Downshifting for stops

I was wondering when you guys come to a stop, do you just put it into neutral and step on the brakes or do you start downshifting to slow yourself down? I used to downshift to slow down before I start the brakes but then I stopped doing that because I was thinking that it'll wear my clutch down quicker. As a result, I figured it'll be cheaper and easier to replace brake pads than a clutch so I just pop it into neutral and brake. What about you guys? What do you do and what are the advantages of one over the other? Just curious....

downshifting is wear on the clutch and wastes your gas more than anything whereas using your brakes just wears out your brakes faster

I put it in neutral and stop...

now my brakes were going for a while so I used to downshift, and brake with no clutch, and poped the clutch back in before the RPMs got too low... that made the car break pretty damn quickly... I only did that though if I had to stop really fast.

downshifting is wear on the clutch and wastes your gas more than anything whereas using your brakes just wears out your brakes faster

That is actaully incorrect. Engine braking saves gas from what I have read. And downshifiting to slow down is not THAT hard on your clutch. Our old Dakota had 167k miles on the STOCK clutch and it was engine braked its entire life. Engine braking is easier on the car than just popping it in nuetral and hitting the brakes.

not to mention, many states in the US require you to downshift. neutral coasting is against the law.

on the other hand...

here in MN, a local guy got a ticket for it. the cop said he was revving. ticket was for exhibition. he challenged it in court. never heard what the outcome was.

^ WTF man, that I just don't understand... from what I know, all the auto cars put the car in neutral when you take your foot off the gas, so everytime you take your foot off the gas and you have an auto you're braking the law...

my dad talked to me about this, and he said that in the old carburator cars it used to wear out the carburator or the piston rings prematurely or something....

im a little confused about downshifting to stop saving you gas. i would think that because you are reving it a couple times before stopping rather than letting it go down to idle, its using more gas.

The injectors shut down basically.

Rocker your dad is nuts. :lol:

^ROFL!!!!


well sometimes he tends to get ahead of himself, but sometimes he knows what he's talkin' about... I guess this just wasn't one of his times though... :p

^ WTF man, that I just don't understand... from what I know, all the auto cars put the car in neutral when you take your foot off the gas, so everytime you take your foot off the gas and you have an auto you're braking the law...

my dad talked to me about this, and he said that in the old carburator cars it used to wear out the carburator or the piston rings prematurely or something....

automatics dont go in neutral when you let off the gas. often times they go to the highest gear to keep the revs low. plus the fluid in the torque converter allows the wheels to spin at different speed then the engine. you you drive an auto, coast in it while in gear, then pop it in neutral. you'll notice a big difference in the drag created by the drivetrain

but I'm no expert. i could be way off base here.

automatics dont go in neutral when you let off the gas. often times they go to the highest gear to keep the revs low. plus the fluid in the torque converter allows the wheels to spin at different speed then the engine. you you drive an auto, coast in it while in gear, then pop it in neutral. you'll notice a big difference in the drag created by the drivetrain

but I'm no expert. i could be way off base here.
You are basically correct. Autos gear down to aid in slowing you down.

even at that, you can engine brake in an auto... though I hear that can be rough on the tranny... but my buddy does it in his 2004 all the time...

If you dont want to wear out your clutch or syncros just double clutch. That way you can still engine brake, without the extra wear. You may notice this is less effective because you are truely engine braking instead of braking by using the inertia from the engine.

even at that, you can engine brake in an auto... though I hear that can be rough on the tranny... but my buddy does it in his 2004 all the time...

ouch. I tried e-braking in my mom's 2001 accord (auto) and it jerks so hard it feels like i'm running over school children. makes for an uncomfortable ride.

but I e-brake in my '92 olds (auto) all the time because my brakes dont work so well..... so into second gear at 55, and into 1st gear just under 40 hehehe, i beat the hell out of that car. but it runs perfect 200,000 on the clock

^yeah, those olds are built... they take one hell of a beating... my neighbors got one... and I don't know how that things survived... but aside from a dead battery/bad alternator... it's still running strong....

I've always downshifted when stopping, injectors shut off because there's no A to add F to (or very little), so you save gas and brakes...a lot of times I can downshift to almost a stop before touching the brakes, but usually I just use the brakes to set up the next downshift so I can get off them as quickly as possible. I don't care about clutch wear too much, those cheap $100 Ebay clutches work great and are about the same price as replacing pads/rotors for me, cuz I can install it in just under 4 hours now on my back...can't say the same for a TT though.

true... and thankfully, I learned how to do my own clutch ... finding new ways to save is awesome... specially when you can do the work yourself...

Despite it being very little wear on the clutch and synchros (i double clutch religiously), I'd rather put wear on brake pads, so 95% of the time I put it in neutral and brake.

i thoroughly enjoy downshifting to brake...especially when there are cars behind me :). and when i'm in heavy stop-and-go traffic, i won't shift higher than 2nd gear, drive her at 5-25 in 1st or 25-40 in 2nd, and just engine brake when slowing down. i HATE clutching in traffic. and i bet the people behind me hate me b/c they probably think my brake lights don't work or something. but if they know i'm engine braking, then they probably hate me even more for not using my breaks. i just think its pointless for all the people in traffic to accelerate and tap-tap-tap their breaks, accelerate again and tap-tap-tapuhroo.

plus, if left in a low gear, its always fun to romp on it to WOT when you have a few car lengths of space to move forward: its like ur leaving everyone else in the dust...at 10 mph!

^ROFL man I'd be scared shitless to do that, I swear man, the second I have any space some one always jumps in and goes slow as fuck

^ yeah, u cut me off... I ride ur ass... and keep my RPMs up.. b/c my exhaust is loud....