Source: http://www.edmunds.com/advice/youngd...0/article.html

As for my personal driving habit, I just shift to neutral when I know I'll be coming to a full stop.

 

My own personal driving experience disputes that article.

I've never replaced a clutch in any vehicle------ever.
I've replaced lots of brakes over the 39 yrs I've been driving. I maintain they would have been replaced even sooner not using the engine for a brake in the many cars I've owned that have had a manual transmission.
It flys in the face of logic to say otherwise.

I don't even feel shifting to neutral is a safe thing to do. It may be against the law, actually.
It used to be when I started driving.

Do you put your automatic transmission in neutral every time you come to a stop sign, too?

 

Well, I've been driving for 39 yrs or so.

I have never had the slightest problem with a clutch failing or having to be replaced--------ever.

I've had many manual transmission cars over the yrs.

Guess that's all I have to say on that.

 

wow really wonder what the truth is behind this topic - interesting thoughts and cases on all sides....

I wonder how my method is?...keepin it in gear (5 or 6) and slowing with the brakes and just dropping to Neutral when revs and speed drop very low (1k or 15 MPH)......? Would that at least be like a "middle grounds" method between 'dropping to Neutral at the higher speed' and 'downshifting before the stop'.... I will admit being a newer M/T driver and not having PERFECT downshifts is something I am guilty of so I kind of fall in that category where downishifting each brake - I would probably just wear out the clutch more that way.....

 

i would just shift into neutral and brake from there. why do we need the engine to brake for us anyways? isnt that more wear on the engine doing that?

 

-Always stay in gear.

-Neutral actually has no resistance, it allows the car to coast much further than if you were to leave it in gear. Do not put in neutral until youre at about 10mph.

- I downshift into 3rd and that is as low as I go, 3rd has plenty of engine braking "power".

-You should NOT be in 5th traveling 20-30mph, thats f*cking absurd, you are lugging the sh*t out of your engine.

-As mal_tx previously posted, if the rev's to a different gear are 1K in difference or more, ALWAYS rev-match.

-Use your engine to brake, it is perfectly healthy for it.

 

Somebody said to me years ago "do you want your $5000 engine to slow you down or your $80 brake pads. Makes some basic sense. Why put unnecessary stress on your drivetrain when you can just pop it into neutral and use your brakes?

 

Because there is nothing wrong with using your engine to brake. Your "$5000" engine will not "break" if you use it to brake.

 

^^ +1, I just want to sigh when I hear this stuff. What you guys are saying is that you think the engine being turned by the drivewheels is somehow bad for it. The engine is MADE to turn. Using it to "slow you down" is less stressful than accelerating with it.

The "which would you rather replace" logic is fully broken. People are telling you that because they assume that your idea of using your engine to slow down is to shove the stick into 2nd at 60mph and then let the clutch out from 1000rpm slowly over the course of like 10seconds while the car slows down due to the resistance forced through the clutch. That's moronic and nobody's advocating that. Using your engine to slow down means:

1. Leaving it in whatever gear you were already in but releasing the gas pedal
or
2. Rev-match downshift (NOT double-clutch) to gear that puts you at about 4-5k rpm and then release gas pedal.

Defined as above, there's nothing wrong with it, it will not put "extra wear" or "stress" on anything, and it WILL save your brakes. The G37 has a good amount of engine braking. If I'm in a residential area going 35mph, 2nd gear will take me down to about 15mph pretty quickly without using the brakes.

 

As many above have stated, use your engine to help you brake. Neutral is not your friend unless you are being towed, pushed or completely stopped with your brakes applied.

 

Haha all good stuff to know. The neutral wearing out your brakes definitely makes sense. I'll start getting in the habit of downshifting more often to slow down...I've been getting better at it too!

 

the above is what I do...but the way I do it is - I leave it in the gear Im in and release the gas pedal and when the car slows down typically to around 25 MPH and then drop to Neutral and continue braking to the stop....Question is - since I am not downshifting - the the tension/power of 5th/6th gear good enough for "engine braking" from 50+ MPH to a complete stop? Frankly Im a little lazy to downshift to 3rd every brake but if its detrimental to wear/tear I would do it.

 

No, 5th gear does not have enough resistance to efficiently engine brake.

Some of you guys tho, are making it seem like driving an MT has STRICT laws you must abide by or else your car will blow up. Follow the general guidelines, but then adapt your driving style to your local streets/environment. This isnt a one size fits all kinda deal. You dont HAVE TO downshift EVERY SINGLE time you are coming to a stop. You use your own judgment, and thats it. Aside from the rules of driving an MT correctly, why are people making this so difficult? As Ive stated before, MT's are very robust and durable pieces of mechanical machinery. Unless your in 6th gear doing 120mph and you put it in 2nd, one little slip up here and there is not going to cause catastrophic damage. Learn the basic primary guidelines to driving an MT correctly and efficiently, then match it up to your driving style. Some of these things are common sense, plain and simple. Can you guys honestly not feel non-resistance the neutral gear gives? This is certainly not rocket science.

 

Engine breaking is actually wears down the clutch. Now, what would you rather replace? A clutch or some brakepads?

 

Well said-

And there you have it-