[T3h_Clap]

Originally Posted by 2slow2curious

Ever see the signs on hill to use a lower gear.
Engine breaking has nothing to do with the clutch except to change the gear.For example i was coming down a steep enough road after snowboarding traffic was heavy i left it in third gear all the way down never had to brake once till the end.Didn't use the clutch either so no wear.didn't use the brakes so no wear.I engine braked all the way down .
Now does that harm the engine is my Q?

nothing wrong with that, and define harm.

what are you comparing it to?

Cruising on hwy vs staying in 3rd going down hill?

[escos]

Pardon the crap-a-pedia link but,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_braking

[prerunrigg]

all being said i agree with what the clap has to say. but as for my own beliefs, i believe that brakes are a much less costly thing to replace and submit to daily 'abuse' than the motor EVER is. not to say that day to day driving is anything close to abuse for these cars. downshifting and engine braking when thinking youre going to accelerate soon again like when in intermittent traffic is something i do but to downshift to slow down instead of just hittin the middle pedal a little harder? its a no brainer to me. in any sign of traffic stopping i kick it out of gear and hit the brakes... saves gas too, all that downshifting and high rpms to slow down is also wasting that premium(crap) gas that's 3.50 per gallon these days... i dunno take from it what you will it's only my opinion

[cusco]

if there was a stop sign coming up and no car infront of me or behind me and im in 4th gear going 35MPH i put it in N and let it cost and break little by little so you don't wear out the break pads that much. i don't do that fancy downshift stuff.

okay..so my right turn is coming up and im in 4th gear again going 35MPH and i break while still in 4th and slow down to 10MPH and i downshift to 2nd to make that right turn... i don't need to rev match or nohting like that right??

[chrono]

I slow down, downshift into a lower gear (such as second), rev match, then take off when I exit the turn. Of course this is down pretty quick. The best way is to do heel-and-toe, which makes things way more fun because you can do it in a sequence. These are just lil things to learn to make driving your manual car more fun.

[V8Huntr]

Originally Posted by T3h_Clap

what situations are you talking about?

I personally do it on a daily basis, but only to assist in braking. I don't just rev match and ride the idle down, I rev match then get on the brakes too.

It seems like you're dead set against engine braking tho. As far as the comment on either being on the brakes or gas on the track, have you ever seen the video of Gary Sheehan driving where you can see his feet. He's heel toeing and revmatching and braking into almost every corner. I'm no race driver and I don't claim to be, but I do know that engine braking should be used to assist in braking, and also to get yourself into the right gear to exit a corner.

When just driving on the street, it is still useful to assist in braking either just to slow down or to come to a complete stop. Also like 2slow said you can use it to hold a gear on a hill.

I do agree with you on the efficiency of using the brakes versus using the engine to brake. Your brakes will stop you much faster and they are cheaper to replace if they wear, but it is pretty useful to engine brake to assist in braking as well.

[ilikepie]

This thread is all messed up. Why would downshifting and engine breaking have any wear on the clutch? I engine break, as well as use my breaks at almost every stop I come too. Lets say I'm crusing through town at 40mph in 4th gear. I see cars up ahead stopped at a sign/light. I downshift to 3rd and start lightly using my breaks while leaving my car in gear until the RPM's drop enough to where I need to put it in neutral and then use the brakes the rest of the way. Or when I'm on the highway cruising at 80mph and get off, I slow down a little bit in 6th until my rpms drop, then downshift to 4th let out and slow down more, then maybe one more downshift to 2nd and do the same. Why would you want to use just your brakes and wear you brake pads down faster? I have 52k miles on my car and I'm still running the original brake pads.

[T3h_Clap]

Originally Posted by ilikepie

Why would you want to use just your brakes and wear you brake pads down faster? I have 52k miles on my car and I'm still running the original brake pads.

b/c brake pads cost 1/3rd of a new clutch, (yes every time you let out the clutch you are causing more wear then you would if you didn't let out the clutch). And brake pads take 1hr instead of 6.

hmm, remind me not to buy your car when you sell.

[T3h_Clap]

Originally Posted by V8Huntr

It seems like you're dead set against engine braking tho. As far as the comment on either being on the brakes or gas on the track, have you ever seen the video of Gary Sheehan driving where you can see his feet. He's heel toeing and revmatching and braking into almost every corner. I'm no race driver and I don't claim to be, but I do know that engine braking should be used to assist in braking, and also to get yourself into the right gear to exit a corner.

when he is heel toeing, he isn't letting the clutch out every gearshift he goes through, so say it's back straight 6th gear down to 2nd for turn one.

it's heavy on brakes, downshifting through the gears (without letting the clutch out), then rev match for the corner, then back on the gas.

when i said only on gas or brake i was referring to when you're IN GEAR (not in neutral and clutch let out).

oh well, dead horse here, if you guys are ok with adding extra wear to your drivetrain to save your brake pads more power to you.

[ilikepie]

Originally Posted by T3h_Clap

b/c brake pads cost 1/3rd of a new clutch, (yes every time you let out the clutch you are causing more wear then you would if you didn't let out the clutch). And brake pads take 1hr instead of 6.

hmm, remind me not to buy your car when you sell.

I rev match my car when I downshift, so minimal clutch wear, and like I said, I dont downshift through every gear when I slow down so I dont push in the clutch but usually 1 extra time. I leave my car in gear as much as possible.

[T3h_Clap]

Originally Posted by ilikepie

I rev match my car when I downshift, so minimal clutch wear, and like I said, I dont downshift through every gear when I slow down so I dont push in the clutch but usually 1 extra time. I leave my car in gear as much as possible.

lets do some math, how many times do you come to a stop per commute to work?

then multiply that by 40 times per month, then 11 months (assuming you get a month off).

hey, i'm not the one who gets to replace the clutch earlier then necessary.

I beat the **** out of my clutch enough with Autox that i'd rather be nice to it on the street.

[ilikepie]

So when you get off the highway at 80mph, do you just shift you car into neutral and begin braking?

[ilikepie]

Back to the original question, Will engine braking hurt my car answer, NO. And if you downshift properly, you will not put much stress on your clutch

[T3h_Clap]

Originally Posted by ilikepie

So when you get off the highway at 80mph, do you just shift you car into neutral and begin braking?

nope, i use the brakes to get to the speed i need to be.

and depress the clutch when it's time to start clicking down through the gears, if i forsee the need to be In gear to either accelerate or maneuver i will get in gear, other wise the clutch is in, and the shifter is in the correct gear so if need be all i need to do is blip the throttle and let out the clutch to acellerate.

I only actually shift into neutral and let out the clutch when I know for sure i'll be stoping.

I never actually let out the clutch to be IN GEAR unless I will need to, but at least the gear lever has the correct gear selected in the event i do need to do exactly that.

[T3h_Clap]

Originally Posted by ilikepie

Back to the original question, Will engine braking hurt my car answer, NO. And if you downshift properly, you will not put much stress on your clutch

if you engine brake from 7k down to 5k and down shift every time so you're back at 6k or so every time you go back in gear that is more wear than you would using other forms of SLOWING DOWN.

but as you said before your way keeps your $200 brake pads for longer