Engine braking question

[Rupert]

No point, other than 'cause it's kind of fun and good rev matching practice.

[Cookie Monster]

No point, other than 'cause it's kind of fun and good rev matching practice.

Yeah, I only do it to practice rev-matching. Otherwise I use the brakes - that's what they're there for.

[giant_mtb]

I'm a downshift kinda guy if I'm slowing down from a highway speed to a stop and I know I'll have plenty of room to stop.  Putsing around town, though, at 28mph/1200rpm in 4th gear, I'm just gonna put it in neutral and coast/brake to a stop.  And of course, sometimes downshift needlessly just for the hell of it.  Always a good feeling to be driving home late at night doing 60; you know no cars are coming, so you rev-match down to third and take a nice ride to 90-95.  Also while slowing down, too, though.

[MexicoCityM3]

Engine braking is very useful in the non-performance driving world. That's what it means to put the car in a lower gear as you head down a steep mountain pass, for example. You shouldn't ever really be shifting down to slow down for a curve or stop light, though I do sometimes, just for shits.

I agree on the steep mountain pass. But that's the extent of the usefulness of engine braking.

[2o6]

I agree on the steep mountain pass. But that's the extent of the usefulness of engine braking.

Snow and ice?

[MX793]

Snow and ice?

I generally try to minimize downshifting for the express purpose of engine braking in slick conditions.  It can lead to either the front end side-stepping in a FWD car or fishtailing in a RWD.  I don't push in the clutch every time I let off the throttle to remove all engine braking, but I also don't downshift to slow down as I would in dryer, higher traction conditions.  I pretty much only downshift to prevent the engine from stalling.

[hotrodalex]

No point, other than 'cause it's kind of fun and good rev matching practice.

My brakes will last for years.

[S204STi]

I generally try to minimize downshifting for the express purpose of engine braking in slick conditions.  It can lead to either the front end side-stepping in a FWD car or fishtailing in a RWD.  I don't push in the clutch every time I let off the throttle to remove all engine braking, but I also don't downshift to slow down as I would in dryer, higher traction conditions.  I pretty much only downshift to prevent the engine from stalling.

Right - you want to be in the correct gear, but avoid lurchy movements unless you are doing it intentionally to try to change the attitude of the car.

[280Z Turbo]

You don't use the engine for braking, that doesn't mean that you go into a corner with the clutch in. You downshift as necessary during braking, that's what heel & toe is for.

Oh well, then we're on the same page.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Yeah, I heel-toe nearly every shift all the time. I got nothing better to do than pretend my Accent is a race car.

[Rupert]

I agree on the steep mountain pass. But that's the extent of the usefulness of engine braking.

Any downgrade steep enough to gain a bunch of speed, really. I use it a lot on steep logging roads.

[Rupert]

My brakes will last for years.

But your clutch...

[AutobahnSHO]

Brake job is cheaper than clutch replacement....

(Although I do downshift-messaround in Miata)

Downhill on steep hills at 45mph+, I throw the van from D down two clicks to 3 and usually don't have to brake at all. It'll hold whatever speed, 45-65mph..

[Soup DeVille]

Snow and ice?

Not a good idea generally- but just for the reason that the engine is not connected to all the wheels, and the brakes are. 4 wheel braking > 2 wheel braking. That's all there is to it. The rest of this talk about enequal length halfshafts is just piss in a rainstorm.

[2o6]

Not a good idea generally- but just for the reason that the engine is not connected to all the wheels, and the brakes are. 4 wheel braking > 2 wheel braking. That's all there is to it. The rest of this talk about enequal length halfshafts is just piss in a rainstorm.

Whats wrong with using both?

[Eye of the Tiger]

Whats wrong with using both?

Nothing, if you know what you're doing. But you obviously don't, or you wouldn't be asking.

[giant_mtb]

Whats wrong with using both?

Nothing.

[Soup DeVille]

Whats wrong with using both?

Nothing.

[AutobahnSHO]

Nothing, if you know what you're doing.

+1

Just gotta go play around with it and learn how what does what.

[giant_mtb]

Nothing.

Something.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Something.

Everything.

[giant_mtb]

Everything.

Blasphemy.

[Rupert]

Not a good idea generally- but just for the reason that the engine is not connected to all the wheels, and the brakes are. 4 wheel braking > 2 wheel braking. That's all there is to it. The rest of this talk about enequal length halfshafts is just piss in a rainstorm.

On the other hand, I'll downshift on a slick hill to control speed when I would leave it in a higher gear normally, but that's not really any different from what I was saying above.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Blasphemy.

Sparta!

[giant_mtb]

Sparta!

This...IS...NOOOOOOOOT!!

[S204STi]

Yeah, on a side note, dude needs to just go out and toss his car around an empty lot sometime.  You need to know what happens and why, from first-hand experience.

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah, on a side note, dude needs to just go out and toss his car around an empty lot sometime.  You need to know what happens and why, from first-hand experience.

Just gotta go play around with it and learn how what does what.

Absolutely. I'm going to take my kids messing around as they are learning to drive. Gravel roads, weird uphills, have them take an exit ramp too fast then hard brake, etc...    As controlled as possible to push the limits some. Without that, you never know what to do in an emergency.

When I was a squad leader in Germany it snowed so hard we had to cancel a lot of training out in the field. I posted a 'guard' at the motorpool entrance (big fenced area where they keep vehicles and generators, etc...) then we got in the 2.5ton truck and when and did power slides around the corners. (we were only supposed to drive 5mph there but we got it sliding really good at 20mph because it had rained then frozen then snowed...)    Many of the Soldiers had never driven on snow and didn't know what it was like to have the back spin around.



Looking back on it now, I could have gotten in SOOOOOOOO much trouble if we had broken anything!!!

[S204STi]

Meh.  I think you made the right call... if I were your LT I'd take the blame for it.

[2o6]

Yeah, on a side note, dude needs to just go out and toss his car around an empty lot sometime.  You need to know what happens and why, from first-hand experience.

I was just asking if a persons theory was plausable. Where do you get the impression that ive never driven in snow before? This is my third car with my third winter.....


The driveshaft issus sounded plausable, but it didnt really mesh up with my personal exeprience.

[Cookie Monster]

Absolutely. I'm going to take my kids messing around as they are learning to drive. Gravel roads, weird uphills, have them take an exit ramp too fast then hard brake, etc...    As controlled as possible to push the limits some. Without that, you never know what to do in an emergency.

wat

So you're going to let an inexperienced teenager (already a terrible driving statistic) "mess around" on public roads by taking turns too fast? Not only is it extremely unsafe to do that on public roads, the fact that their father is telling them to mess around and drive too fast is just going to make them terrible drivers.

Plus as teenage drivers, they'll do all the messing around on their own.