when i'm driving a stick shift and begin to brake, i just shift it to neutral. a friend of mine noticed and he says i should leave the car in gear and brake until like 10mph then shift it to neutral. he says that way i won't be putting so much pressure on the brakes because the gear is also helping to slow down the car. i didn't even know that made a difference. i asked another friend and he says it doesn't matter and said if anything, leaving it on neutral will save you gas because whenever you're in gear, the car is feeding on gas. which one is better for the car/transmission(or overall)?

 

shifting into neutral? just depress the clutch...

 

dude..... he is asking about engine braking.


alrightys, think of what brakes are designed to do, stop the car, wear out, and be easily and cheaply replaced. the engine on the other hand, is a very complicated and potentially expensive repair job. I say you got it right the way you are driving.

yes you can use the engine to slow you down a little more, i think automatics do it to an extent (the 96 and newer i think actually downshift while going down hills so that you don't speed down them.... source: http://www.edmunds.com/reviews....html )
but brakes are cheap, use em, use the engine to just make the car go instead of go and stop, its less wear and tear.

 

samething, one of my friend only use engine braking on the slope.

that's the way she was taught how to drive-controlling the throttle on the slope to hold the car in place

 

You don't need to shift the shifter into the neutral position, just push the clutch in and keep the shifter in gear until you stop. Then move the shifter into the neutral position. The reason I say this is because what if something happens and you need to react quickly. Your already in gear so you can react quicker. But if you were in neutral position then you have to find a gear, by then it might be to late and your in an accident. Not that its your fault but something you have been able to avoid. Just my $.02

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TouringAccord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You don't need to shift the shifter into the neutral position, just push the clutch in and keep the shifter in gear until you stop. Then move the shifter into the neutral position. The reason I say this is because what if something happens and you need to react quickly. Your already in gear so you can react quicker. But if you were in neutral position then you have to find a gear, by then it might be to late and your in an accident. Not that its your fault but something you have been able to avoid. Just my $.02</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes, that would be the best way to do it. i usually down shift to 3rd and put the clutch in and if i need power for some reason i can let out the clutch and i got 3rd gear for power. then i go into neutral once a stop. i also believe the DMV discourages you from rolling in neutral too because you lose ability to power your wheels. they actually don't like it when you shift to neutral once your already stopped at stoplights either.

i agree use the brakes to slow down unless you are driving fast and need to slow down quick. brakes are cheaper than a clutch/tranny.

as for gas saving of using neutral, the car is still running whether you depress the clutch or put it in neutral.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KGAccord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

yes, that would be the best way to do it. i usually down shift to 3rd and put the clutch in and if i need power for some reason i can let out the clutch and i got 3rd gear for power. then i go into neutral once a stop. i also believe the DMV discourages you from rolling in neutral too because you lose ability to power your wheels. they actually don't like it when you shift to neutral once your already stopped at stoplights either.

i agree use the brakes to slow down unless you are driving fast and need to slow down quick. brakes are cheaper than a clutch/tranny.

as for gas saving of using neutral, the car is still running whether you depress the clutch or put it in neutral.

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I agree with kgAccord. I basically follow the same thing he does. With the way poeple drive today such as talking on cell, speeding excessively, and in general being morons i believe it is best to be prepared for the situation in case it arises.

 

Yeah, sorry dosmastr, I meant to say just depress the clutch instead of shifting the car into neutral, for the reasons mentioned by TouringAccord and KGAccord. If you shift into neutral, you lose the ability to quickly get your car out of the way of something. And about the DMV discouraging rolling in neutral, I know that locally at least, it's illegal to be driving with the car in neutral on a public road. As far as shifting into neutral at a stop, I only do that if i know it's a really long light Usually holding the clutch in isn't too much of a strain.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KGAccord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
they actually don't like it when you shift to neutral once your already stopped at stoplights either.
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Now that you say something, I do remember reading something in one of those how-to-drive books from the DMV that you are supposed to shift into first once you've stopped. You're not supposed to let the carsit in neutral. If you do that during your road test you either lose points or fail, something like that.