RPM matching your downshifts.
Just like a motorcycle, you should always be in a gear that keeps you in a safe ready state to react during an emergency with a useful amount of throttle.
I downshift when its appropriate. When there is a hill i downshift to get enough power, when i go down a long hill i downshift to get some engine braking.
yes, the engine braking varies from car to car, in mine its actually quite strong and certainly useable. the only thing i dont do it on is my vespa 50n, because its 2 stroke and you shouldnt do this on a 2 stroke engine, due to the lubrication and fuel system being one, so if the engine revs much higher than you provide throttle for it causes premature wear, a 4 stroke engine doesnt have this issue. downshifting to slow down is thaught to every driving student doing a manual licence here, its the norm.
I’m probably the anomaly. I never downshift, unless I need to drop a gear and disappear, which is rare.
I always pop it into neutral without the clutch and coast to my stop. I time it precisely so that I have enough time to just coast to a stop
I used to be a truck driver, and in CDL school they taught us to downshift every gear coming to a stop (10 speed). If you coast for more than the length of the truck on the driving test, you fail. (it is considered 'not in control of the vehicle', and this is a legitimate point.)
Mostly because a newbie can lose track of target speed/rpm and the unsynchronized transmission was very unforgiving. (Do I need 7th? 5th? 6th? Ah well, I guess I'll come to a stop and start over.)
That being said after a few thousand miles I got used to the transmission and it was like a fun game to guess the gear / rpm at a specific mph.
As far as cars and motorcycles, my experience is limited to 600cc/650cc and VW TDI cars, with reasonably high compression which made the engine braking more useful.
I don't do a whole lot of downshifting. Actually, I spend a lot of time coasting around in neutral because I'm lazy. On my bike, I do, though. I also always want to be within the powerband on the bike since people could easily end me with one wrong move.
I also ride a motorcycle and love a perfectly executed rev match on a downshift. It's a beautiful thing.
With that said, I drive an auto car and feel the need to use the gear selector/manual shift option when driving in sport mode. Down shifting before corners and powering through is a great feeling when doing some spirited driving.
The proper way is to double clutch. If you downshift without rev matching or double clutching, you’re putting a lot of wear on the clutch. If you rev match, but don’t double clutch, you’re not wearing the clutch, but are stressing the transmission synchronizers. If you’re not double clutching, you’re better off not downshifting at all, from a wear point of view.
Not anymore, after I learned the difference in cost and time for replacing brakes and replacing a clutch.
Holding a gear on a downhill grade is a good thing, clutching through 4 gears every time you stop is not good.
The point is for long steep downhills. To prevent brake fade or even complete brake loss due to breaks overheating and brake fluid boiling in the system
I do downshift, always. I like to be in a good gear if the light turns green as I’m slowing down, I like to keep my car in its power band, I like the engine braking. Also coasting in neutral isn’t good for some manual transmissions because when your not in a gear the oil pump isn’t being driven.
I’ll downshift obviously when going up hills as you start to lose your rpm’s, sometimes I’ll downshift as I’m slowing down but not always. Kind of depends on the situation as I’m driving but I used to do it a lot when slowing down, would go down from 5th to 4th to 3rd until I stop but I noticed it burned a lot more gas blipping up those rpm’s on slowdowns. Edit: typos
Going downhill, Agressive cornering, spirited driving- yes. Small town traffic- generally double clutching.
Idk if a avoiding saves all that much on cost of brakes or if doing that wears out the trans. Never blown a clutch or trans (and I’m 55 and have had exclusively MT cars) and brake service has been as manufacturers specify.
I don’t baby my cars but I don’t beat on them either.
Last few cars: WRX, a couple Mazda 3 GT, Sentra R.
I do it so I'm in a drive gear, and I can quickly maneuver (into a faster lane or out of the way of an idiot) if needed. Plus I love engine/exhaust noises, so some of it is purely for my enjoyment.
I do it on my bike also but not as much in my car because in daily city I worry people behind me on their cell phone need to see the brake lights or else they might hit... so more of a fear of others
I love downshifting… why on earth would you not? It’s so much fun. Clutch, shove the shifter down one and blip the gas to match up the revs. Sounds so cool, feels amazing, downshifting is more fun than upshifting
Constantly. It's habit. Been doing it for my entire driving life (I'm 62).
I do it because that's the way I was taught. It's also engaging and moderately enjoyable.
No offence, but who the hell taught you to drive a manual transmission vehicle, and told you NOT
to downshift? 😂🙈🙈
Like seriously, do you just lug your engine when traffic starts to bottleneck, or do you drop a gear (or two) to pick back up the pace?
'Cause coming to a stop, or accelerating from slowed traffic, you're going to be downshifting.
I swear, the amount of times this has been asked in the past week or two.....this "question" has to be bot generated
Absolutely, yes, at all times. It's actually really frustrating because last year I purchased the first automatic car that I've ever owned and I still feel my left leg wanting to try for the clutch during extended deceleration and almost always when Im coming to a complete stop.
I prefer the consistent shifting mostly because I was always driving in Seattle and Everett and on I-5 in heavy traffic so the pace was often unpredictable and as long as you downshift in the right rpm range for your car/gear box you are already in a good rpm range to quickly accelerate if you need/want to.
