Was taught it was best (safest) to slow to a stop by downshifting through third and second, then clutching it when stopping and placing it in neutral until starting forward again.

I'm hearing that others just put the vehicle into neutral and use the brakes only to stop. They cite wear on the clutch (vs brake pads) as the reason.

I'm not talking about walking it down to first when stopping, and I keep the revs well in check when doing so, as a result so I'm not sure the wear is any different than covering the distance in gear acceleration.

If the red light one is approaching turns green then one has to rev-match again to go anyway. If some bonehead on the road is on their phone and starts doing something stupid then if one is in neutral that would delay the active response to escape the potential situation.

What does Sigforum say?

Downshift through second, always in gear until coming to a stop. There is only wear on the clutch when the pedal is moving. I had a 94 accord that went 260k on the original clutch.

Besides, how else you gonna practice heel and toeing?

It's been almost 10 years since I've had a manual. But I always downshifted as you described.

I am of the same mindset. One should be in a gear in case acceleration is needed. Being in neutral doesn't provide that option.

Click and Clack talked about downshifting and advocated the neutral approach with the thought that brakes are cheaper than a clutch. While the cost aspect may be true, I respectfully disagree from a safety perspective.

I am also in gear with the clutch in at red lights and stop signs. I can rev and dump the clutch if textingsoccermom is going to rear end me.

I’ve always gone straight to neutral in mine. And I’ve never had to put a clutch or transmission in any of my manual equipped cars even after nearly 300,000 miles on one.

For me it depends on the situation.

If I see a light turn red or I'm coming up to a stop sign, I'll shift into neutral and coast to a stop with brakes.

If I'm coming up on a turn or another situation where full stop is not required, I keep the clutch in, coast using brake as necessary, and downshift as speed drops to the appropriate gear - keeping the clutch in all the while.

I don't use the engine as a brake for everyday driving. Mountains and other like instances are a different story.

Back in the day, downshifting was used because drum brakes sucked.

Nowadays, for me, I down shift because of habit and because I like having torque and power available in case it's needed.

I suppose I consider brake-ware but I've never considered clutch-ware. But I also don't/didn't drive a vehicle which might have bottom-of-the-line brake pads and clutch.

Years ago a mechanic friend asked me, "Would you rather do a brake job or a clutch job?"

Frankly, I've done it both ways but got into the habit of going directly to neutral when coming to a full stop, or to the appropriate gear for a roll-through.

I haven't had a manual in a long time.

I could write a book on some of the fumb ducking things being taught today by "driving instructors."

Tell me, do you put the car in neutral when decelerating and turning a corner? No, you downshift. So why put it in neutral when coming to a stop? And what happens if your "stop" all of a sudden becomes a "start" again? You've now got to choose which gear to use to resume.

My first full time job out of high school was working on a formula car race team. Even at the tender age of 17 I learned to "match revs" (engine RPM) with shift points, and could seamlessly shift gears without using the clutch. The only time my car was in neutral was when it was idling.

Downshift as you described. You should never be “coasting” a vehicle.

When I rode a BMW R90/6 (motorcycle, single-disk in front, drum in back), I just dropped anchor and hoped it caught in time.

Always downshift.
Had a roommate that would just drop to N & coast/brake.

Explained that, by downshifting while slowing, you were already in gear if you needed to make any kind of acceleration or avoidance maneuver.

Edit: Agree with others, downshift to 2nd in a car.
On the bike(s) I'll downshift to 1st while slowing/stopping. Usually leave in 1st with clutch in (obviously), rather than shift to N, unless it's a really long light/train.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P250UA5,

Still have a 6-speed manual transmission now. I strive for smoothness. As a passenger, nothing worse than a herky-jerky ride (are you listening sweetheart?). Yeah, I downshift, but not always all the way down to second. I use a combination of shifting and brakes to make deceleration as smooth as possible.

I'm in neutral as I stop, wiggling to shift lever to make sure that I can safely declutch when stopped. I'm not going to sit there with the clutch pedal pushed in.

Through turns and other times I would not be required to stop, I usually down-shifted. For stops I'd push the clutch, brake, and down-shift as my speed decreased, finally going into 1st about the time I came to a stop. But, for stopping, I did not use the drive train for braking. The clutch stayed depressed throughout my down-shifting.

I always rev match down shift. I have owned many manual transmission cars and only replaced one clutch. The replacement was my fault for not keeping it adjusted (72 Datsun).

You want a challenge perform a smooth rev match downshift into 1st gear.

1.5 million miles in a big semi.

The reason to downshift as you are decelerating is to keep the transmission synchronized with your speed. It takes a lot of experience to know what gear goes with what speed, and getting it wrong really stresses the synchros. Big trucks are semi-synchronized, so you must speed match every downshift. Without double-clutching, you won’t get the gear.

Holding in the clutch doesn’t wear the clutch. It works the throw-out bearing. Slipping is what wears a clutch, often caused by people driving and using the clutch pedal as a foot rest. In a truck, you never just coast out of gear. If you let the truck come to a stop while out of gear, you’ll have to engage the clutch brake to get back in gear. I always drove my manual vehicles the same way; always in gear by downshifting.

quote:

Originally posted by SPWAMike0317:
I am of the same mindset. One should be in a gear in case acceleration is needed. Being in neutral doesn't provide that option.

Click and Clack talked about downshifting and advocated the neutral approach with the thought that brakes are cheaper than a clutch. While the cost aspect may be true, I respectfully disagree from a safety perspective.

I am also in gear with the clutch in at red lights and stop signs. I can rev and dump the clutch if textingsoccermom is going to rear end me.

I also recall the Magliozzis reminding us that brakes are cheaper than clutches. I drove manuals for years, and ususally used the brake technique. You can always quickly put it into the right gear and give it the gas if needed. The split second you save if you are already in gear with the clutch out is unlikely to be the difference between life and death.

Coming to a stop, I push the clutch pedal in, hit the brakes, and put the shifter into 2nd. While dropping below 10mph, I put the shifter into first. At no point do I release the clutch pedal until I want to start moving again. On my car 2nd is good from 10mph to 55mph.

I did sort of the same thing on the track with the motorcycle. At Brainerd for example, coming out of turn 2 at 125mph in 5th heading to turn 3, pull the clutch in and brake at marker 5, tap the shifter 3 times to 2nd, release the clutch, turn in, roll on the throttle through the turn. Half the time, the back wheel would come off the ground while braking, so engine breaking would have been useless. The other hald of the time, letting the clutch out at each shift would upset the motorcycle.

On the other hand, if I were trying to save my brakes like AJ Fort and Dan Gurney in the 1967 LeMans, I'd quit driving it in deep, quit braking late, and use some engine braking.

Last thought, if you are slowing down slow enough that you can hit all the gears on the way down, you aren't really taxing your brakes. This assumes regular car/motorcycle, not semis or trucks towing whatever.

While marginal, MPG increases slightly in gear.
DFCO - Deceleration Fuel Cut Off. Cuts fuel while slowing in gear. In N, it is still pumping fuel to keep the engine at idle.