How to slow down - brakes or down change gears?

chickmug

shandypants5 wrote: »

To be honest... itwould depend Who it was.:D

I don't drive like this so does that mean I am not a youngun?

By yunguns I meant all the 12 year olds that drive the police cars around my town.:rotfl:

I must be an oldun 60!

Am I safe on the roads either with the younguns or the olduns:eek:

shandypants5

chickmug wrote: »

shandypants5 wrote: »

To be honest... itwould depend Who it was.:D

I don't drive like this so does that mean I am not a youngun?

I must be an oldun 60!

Am I safe on the roads either with the younguns or the olduns:eek:

60!! I am suprised you build up enough speed to have to worry about slowing down.:rotfl:

tomstickland

I'd say that the best way is to use your brakes, but also change down the gears so that if you wanted to apply some power you could.

Barneysmom

chickmug wrote: »

I am male and feel that going down through the gears is silly. Interesting though it was the men doing as I do but all the females doing the down through the gears?

You'd be halfway across the junction before you stopped if you went through all the box

daveyjp

Going through the gears may save brake wear but how much is a new clutch compared to brake pads?

I was taught "Brakes to slow, gears to go" and it's seen me good for over 25 years of driving.

harveybobbles

A good driver would drive by anticipating the road ahead. Thus not needing the brakes unless it was for 'mergency.

Or drive like my OH...

GO. STOP. GO. STOP. GO. STOP... Nothing inbetween.

The fuel computer read out drops when they use the car and the wheels are black...

chickmug

We had two autos in the house so this issue never arose but have now bought, for my wife, a smaller geared car. I enjoy having a go in the geared car, especially the 53.6 MPG, but am more at home in the auto.

Throbbe

daveyjp wrote: »

I was taught "Brakes to slow, gears to go" and it's seen me good for over 25 years of driving.

Seconded.

By anticipating you should be able to slow to the correct speed and change gear ready to go by the time you reach the hazard/give way/whatever you should then.

BikerEd

The answer is it depends - but generally my approach is to approach in the gear I have selected, scrub off speed using a combination of engine braking and brakes and then select the right gear to accelerate away.

From a financial perspective it could be argued that brake pads and disks are cheaper to replace than gearboxes and clutches so use the brakes in preference to anything else.

As an advanced driver/rider I slow my vehicle using engine braking by anticipating the obstacle (e.g. roundabout), using the brakes to scrub off more speed if I need to, and then select the right gear prior to accelerating / applying power. You should always be in the right gear for the speed you are going to ensure optimum throttle response and this gear should give you ample engine braking if you anticipate the obstacle in advance.

Most cars don't have sequential gearboxes like bikes do so you don't have to go 5-4-3-2-1 you can go 5-3 if that's most appropriate. Even on a bike you can do a block change, so I may approach in 4th but I'll do a quick change from 4-3-2 before accelerating away in 2nd (without ever engaging 3rd gear).

Ebe_Scrooge

I agree with the others - it used to be advisable when brakes were prone to overheating and failing. These days that's not such an issue. It's true that using gears will reduce wear on the brakes, but new brake pads are an awful lot cheaper than a new clutch. I personally tend to use a combination of both - and I get a sense of pride when I've given lifts to friends etc. and they've commented on how smooth my driving is [ smug smile :-) ].

It's definitely worth knowing how to use gears to slow down though - even with modern brakes, it's a good idea to use a low gear when going down a long hill, and also when driving on ice or any other slippery surface you need to be very very careful how you use the brakes. Using the gears will help to stop the wheels locking, and give you better control.