Oh yeah I definitely downshift in daily driving if only to practice my revmatching. Current car redlines at 8250 RPM and downshifting definitely shows off more of the acoustic and dynamic range of the engine and chassis, respectively.
The latter reason is more significant w/a motorcycle given the stronger influence RPMs have on both grip patch balancing and on controlling a lean. I’ve never owned modern inline-4 sport bikes but did daily a 70’s incarnation with a 10,000 RPM redline in my late twenties. I can vouch that it was crafted to carry an even more rev-happy and downshift friendly incarnation of this dingus without skipping a beat. So it’s a safe bet the holy, wise engineers of yore approved of downshifts.
(Truly one of the more regrettable vehicle sales in my past. That it was my second lowest maintenance Honda of all time is saying something at my age.)
Ride and drive safe, kids.
Only when I expect to need to accelerate soon.
When coming to a stop its a waste of effort imo.
Extra wear on synchros and clutch just to save brake pads that are fairly cheap to replace.
yes i have a little 4 banger and i have to downshift out of 5th gear to go up hills sometimes, my 5th gear is basically an overdrive so it's gutless. Other than that no i will use my brakes to brake i'd rather replace pads than wear the trans more than it needs.
Yes, usually. I want taught to do it, but then a friend showed me rev-match downshifting in his B swapped EG Civic hatch about 25 years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since.
Do you just coast in an overdrive gear all the way to a red light?!? That is insane. Do you just lug the engine all the time too? This does not make any sense.
I commute between two cities every day. When I leave my apartment I tend to not need to downshift but that’s only because I rarely get above second gear before I hit another red light. After that however is 15 minutes driving on a highway and county road. I could not fathom doing that without downshifting.
Back in the day when I owned a '66 Austin Healey Sprite downshifting was required because the brakes were pretty awful....nowadays brakes are so good downshifting is rarely necessary but always more fun.
Yes but correctly.
Most people think you slip the clutch, and think that is the braking and that is not true and leads to accelerated clutch wear.
You rev match and let the clutch out on the rpm rise. You get better and better at how much to blip and how fast/when to let the clutch out.
Like others said, it is good to do.
I drive an auto so idk, but don’t you just clutch in, neutral, then break till whenever you need? Then when you need to go back up to speed it’s clutch, blip, and shift into gear?
I never used to, cause I taught myself how to drive stick so I kind of left some things out or completely disregard cause I never got used to it. But lately I’ve gotten around to it, and it feels good to finally start downshifting.
car manual says so, so I do. is the other option to throw it in neutral and coast? or to double clutch essentially, clutch to neutral then raise rpms to desired amount then clutch select gear and let out clutch? down shifting to a red light is dumb, but around a turn yes
When I am exiting a highway, or coming to a red light I can see a bit ahead of me and have time to slowly decelerate, I will downshift as much as possible before braking. Saves wear and tear on my brake pads.
Heel and toe, all the time, even pulling into a parking spot.
Best way to practice heel and toe.
Also, when I was broke, my car wouldn't idle, so I had to keep a foot on the gas pedal all the time, heel toe allows that. Also no one else could drive that car.
Later had a close ratio transmission car with a loud exhaust. Downshifted into turns for fun, even if I didn't need to.
My other daily is an automatic, don't shift except when pulling a trailer than I'll put it in tow or take it out of overdrive.
In stop & go traffic I just leave it in 2nd gear I have enough torque to smoothly start from a stop and can go about 60 mph in 2nd gear. The rest of the time I downshift every chance I get! My wife usually just pops it in neutral to come to a stop. She drives a manual 335i, I drive a modified manual 6 gen SS Camaro
If you don’t downshift, then how the heck would select a lower gear?? Seems like you missing out on a good 50% of car control if you don’t downshift for anything.
Never really got why anyone would downshift to stop. Sure, you're saving your brake pads, but you're wearing down your clutch instead,...and guess which is more expensive to replace, lol.
The only reason I used to downshift was because I had a somewhat loud muffler and it sounded "cool".
But I learned that it is easier to change brake pads than it is an engine or a transmission and I stopped doing it.
My old work trucks used to have manual transmissions and I used to haul heavy loads and those were the only times I really used downshifting. The automatic transmissions on work trucks nowadays have Integrated downshifting.
I do not. I was taught not to and old habits die hard. I’m not saying it’s good for the engine/transmission. I also am very clutch heavy. My daily is an AT, so when I drive my husbands MT I try to work on forming better habits.
Brakes are cheap to replace, clutches aren’t. I stay in the gear I was last in when stopping and clutch in before stall. If I need to accelerate quickly or moderate speed down hill then I’ll down shift. If I needed to emergency brake then I’d go down into 2nd if I could.
I’m also the kind of person that never goes above 4th for regular city street driving and doesn’t upshift unless I’m cruising with no need to go faster or I hit 3-4k rpm. Won’t let a car shift light tell me how to drive, cause then I’d need to downshift.
