Defenseplaya69

Ive been driving stick for over a year and i would always downshift before i would stop like 4th then 3rd 2nd then neutral should i shift the way ive been on my car or should i just stop then put it into nuetral without shifting down every gear.

D4u2s0t

downshift to slow yourself.

chipmonk212121

dont downshift, because most people cant downshift correctly and mess stuff up lol

YellowG5

Hell, just depress the clutch, throw it in N and then slow your self with the brakes...that is why they are there, ain't it??? Now if you can properly Down shift then yes, keep doing it, but remember, these AIN'T diesels with jake brakes, they don't have the compression ratio to slow the car down like trucks have...down shifting only works when you have a motor that is good at compression braking...

Try this, get in your car, and while in N rev it a good couple of times...if it falls back to idle quick, then you have a motor good with compression braking. Now if it is anything like my 2.2 in my G5 where it takes FOR EVER to de-rev then NO, you don't have a motor good with compression braking, you are just putting undue wear and tear on your clutch, flywheel, gears, and rotating assembly. Do your motor a favor and lay off the compression braking down shifts while stopping and just put her in neutral and use the brakes like they were intended.

It does no harm to coast to a stop, most Automatics use this feature nowadays anyways. When not on the gas the Torque Converter usually unlocks making the auto "automatically" shift into N, even though it is still in gear. You don't feel an auto down shift, only when hitting the gas.

denn454

iTrader: (1)

I work through the gears and don't use the brakes until I have to. It saves the wear on the brakes, and if done right doesn't wear on the clutch either. But if your not being nice to the clutch and matching rpm's then you'll wear it out faster than usual, and a clutch costs a lot more than brakes.

so it depends on you.

artawesome

downshifting to brake will wear out your tran faster. brakes area lot cheaper to replace then a new trans. brake normally and wait to the last minute to brake. if it looks like your going to take off while braking, downshift into the right gear and your on your way!

ted5986

just use your brakes. even when you downshift 'correctly' you are wearing the clutch. a set of pads and rotors is cheaper and easier than a new clutch and flywheel

leeserlee

you can rev match while down shifting to slow yourself down, if you do this properly that wear on your clutch is almost non existant

sealy

eh...i rev to match the rpms. to me, it seems to come natural, i dont think about it anymore. i downshift all the time, no jerky jerk.


hot damn leeserlee you knew what i was going to type!

AZCobalt19

When your doing 50, don't even touch the brake.. Just down shift into 1st..

But seriously..

Sometimes I engine break and sometimes (most times) I just pop her in neutral and
coast to a stop.

YellowG5

WTH is ya'lls problem with the downshifting, you ain't racing the damn thing, your driving, only down shift to the gear desired when you are accelerating! Did you NOT read my post?

That comes from listening to the knowledge of a very close friend of the family who is an ASE Certified Trans Technician.

I really wish you people would realize these ain't RICERS, they are American brand CARS not built for stupid **** that honda's and toyota's are "supposedly made to do"...Yes you can race them, but racing a car down the drag strip or on an autoX is different than downshifting on public roads...Completely different

Get in, drive from point A to point B, and use the BRAKES, they are a HELLUVA lot cheaper to replace than a clutch, Flywheel, Barrings, Slave Cylinder, and trans fluid...

God gave you a brain, USE THE ******!

I'm tired of people going, "oh, it is so much easier to use the trans to slow the car and brake when I downshift", then a couple years down the road, "I don't know why my trans is acting up"

Do us all a favor and use the brakes, the less you have to do trans work, the cheaper the price of ownership of your car will be in the long run.

denn454

iTrader: (1)

Yellowg5, I do agree with you in some respects. I know i'm not driving a honda, and there is a reason for that. I don't think hondas are able to handle anything any other car can't. I don't drive like a "ricer." my cobalt is merely my daily driver and its treated as such. So your friend is an ASE certified tech. thats great (no sarcasm here) I have a friend who is also, my dad was an ASE master tech years ago. I have personally never bothered to get any kind of certification in the subject because I have no desire to work on anyone else's car, but I have been through more trannys and engines than I care to count; So I think I know what I'm talking about.

down shifting, IF DONE RIGHT, causes negletable wear. This implies double clutching, NO not the ricky racer stuff from fast and the furious, but letting everything in the engine, fly wheel, clutch, pressure plate, gears, etc. etc. synchronize with eachother. The only thing this wears is the throw out bearing, and only while the clutch is pressed. Yes there is wear in the clutch also but i would guess it would be close to 1/50 of the wear as a normal gear change. this is because if everything is synchronized there is little to no slipping.

If someone shifts by slipping the clutch to make things smooth there is defiantly unnecessary wear, and if thats the way you shift then by all means, go to neutral and use the brakes. considering this is how most every one has learned to drive its best that most people use the brakes.

Its effectiveness can most defiantly be questioned. Its not incredibly effective but does get the job done if you are planning ahead and not just standing on the brakes at the last second like so many people like to do.

