[donman]

I know that down shifting is easier on your brakes but I think Id rather replace my brakes more often then to have the extra wear and tear on my transmission and engine.
Let me know what you guys think or do.

 

[pcfrisch]

Couldn't agree more. But I don't shift into neutral when coming to a stop.
Drove manuals for 33 years. My 1997 Chevy S-10 currently has over 100K miles on the OEM clutch.

 

[ZMoneY]

It's kinda situational for me. Id say I go to neutral more then i downshift.

 

[WhiteBird00]

Engine braking has no appreciable effect on driveline wear - or on clutch wear if you match engine/transmission speed while downshifting. But putting the car in neutral while stopping is a potentially dangerous thing to do. Even if you don't release the clutch to take advantage of engine braking, you should still be changing gears so that if you need to accelerate (say because of the truck behind you that isn't slowing) you just let out the clutch and go.

This is the same reason I always leave the car in gear at a stop light until I'm sure the car behind me is stopped. I'll accept a little extra wear on the throwout bearing for the ability to get out of the way quickly if I need to.

Besides, I've been doing that (and engine braking) for 40 years and never had a throwout bearing go before the clutch and get 80K plus miles out of a clutch.

 

[jimmbbo]

Up until yesterday, I would agree that neutral was my method of choice for the same reason... however, just to confuse the issue, there is a similar post where a responder indicated that when coasting in gear, the fuel is cut off, while in neutral, fuel is still being provided to the engine...

Was unaware of that, but it makes sense in the never-ending pursuit of the holy grail of CAFE standards... Have not confirmed if the engine does that, but with gas at $4 a gallon, how much idling would it take to offset the difference?

 

[donman]

I guess i should have added keeping the clutch in while slowing/stopping in the poll.

 

[OAC_Sparky]

Engine braking has no appreciable effect on driveline wear - or on clutch wear if you match engine/transmission speed while downshifting. But putting the car in neutral while stopping is a potentially dangerous thing to do. Even if you don't release the clutch to take advantage of engine braking, you should still be changing gears so that if you need to accelerate (say because of the truck behind you that isn't slowing) you just let out the clutch and go.

This is the same reason I always leave the car in gear at a stop light until I'm sure the car behind me is stopped. I'll accept a little extra wear on the throwout bearing for the ability to get out of the way quickly if I need to.

Besides, I've been doing that (and engine braking) for 40 years and never had a throwout bearing go before the clutch and get 80K plus miles out of a clutch.

Correct, there are some good tips here that someone like myself that has been driving manuals for 28 years can appreciate.

A prudent (safe) practice is to ALWAYS keep the transmission in a gear range appropriate to the speed you are actually travelling regardless of whether you have the clutch in or not.

Meaning, if you normally have the car in 3rd as you accelerate at 30mph then as you decelerate you should be in third as you slow through the 30mph mark (coasting with the clutch in or while braking) in case the conditions change you can just let out the clutch and get out of the way.

Row up, row down. It takes practice and it takes familiarity with the car. You should never (in my opinion) be cruising in neutral out of gear; unless you are stopped at a long light and all the traffic is stopped behind you and your left foot needs a break.

And no, engine braking is not bad for your car as long as you try to match revs somewhat. For as long as I've been driving I've only replaced one clutch from wear; that was only because the engine was out anyways, it had nearly 100,000 miles and it had 1/3 of the clutch life left and it was "free" to install I only had to pay for the actual clutch, it should be good for the rest of the car's life ...

 

[nsadams87xx]

I'm trying to get better at rev matching and the ol' heel toe. It's a work in progress and gets a little interesting at times. :yelwacko:

 

[Swingout]

Hell, I down shift even though mine's an automatic :bigthumbsup

For my dad down shifting was religion (we always had manuals), and I guess I've just grown up with it.

While I'm not sure about the Mustang, the other cars I've had cut the fuel to the engine while engine braking (as long as the revs were above a certain limit). If I watch the fuel consumption meter in the display while engine braking, then it goes all the way down to minimum. So I guess the Mustang cuts fuel as well :smartass:

 

[Hood1964]

Sparky hit the "nail on the head", same here!

 

[calchan]

I usually don't shift into neutral, just in case some shitdick pull out of no where and i need to move out of the way.

 

[tryk]

I'll downshift while stopping, but I'll often put it in neutral while waiting for a long light.

 

[5.0ben]

I commonly engine match when downshifting as well as go into neutral coming to a stop depending on the situation.

 

[donman]

Well its 17 to 15 in favor of down shifting. Its mostly people who down shift that are posting messages. I guess us guys who throw it in neutral are embarrassed to admit it.

 

[2VipeRS]

Great information! I have always hit the clutch and held it in neutral and slide it into first just before I stop. My camaro's clutch still feels as good as it was at 40k miles as it does now at 100k miles, so as far as clutch wear i'm doing alright.

I will have to try out downshifting now knowing about the gas line cutoff. Thanks for sharing.

 

[nsadams87xx]

Well its 17 to 15 in favor of down shifting. Its mostly people who down shift that are posting messages. I guess us guys who throw it in neutral are embarrassed to admit it.

In all seriousness, it shouldn't matter though. I try to rev match as much as possible but there are plenty of times were I feel like neutral is a better spot, say if I feel like a situation might be unpredicatable. Yeah, I'm going to throw it into neutral and be ready for anything. To say that that one should feel embarrassed to admit neutral shifts is a little silly. Besides I think we all know it's better to brake lightly a little longer than to constantly pound on your brakes hard.

 

[Bud]

I scan ahead quite a ways for possible red lights and go into neutral and coast up to red lights. I drive 100+ miles a day to/from work so saving some gas there makes up for my blasts down highway on ramps, etc. If I can't evade somebody coming at me because I don't get back in gear quick enough shame on me, oh well.

 

[Ivan 5.0]

I downshift while slowing down then throw it in neutral while waiting at a light.

 

[donman]

I scan ahead quite a ways for possible red lights and go into neutral and coast up to red lights. I drive 100+ miles a day to/from work so saving some gas there makes up for my blasts down highway on ramps, etc. If I can't evade somebody coming at me because I don't get back in gear quick enough shame on me, oh well.

I 100 percent agree.....

 

[JimmyM]

I put it in neutral when coasting to a red light.

Around here, traffic is pretty heavy, so the only thing you'd be able to do is brake hard, unless you'd rather swerve into the car in the other lane.

Pretty situational though