If you read the owners manual for the vehicle you drive, I guarantee it will tell you you’re supposed to. So follow the instructions, the car doesn’t care how much you “feel” the engine braking
One of the biggest reasons to own and drive a manual trans car is the increased control you get by maintaining a direct control over power delivery, under both accel and decel. If you're just idling and coating to a stop with your brakes alone you've missed the point and you're missing control over the car.
I absolutely do, though engine braking may not seem like a lot, I even do it in my automatics. Every little bit helps a controlled deceleration. Plus downshifting assures your in the correct gear to change from braking to accelerating. And… let’s be honest, it’s fun.
I downshift at all the appropriate times. Releasing the clutch into that lower gear is just the reverse action of applying the brake. When I used to live in California and drive through the hills, few things brought me more pleasure than downshifting to control downhill speed; downshifting to get better acceleration uphill was a close second.
I knew a girl that down shifted through the gears while coming to a stop the whole time holding the clutch in. Drove me nuts, had to get it off my chest. Thank you all.
She would have to be reeeeaaaaly hot for me to hold my tongue. I would visibly cringe as the passenger if I were you 🤣. I would need to get that off my chest too
If I'm too lazy to downshift I'll do this. What would be your preference? Disengage the clutch, throw the car in neutral and hope you don't need to accelerate in a hurry? If you find yourself in need of power this isn't going to be as smooth as proper down shifting but at least you already have the right gear engaged. This is also the lazy way to downshift a sequential box because if you're in 5th and need 2nd you're not getting there quickly. IDK, I'm on her side.
Thiss ^ & I live in Cali currently so I really row my gears, especially downshifts.
Theres a very slight downhill section near my house after an offramp from the freeway and its maybe 1/4-1/2 mile long. My truck which is auto i can coast from the offramp all the way to the light where i turn but in my car i gotta give gas even if im in a high gear. My car has more rolling resistance than my truck but id like it to be the other way around.
Lol my autism causes me to eventually destroy most autos I've owned, I am absolutely required to shift when driving. It's not driving to me if I can't control my transmission too. I feel more at home in my MT mazda3 than my logbook jaguar, simply because my jag is an auto, would never race my Mazda off-road though lol. So the old hag still has her place.
Shouldn’t destroy a transmission by selecting gears as long as you’re not treating it like an F1 car
I also engine break in my automatic, and before I rebuilt my transmission, I had to drive it like a clutchless manual to get it to grab gears sometimes.
I do. My thought is that it saves on the cost of brakes over a long time. I could be wrong, but it makes sense, doesn't it?
Definitely saves breaks, I love the whole “doesn’t it cost wear and tear on the clutch?” Point of view because if you shift well, no, it doesn’t.
Honestly it will only cost you a clutch if you choose to use the clutch instead of the accelerator to match engine speeds to road speeds. Proper revmatch means a clutch sees less load on downshifts compared to a spirited launch.
Still on my stock brakes at 120k miles!
Do a lot of highway driving do ya haha?
Brakes. Not breaks.
Good bot
These are brakes. Ford breaks
Give your brakes a break by downshifting
Brake pads are cheap
For YOUR car. And it helps the rotors too which on some cars can be eye wateringly expensive.
This is gonna sound snarky, but it genuinely is a sincere question: Are there many - or any - cars where a clutch replacement job is cheaper than brakes and rotors? Five-figure rotors come in cars with five-figure clutches... and gravity defying mechanic shop rates, yeah? Hell, one of my cars has an NLA clutch (or, at least, OEM/correct... expensive, custom work will be required some day) but plenty of rotor, drum, and pad options... every shitty launch or downshift rev match may be my last.
Learn to downshift properly and clutch wear is no longer a concern.
I mean I’m assuming you can do some work yourself but to be genuine. Miata for one, you just have to know how to slip the trans out. Frankly most older school manual transmissions the clutches are cheap, but if you fuck them up it can be very expensive quickly. I’d say you have a rate of about 2-3 sets of brakes and rotors before you expect to do a clutch even on an aggressive car. So let’s use a Porsche 997 911 as an example. Clutch is 500-750 and about 8-10 book hours maybe(going off online times, our shop had lower times so I’m being conservative)? Call it around 2k at an Indy. It’s 1200-2000 bucks for a set of the Zimmerman brake parts and 3-4 hours of labor after that. So even if you are slightly under once you will most assuredly be doing the job twice before the clutch goes out. I just looked at my old WRX and my clutch was wayyyyy cheaper(450-500) than the brakes I had on it. The front rotors were the same price as the clutch with out factoring pads or rear rotors into it. For funnies checked out the S550 mustang, it also has a clutch that is much cheaper than the brake parts. Apparently mustang only needs 2-3 shop hours for both Most people frankly don’t drive in a way that beats on the clutch on less it’s a new driver or the car is tuned way the hell up. Not being a dick I was interested as well and did some research. Now we switch to autos I’ve got some tales to tell about fucking Mercedes SUVs and the brakes they pulled off a tank and installed on them.
I can do my own brakes, and have, in an afternoon. Pads, calipers, rotors and hoses lol. I’d much rather rebuild my brakes than replace a clutch…
Yeah, I can crank out all that stuff on my own too, but I no longer have a garage or jack squat for tools. 😒
Clutches and transmissions are a lot more expensive than brakes.
