Braking with the gears what ridiculous practice

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

tomstickland wrote: »

I took note of the sequence I used on my way home.


turning onto a T junction, 60ish down to 15-20.
5th, 4th, 3rd, then used brakes as well as engine braking to take speed down to 20mph, into 2nd when a few m from junction, then pulled away in 2nd

3 unnecessary gear changes that each caused a shift of the centre of gravity on the vehicle at a time when you only had one hand on the steering wheel. All to reach a gear that you could easily have selected by braking down to the correct speed, releasing the brake (so to balance the car before the gearchange), and then selecting 2nd gear.

Inactive

Correct PPPL, a waste of effort making all of those gear changes, quite simple, gears are for going, brakes are for stopping.;)

Inactive

Idiophreak wrote: »

Any links to support this?

I was always taught to avoid braking whenever possible on snow/ice...

You can do your own research if you do not believe what I say. Take a few IAM lessons, if you doubt me.;)

Of course all driving on snow / ice should be carried out with due regard for prevailing conditions, and should be driven in the most appropriate gear.

banger9365

using engine to slow down ,do it all the time,mite has well us it's bhp to stop you and it's free unlike fuel,there is no wear and tear it's the normal cycle of the parts ,there made for it
if you want a good example look at the hgv driver how they stop ,they us the engine all the time,
and using the gears they block change up and down ,not 1-2-3-4-5-6/6-5-4-3-2-1 put 1-3-4-5-6 or 2-4-5-6(it's best not to us 2rd in a car or hgv to set off)
i think is about time the "car driver"learned from the "professional driver"because we learn from the poeple that make the vehicles wheather car or hgv they all work the same and the same rules can be applyed to both

here you go you will egnore me or say i am a fool ,put there you it's life

pault123

Banger were talking about cars no HGV's! and also all this talk of engine braking is ok - i'm not disputing that.

The question

"Can anyone who drops down from 6th to 5th to 4th to 3rd, to 2nd to 1st simply to come to a stop - instead of using a higher gear with engine braking and then neutral gear and foot brake explain why?!!"

To clarify I want to know why someone would drop through the gears when coming to a stop. I've seen many people do it as force of habit, but why?

Let change the scenario...

You are approaching a red light, do you drop through all the gears to scrub off speed, OR engine brake as long as possible then use the foot brake and depress the clutch when the revs require so to avoid stalling?

vikingaero

I brake with gears in hire cars and my company car.

tomstickland

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

3 unnecessary gear changes that each caused a shift of the centre of gravity on the vehicle at a time when you only had one hand on the steering wheel. All to reach a gear that you could easily have selected by braking down to the correct speed, releasing the brake (so to balance the car before the gearchange), and then selecting 2nd gear.

Calling them unnecessary is a matter of opinion. Each change takes less than half a second so the amount of time with one hand on the wheel on a clear road was less than 2 seconds.
The amount of braking was minimal, plus even if the brakes failed I'd be under control.
If you control the engine revs on the downchange then the amount of weight transfer is minimal - no more than just gently lifting off the throttle. This wasn't some rally course with the car on a knife edge. It's RWD by the way, so engine braking will act to push the front of the car downwards.

If I was to make the brakes do most of the work I would have ended up doing 20mph in 4th which is a bit of joke.

Inactive

vikingaero wrote: »

I brake with gears in hire cars and my company car.

A very good reason not to buy an ex-company or ex-hire car.;)

Inactive

tomstickland wrote: »

If I was to make the brakes do most of the work I would have ended up doing 20mph in 4th which is a bit of joke.

I would far sooner pay for a set of brake pads than a new clutch, and possibly a gearbox.

Brakes are for designed for stopping, gears are designed for going.

tomstickland

TBH I don't really care if people think that engine braking is "a lot of work" or "an extra thing to think about", I do it because I enjoy it. I change gear a lot - with a reasonably small engine and a narrow power band I flick around between 3rd, 4th and 5th all the time, changing down to 3rd for corners so I can give it a bit a push on the exit, up to 5th for straights where nothing much happens.

In the interests of science I'll take some video today.