I will not change how I drive. I know i'm stretching the life of the brakes, but also the clutch and fly wheel by not causing them any extra wear than they need. as for the engine and trans, its not making they do anything they aren't designed to do. they are still spinning (below 3k 95% of the time for me) and have clean oil flowing, thats the "secret" to long life.

Florida 76

yep thats what i do

.

Blown 4-banger

Do whatever you want, I downshift a lot, and don't listen the people who say it wears your clutch. If you get good enough you can up shift and down shift without using the clutch at all. I do it all the time and never grind gears. How can the clutch wear if its not being used
The secret is rev matching...

CloudyDaysBehind

I agree with some, I feel it is better to brake while in gear until you are near stopped, then release the clutch, rather than downshifting.

SoloZ/SS

First off Diesels do not produce vacuum, this is due to the lack of a throttle. Diesels are control by the amount of fuel that is injected into the cylinder. On big trucks a Jake brake or other Diesel engine brake systems close the valves in the engine to make it into a large air pump or in some other cases they have a valve in the exhaust that shuts off the exhuast flow either way doing the same thing. You way of figuring out if the car has good compression is the weirdest thing I have read on this site in a while.

Using engine braking on a gas car(because most diesel cars don't have engine brakes) will lengthen the life of your brakes, will naturally leave your car in a gear in case you need it to be(I know your going to tell me it doesn't take me too long to put it back in gear) because accidents do happen in split seconds when your not expecting!.

lol I just realised something you said up there diesels don't have compression ratio lol that is the funniest thing I have heard, they have higher compression ratios then any gas engine I have ever seen. Like I said up there the only reason you don't get engine braking in a diesel is because of the lack of a throttle and lack of vacuuuuuuum.

if you other guys want to downshift while coming to a stop there is nothing stoping you, it is safe, your in a gear incase something happens around you you can accelerate away if of course that is a way out of that situation.

dedecv3

You guys are forgetting that sometimes downshifting makes you look cool.

05REDROCKET

Thank you Blown! Yellow G5 ur wrong downshifting is fine!!! Automatic transmissions downshift for **** sakes, its called don't ride the clutch.
Downshifting can't do anything to the gears in your tranny all it can do is wear the clutch, and only if you don't do it properly. I have an 05 SS/SC with 55,000Km and I throw it from 5th to 2nd all the time with no wear! Maybe the clutch in your 2.2 can't take it but don't tell SS drivers that theirs can't
The secret is rev matching... And don't ride the CLUTCH!!!
Oh yeah your cars revs in neutral take forever to come back down because of the Gm tune the cars come with!
ALL GM CARS DO THAT EVEN THE Z06!!! Its to help stop wear and stalling problems

SoloZ/SS

Hehe just because a person is a mechanic doesn't mean he knows everything about driving, he may very well know everything about cars(he should teach you more by the looks of it).

The ricer comment is stupid, it doesn't matter if the car is a Honda,Porsche,BMW etc when it comes down to actually driving the car the ideas are all the same so I would suggest that you don't give anymore suggestions on how to drive a manual car(of any make) also you don't need to double clutch lol I don't know why people keep mentioning it.

chevysalesman614

in my ss s/c with zzp 2.9" pulley, the revs drop like a hammer.
i think it may be ok for me to do... but i'm still not going to.

JohnnySasakiMGS

Lets say you are decelerating from 50 mph and you DO NOT downshift (put it in neutral and coast). And you are at about 30mph and the need arises for you to quickly accelerate and dart out of harms way? Hmm lets see, your engine is at about 800-900rpms {idling}. And all of a sudden you need to be in a low gear high rpm. Yeah, lets hunt to find the right gear in a panic and not rev match to the proper rpm. Boom you're in an accident. Everyone has said it "Revmatching is key" and its true. The wear is minimal to your car and its they way standards should be driven.

PolishPauL

So how do you rev match? I wait till my car is at about 2000 rpms and downshift a gear. I think i ride the clutch. Not exactly sure what that is but i like to let off the clutch slowly when downshiftin or startin off from a stop. I only give a tiny bit of gas when i start from a stop because im still new at this stick thing but im gettin better. Am i messin up the clutch by usin it to start off?

alleycat58

Might be a good thing to mention that in MOST states it is illegal to "coast" to a stop with the car in neutral. Mostly a safety issue for trucks, but it's still enforceable for cars as well. If something were to happen in front of you and you don't have the car in the proper gear, it hurts your ability to avoid the situation.

denn454

iTrader: (1)

I'd like to see that in black and white somewhere. I see some logic behind it but it would be nearly impossible in enforce. How do they know i was in neutral or over drive? they can't know that... Around here in places its illegal for trucks to use their jake brake unless it has an approved muffler, its a noise thing. dumb in my oppinion but like it or not its the law for them.

zomghax

They are also forgetting how friggin cool it sounds with an exhaust