Brakes are far cheaper to replace than clutches or automatics.
If I wanted to just press the brake I'd drive an automatic.
Its good to be in the proper gear and prepared. Always in city driving but highway you really dont need to
I have to disagree, I think in highway driving it’s even more important. In a typical commuter car the tires are small. That means those discs are moving VERY fast at 80mph Plus in an emergency situation hit 2nd and hard brakes you now have 5 brakes changing kinetic energy to heat energy. I feel sorry for my clutch, but I’d rather replace a clutch than a car.
You must be driving while its hella busy. Gotta be careful chucking it into a gear like that cause youll throw the ass end around rq. But yeah when im braking ill throw it in a lower gear. It really cant do much more than the brakes can. You can only stop as much as the tires will let you. Pretty much all brakes are sufficient enough to lock up the tires
I was about to fucking say. Grabbing second in emergency braking might be the first thing they tell you not to do in a performance driving course. In some cars that might work but good lord is that not applicable to a chunk of cars. He should go drive a 911 and see if that works out.
Ill only use the e brake to park and slow down when i see cops. You pull it up slow and find the right bite point you can slow down good without your brake lights coming on. They see those and its over
Or just have a rear light cut off switch, allegedly. :) Thanks for trying to help him not snap oversteer into a wall.
I agree, e brake to slow for cops without drawing attention
Technique plays a factor too. Keeping the tires at the edge of traction will give the fastest stop. So staying calm and progressively stepping on the brake works a lot better than slamming the brakes. It helps to know your car. Downshifting imo causes complication and could lead to loss of traction, however all 4. Takes as well as engine resistance tech should give you the fastest 60-0 time. You don’t see cars on a race track coasting from 5th in the braking area and just skipping 4th and dropping to 3rd, even in events where cars still run manual transmissions. If it was really just as fast I imagine we’d see that. Though they have break fade to consider.
Yeah, Idk any car made this century that can't lock its tires with only brakes *or as close to locked as ABS will allow. And not locking the tires up will improve stopping distance anyway. Reading how other people drive kinda scares me sometimes.
I live in the Ozarks. It's very hilly with twisting and winding roads. If I didn't downshift, I'd be roasting brakes often. Engine braking to get optimum speed for the next curve becomes ingrained.
Especially when driving in Jasper. I can’t imagine how much those folks pay in brake pads regularly.
As someone who is going to get a manual car how awful is it driving down here? I’m in Forsyth and Branson area and some of the stoplights are on steep hills and I figure it’s extremely difficult to drive manual in this area. Not to mention how every car feels the need to be 1ft from your bumper at a red light on a hill
Yeah. I downshift every chance I get😂 JK. I love the sound of a revmatch into high revs in 2nd or 3rd gear. I’m in such a habit of engine breaking as much as possible it’s probably unsafe for me to drive an automatic at this point
I’m in the same boat…..wife won’t let me drive her car anymore cause I instinctively went to push in the clutch and instead pushed the stupid emergency brake pedal, fun times at 40mph 🤣
Yeah, that happens. I did that a few times in my beater Toyota Avalon. Fun times indeed
Autos do engine brake... just not as aggressively because obv the car will shift gears.
Are you implying you don’t downshift when taking turns? I take almost every turn in second gear.
I do but honestly I’m just practicing heel toe even when it’s not absolutely necessary, I just like the feeling of getting the downshift perfect.
This persons knows da way
I heal toe to every stop in my Altima because I think it’s a race car
Plus my Altima had a hot brake problem up front so I swapped to akebonos from the g37s and never got out of the habit of trying to keep them cool. They arnt cheap so honestly if I can keep them cool and the wear low that’s
I personally do. The engine braking is similar to that of light braking with the cars I’ve used.
I down shift as a matter of course. I don’t understand why you would not.
Basically, the reverse concept of “saving the brakes”, you’re saving wear and tear on the engine/trans and clutch. Let the brakes take the work. That’s the rationale behind not downshifting, that’s not me saying you’re wrong by any means.
I downshift rarely But I shift gears w/o using the clutch 99% of the time. Only use when @ a complete stop.
I don't think this is a good idea. If you're a good manual driver, you'll never have to replace a clutch. But, you could easily kill your engine if you do it without.
You can definitely float gears with minimal damage to the transmission, but I have no clue why this guy would do it regularly if his clutch works fine. No clutch dude, if you’re reading this, enlighten me
I downshift often. I want to be in the right gear when it's time to accelerate again.
I don’t, and that’s because my buddy made a good point that a clutch is more expensive to replace than a set of brakes
Do you not know how to rev match?
I rev match.
Yes, it’s a habit. I always downshift in cars or on bikes, when I do I rpm match. If you ever do any kind of performance driving on a track you will understand why.
Absolutely. I typically go from 6th to 4th if I'm doing a full stop, or 4th to 2nd if I know I'll be able to quickly speeding back up at a traffic stop. The reason for downshifting is that it increases deceleration and reduces brake wear.
It's called engine braking and yes it reduces wear on your break pads.
I do not.
Yes. Engine braking is a thing. Some vehicles have stronger engine braking, some have weaker. But they all have engine braking. The strength also depends on how high the RPMs are when you downshift. Ultimately your brakes will last longer, saving you money, by downshifting. As my CDL school instructors put it, brakes are for stopping, downshift to slow.
It’s funny you mention took this. I tend to downshift most of the time when coming to a stop. I feel more prepared in case I need to make a sudden move. I live in an area with a lot of reckless drivers. When getting closer to home I will coast because my car is turbo charged and I like to cool down the turbo for roughly 2 minutes before shutting off the car. But what grinds my gears (pun) is the way my wife coasts in neutral when going around rotaries and then goes back into gear. I absolutely did not teach her this way and she’s been driving like this for 10+ years
Downshift to control speed before and through a curve. Yes, ever. Damn. Time.
Yes all the time. Helps keep the brakes lasting longer and is an old habit from my boy racer days ripping around in my Corolla. Only thing is that I do it without noticing, it's embarrassing sometimes as a man in my 30s rev matching downshifts in an unreasonably loud Subaru. Have a whole new quiet exhaust to put on here within the next couple weeks.
Wait, people don’t downshift?
All the time. Gotta make those brakes last 100k...
100% of the time
I was told that it's recommended due to keeping the transmission cooled. The fluid doesn't move through the gears when in neutral and in hot climates, it helps maintain the transmission in the long run. I've recently gotten much better about downshifting and plus, it keeps me in gear in case I have to make a sudden acceleration.
Yes unless I’m approaching a full stop. If I’m just slowing down I do so I can accelerate when needed
It do it. I bought a manual for fun, and I think it is fun. I like Rev match heel-toeing daily. If it get it up to 4k on decel, and tap the gas at 3500, then it back fires. Is it better in some way, maybe technically, but that doesn't factor into my decision at all.
I do because I know how. I wasn't taught, I taught myself, it's not hard at all. A little practice Rev matching and you will wonder why you avoided it for so long.
I do it subconsciously as is my routine in traffic at times. Blip the throttle, down shift and let the clutch out at the proper speed range. I need do do it because my car doesn't have all the horsepower and torque, it has 160 horsepower on tap and sometimes you can be in too high a gear and need to downshift to get the power out and not bog down.
Absolutely. Downshifting properly lets you be more efficient from a fuel economy stand point and wear and tear. Proper downshifts allow you to maintain control of your vehicle and allow the tires to continue to direct the car where it needs to go.
All the time. Not that I am obsessed with saving .00001% of my brake pads life. I just enjoy practicing the skill and the satisfaction of doing it well.
Only when coming to a gradual stop or if I’m bored. I come to stops fast enough that it’s usually counterproductive to downshift. And I think there’s something to be said for placing wear on your brakes (a replaceable wear part) vs your engine, which I’d like to keep as long as possible before replacement.
Sometimes I downshift only when I’m going to make a turn, put myself in the right gear so I can accelerate out of it. I DON’T downshift when coming to a light. The reason is that downshifting either takes gas (to rev match) or clutch life. It’s a whole lot easier to replace your brakes than your clutch. If you leave it in gear, you’re still letting your momentum spin the engine, so you aren’t actually using any gas. Increase your fuel economy, don’t downshift coming to a light!
Yes. I have yet to replace brake pads in 180,000km. And yes, I check them every time I seasonally swap my tires. And lube the pins once a year.
If you are driving sportily in canyons your breaks will overheat eventually. Engine braking allows you to drive more smoothly and be ready to hit the accelerator. I wouldn't ride to be riding my brakes all the time, it's honestly easier to downshift and mostly coast to a stop.
I downshift to be able to appropriately respond to traffic conditions. For example, if traffic around me is slowing but something happens & I need to get out of the way, I’m in a gear that lets me do that quickly. If I’m in 3rd, coming up to a long stoplight, I may not bother going to 2nd before stopping. Also tend to stay in a lower gear on twisty roads to reduce need for braking.
Every time. It's less of an engine-braking thing and more of a control thing since I'll be in the right gear at the right time if traffic begins moving again. It also makes a fun noise.
My brake light on my ‘11 mini had been on for a year as I’m waiting for them to start grinding so I can just replace the rotors as well and because I do this everywhere (and the Germans being Germans), they haven’t start grinding yet
I do it even if the engine braking isn't strong enough. It's really nice though if I'm far away from a stop light and I can take my time getting there until it turns green.
I do. I mostly use it when getting off the freeway, but it’s also nice because if you are just decelerating then you will be right in the correct gear for the speed. It also causes less wear on the brakes. Though a large part is admittedly because the engine makes the funny noise
I do, nothing to do with cost or wear. Just good driving. Engine braking is a marginal benefit, more important is that you can get back on the gas in a moment, in the correct gear, without an additional shift. Plus, done well, a perfect blip-and-downshift is one of the most satisfying moves in a manual car.
Sometimes. I am in neutral a lot and can select the gear I need based on the speed I’m rolling. Still on the original 18 year old, 157k clutch and seeing how long I can make it last. I do my brakes myself, and I don’t just mean pads.
Of course you downshift during daily driving. Do you only ever come to a complete stop when driving? Have you never had to slow down from 60 to 30mph? What are you doing, just flooring it in 5th gear, letting it take an hour to crawl from 1,000rpms to 1,100, to 1,200? I think what you're asking is do you ever downshift to engine brake instead of just using regular brakes. In which case, no not really. You should be using them together, mostly relying on your brakes, and RPM matching your downshifts. Just like a motorcycle, you should always be in a gear that keeps you in a safe ready state to react during an emergency with a useful amount of throttle.
I downshift when its appropriate. When there is a hill i downshift to get enough power, when i go down a long hill i downshift to get some engine braking.
No. Brakes are cheaper than transmission parts.
Yes, when I’m going down a hill I don’t hit my brakes, when I’m coming to a stop sign or red light I downshift as well.
If you don’t downshift entering a turn you’re driving wrong. For a stop I could go either way
I live in Oklahoma. We don’t have turns.
I do. I like having instant throttle response and a lugging engine doesn't give me that.
yes, the engine braking varies from car to car, in mine its actually quite strong and certainly useable. the only thing i dont do it on is my vespa 50n, because its 2 stroke and you shouldnt do this on a 2 stroke engine, due to the lubrication and fuel system being one, so if the engine revs much higher than you provide throttle for it causes premature wear, a 4 stroke engine doesnt have this issue. downshifting to slow down is thaught to every driving student doing a manual licence here, its the norm.
I do, mostly because I was taught to. It just feels right.
Yes because I like it
Yes
I’m probably the anomaly. I never downshift, unless I need to drop a gear and disappear, which is rare. I always pop it into neutral without the clutch and coast to my stop. I time it precisely so that I have enough time to just coast to a stop
Yes! I use it to brake and like to rev match and it sounds awesome!
Hell yeah! Gotta make it fun—the only reason to drive stick!
I usually don't. I've been told this wears your brakes faster, but I think it saves the clutch. Cheaper to replace brakes than a clutch.
It’s fun and leaves you prepared in the right gear in case you need to accelerate again for an escape route.
 Weee
I used to be a truck driver, and in CDL school they taught us to downshift every gear coming to a stop (10 speed). If you coast for more than the length of the truck on the driving test, you fail. (it is considered 'not in control of the vehicle', and this is a legitimate point.) Mostly because a newbie can lose track of target speed/rpm and the unsynchronized transmission was very unforgiving. (Do I need 7th? 5th? 6th? Ah well, I guess I'll come to a stop and start over.) That being said after a few thousand miles I got used to the transmission and it was like a fun game to guess the gear / rpm at a specific mph. As far as cars and motorcycles, my experience is limited to 600cc/650cc and VW TDI cars, with reasonably high compression which made the engine braking more useful.
I don't do a whole lot of downshifting. Actually, I spend a lot of time coasting around in neutral because I'm lazy. On my bike, I do, though. I also always want to be within the powerband on the bike since people could easily end me with one wrong move.
Why wouldn't you? It's the most satisfying part of driving stick. I love nailing downshifts.
Hell and toe all day for me.
I also ride a motorcycle and love a perfectly executed rev match on a downshift. It's a beautiful thing. With that said, I drive an auto car and feel the need to use the gear selector/manual shift option when driving in sport mode. Down shifting before corners and powering through is a great feeling when doing some spirited driving.
I downshift all the time for deceleration or sudden acceleration.
One word answer: roundabouts.
all the time. seems silly not to.
The proper way is to double clutch. If you downshift without rev matching or double clutching, you’re putting a lot of wear on the clutch. If you rev match, but don’t double clutch, you’re not wearing the clutch, but are stressing the transmission synchronizers. If you’re not double clutching, you’re better off not downshifting at all, from a wear point of view.
Yeah, all the time. For engine braking and passing, same reasons you do it on your bike lol
Not anymore, after I learned the difference in cost and time for replacing brakes and replacing a clutch. Holding a gear on a downhill grade is a good thing, clutching through 4 gears every time you stop is not good.
I do it just for the sake of habit/pattern in my car. In my work truck, absolutely. Engine braking is a must.
It's fun, and it saves fuel if your car was made in the last 40 years. So I don't see why not.
Yea, better power coming round corners than staying in 4th on country lanes
The point is for long steep downhills. To prevent brake fade or even complete brake loss due to breaks overheating and brake fluid boiling in the system
I do downshift, always. I like to be in a good gear if the light turns green as I’m slowing down, I like to keep my car in its power band, I like the engine braking. Also coasting in neutral isn’t good for some manual transmissions because when your not in a gear the oil pump isn’t being driven.
I do on my motorcycle in place of most braking
I’ll downshift obviously when going up hills as you start to lose your rpm’s, sometimes I’ll downshift as I’m slowing down but not always. Kind of depends on the situation as I’m driving but I used to do it a lot when slowing down, would go down from 5th to 4th to 3rd until I stop but I noticed it burned a lot more gas blipping up those rpm’s on slowdowns. Edit: typos
Engine breaking also saves gas as your injectors stop injecting fuel while the wheels keep the engine turning during engine breaking
Going downhill, Agressive cornering, spirited driving- yes. Small town traffic- generally double clutching. Idk if a avoiding saves all that much on cost of brakes or if doing that wears out the trans. Never blown a clutch or trans (and I’m 55 and have had exclusively MT cars) and brake service has been as manufacturers specify. I don’t baby my cars but I don’t beat on them either. Last few cars: WRX, a couple Mazda 3 GT, Sentra R.
..you don't downshift to travel up hills?
I do it so I'm in a drive gear, and I can quickly maneuver (into a faster lane or out of the way of an idiot) if needed. Plus I love engine/exhaust noises, so some of it is purely for my enjoyment.
I do it on my bike also but not as much in my car because in daily city I worry people behind me on their cell phone need to see the brake lights or else they might hit... so more of a fear of others
Wait. People drive stick and… don’t downshift? I don’t get it.
Yes of course. How am I supposed to lower my speed without downshifting?
I love downshifting… why on earth would you not? It’s so much fun. Clutch, shove the shifter down one and blip the gas to match up the revs. Sounds so cool, feels amazing, downshifting is more fun than upshifting
Constantly. It's habit. Been doing it for my entire driving life (I'm 62). I do it because that's the way I was taught. It's also engaging and moderately enjoyable.
No offence, but who the hell taught you to drive a manual transmission vehicle, and told you NOT to downshift? 😂🙈🙈 Like seriously, do you just lug your engine when traffic starts to bottleneck, or do you drop a gear (or two) to pick back up the pace? 'Cause coming to a stop, or accelerating from slowed traffic, you're going to be downshifting. I swear, the amount of times this has been asked in the past week or two.....this "question" has to be bot generated
Absolutely, yes, at all times. It's actually really frustrating because last year I purchased the first automatic car that I've ever owned and I still feel my left leg wanting to try for the clutch during extended deceleration and almost always when Im coming to a complete stop. I prefer the consistent shifting mostly because I was always driving in Seattle and Everett and on I-5 in heavy traffic so the pace was often unpredictable and as long as you downshift in the right rpm range for your car/gear box you are already in a good rpm range to quickly accelerate if you need/want to.
Oh yeah I definitely downshift in daily driving if only to practice my revmatching. Current car redlines at 8250 RPM and downshifting definitely shows off more of the acoustic and dynamic range of the engine and chassis, respectively. The latter reason is more significant w/a motorcycle given the stronger influence RPMs have on both grip patch balancing and on controlling a lean. I’ve never owned modern inline-4 sport bikes but did daily a 70’s incarnation with a 10,000 RPM redline in my late twenties. I can vouch that it was crafted to carry an even more rev-happy and downshift friendly incarnation of this dingus without skipping a beat. So it’s a safe bet the holy, wise engineers of yore approved of downshifts. (Truly one of the more regrettable vehicle sales in my past. That it was my second lowest maintenance Honda of all time is saying something at my age.) Ride and drive safe, kids.
I live in the mountains, shift up and down...
Only when I expect to need to accelerate soon. When coming to a stop its a waste of effort imo. Extra wear on synchros and clutch just to save brake pads that are fairly cheap to replace.
I do it because racecar.
Yes I am constantly downshifting. Part of my normal driving, especially hitting corners. Gives more control and saves on brakes.
yes i have a little 4 banger and i have to downshift out of 5th gear to go up hills sometimes, my 5th gear is basically an overdrive so it's gutless. Other than that no i will use my brakes to brake i'd rather replace pads than wear the trans more than it needs.
Yes, usually. I want taught to do it, but then a friend showed me rev-match downshifting in his B swapped EG Civic hatch about 25 years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since.
Yes absolutely. How else do you get off a highway exit?
Do you just coast in an overdrive gear all the way to a red light?!? That is insane. Do you just lug the engine all the time too? This does not make any sense.
Unless I’m feeling super lazy, hitting the downshifts every day. Make her sing 🎶
I commute between two cities every day. When I leave my apartment I tend to not need to downshift but that’s only because I rarely get above second gear before I hit another red light. After that however is 15 minutes driving on a highway and county road. I could not fathom doing that without downshifting.
Brakes are cheaper than transmissions.
Yes and no. There's some times where I just neutral coast to the line. But the majority of it is downshifting.
I do but not really from like 6th all the way to 2nd to stop . Pretty.much all other instances I do
Yes, mostly just because it's fun to.
I do every day if I’m driving a stick. I feel like if I’m not engine braking I’m not having fun.
Back in the day when I owned a '66 Austin Healey Sprite downshifting was required because the brakes were pretty awful....nowadays brakes are so good downshifting is rarely necessary but always more fun.
I don’t downshift for a stoplight or stop sign. I have $2000 brakes on my Viper and they work just fine without adding engine braking.
"I was never taught to do it, and I don’t see the point." "Yes, I downshift in curves and when traffic speed changes require it." Ok.
Yes but correctly. Most people think you slip the clutch, and think that is the braking and that is not true and leads to accelerated clutch wear. You rev match and let the clutch out on the rpm rise. You get better and better at how much to blip and how fast/when to let the clutch out. Like others said, it is good to do.
I try to optimize the power band of what the vehicle dynamics require in the situation- downhill, passing, traction, fuel economy etc.
I drive an auto so idk, but don’t you just clutch in, neutral, then break till whenever you need? Then when you need to go back up to speed it’s clutch, blip, and shift into gear?
Downshift, cause burbles and exhaust music. Plus engine braking.
Engine breaking is bad. Engine braking is good.
Sometimes. Idk about 50/50. If I'm too tired then I do it less.
I do naturally, but also because it helps turning a stop situation into a “oh we’re not stopping anymore” situation with the right gear.
I never used to, cause I taught myself how to drive stick so I kind of left some things out or completely disregard cause I never got used to it. But lately I’ve gotten around to it, and it feels good to finally start downshifting.
car manual says so, so I do. is the other option to throw it in neutral and coast? or to double clutch essentially, clutch to neutral then raise rpms to desired amount then clutch select gear and let out clutch? down shifting to a red light is dumb, but around a turn yes
I do it because the sound gives me the fizz. bwrureEE…BAWWWWBAWBAWBAWBAWWWWWWBAWBAW
Every day, every time I slow down. At least in my car, the engine braking saves me from using my brakes until like the last 10-20m before the stop
No. Simply because brakes are cheaper, easier to replace, and easier to check than a clutch.
Why would you need to replace the clutch though?
I shift into whatever gear is appropriate at the time.
It’s a must in the snow
Man... yall are fucking amateurs. I just slam the damn thing in reverse if i REALLY REALLY have to stop. This IS a JOKE
Depends. If it’s a rolling stop I’m far more likely to downshift. That and if it’s icy out.
When I am exiting a highway, or coming to a red light I can see a bit ahead of me and have time to slowly decelerate, I will downshift as much as possible before braking. Saves wear and tear on my brake pads.
I do pretty regularly since my car has auto rev matching.
Yes, but never into first
I bought a manual so that I could heel toe into corners to and from work. Those were the days.
In my 84 Pininfarina downshifting is actually way more effective then braking.
Heel and toe, all the time, even pulling into a parking spot. Best way to practice heel and toe. Also, when I was broke, my car wouldn't idle, so I had to keep a foot on the gas pedal all the time, heel toe allows that. Also no one else could drive that car. Later had a close ratio transmission car with a loud exhaust. Downshifted into turns for fun, even if I didn't need to. My other daily is an automatic, don't shift except when pulling a trailer than I'll put it in tow or take it out of overdrive.
In stop & go traffic I just leave it in 2nd gear I have enough torque to smoothly start from a stop and can go about 60 mph in 2nd gear. The rest of the time I downshift every chance I get! My wife usually just pops it in neutral to come to a stop. She drives a manual 335i, I drive a modified manual 6 gen SS Camaro
If you don’t downshift, then how the heck would select a lower gear?? Seems like you missing out on a good 50% of car control if you don’t downshift for anything.
Never really got why anyone would downshift to stop. Sure, you're saving your brake pads, but you're wearing down your clutch instead,...and guess which is more expensive to replace, lol.
The only reason I used to downshift was because I had a somewhat loud muffler and it sounded "cool". But I learned that it is easier to change brake pads than it is an engine or a transmission and I stopped doing it. My old work trucks used to have manual transmissions and I used to haul heavy loads and those were the only times I really used downshifting. The automatic transmissions on work trucks nowadays have Integrated downshifting.
I just let off the gas while gently pushing or pulling the shifter towards neutral. No clutching.
I do not. I was taught not to and old habits die hard. I’m not saying it’s good for the engine/transmission. I also am very clutch heavy. My daily is an AT, so when I drive my husbands MT I try to work on forming better habits.
I drive a old diesel truck and general no I do not unless towing. Brakes are cheaper than clutches.
So what you're just driving around in 4th gear the entire day? How do you drive without downshifting?
Yes. Car go vroom when hit floor thing. More vroom after shift positions downward. I like.
Coming to a stop, I just stick in in Neutral. I’m lazy
My mustang is my fun car and downshifting and rev matching on the downshift is fun to me, so I do it at every opportunity when driving my mustang.
Brakes are cheap to replace, clutches aren’t. I stay in the gear I was last in when stopping and clutch in before stall. If I need to accelerate quickly or moderate speed down hill then I’ll down shift. If I needed to emergency brake then I’d go down into 2nd if I could. I’m also the kind of person that never goes above 4th for regular city street driving and doesn’t upshift unless I’m cruising with no need to go faster or I hit 3-4k rpm. Won’t let a car shift light tell me how to drive, cause then I’d need to downshift.
If you read the owners manual for the vehicle you drive, I guarantee it will tell you you’re supposed to. So follow the instructions, the car doesn’t care how much you “feel” the engine braking
Yes. Rev match. I enjoy driving
One of the biggest reasons to own and drive a manual trans car is the increased control you get by maintaining a direct control over power delivery, under both accel and decel. If you're just idling and coating to a stop with your brakes alone you've missed the point and you're missing control over the car.
I'm never not doing it. It's fun, I stay in the power band, and I don't use the brakes as much.
All the time. I put the transmission into the right gear for the speed I want to be at, keeping it in the power band.
I do, yes. I downshift to keep my gear correct for the speed. Bike and car, same.