How to slow down - brakes or down change gears?

LittleMissAspie

I was taught to use both gears and brakes, and so I have always done that. Obviously on a motorway I would only use brakes because I'd still be within the span of 4th gear, but around town you have to switch between 2nd and 3rd all the time so I go into 2nd coming up to junctions or queues.

Coming off a motorway, some of the slip roads are really short around here and you have to slow to 30mph very quickly so I would go into 3rd around 35-40mph to help me slow down.

Surely by braking, then stopping braking, then changing down, your car would be rolling along by itself while you press the clutch? If you brake and change gear at the same time you are always in control.

vikingaero

In a hire car I use the gears. When I brake I use the brakes hard.

In our own cars I drive with the gentle touch.

Money_Grabber13579

turtlemoose wrote: »

hmm I was taught by my driving instructor to come down through each gear in conjunction with braking.....and was told by my instructor it not only saves wear and tear on the brakes, but results in a more 'controlled' stop. Not sure if that is true tho, but I have always done it that way!!!

Funny that.

Mine told me just to sink the clutch and brake!

Although now, I would use the brakes gently and go down through the gears, but only if I was coming off a motorway of dual carriageway. T'would just be silly at traffic lights on a normal road!:D

Money_Grabber13579

vikingaero wrote: »

In a hire car I use the gears. When I brake I use the brakes hard.

In our own cars I drive with the gentle touch.

That's why you never buy a hire car when the company disposes of it!:D

Money_Grabber13579

negg wrote: »

... but automatics don't change down until they really need to at very low revs - they do not use engine braking to help stop the car.

Well you can't really do anything about that, can you?:p:rotfl:

smcaul

Brakes every time, they are designed to stop you, gears are designed to drive you.

Also, in a car when you slow using the gears (in the majority of cars anyway) you are acting on the front wheels only, using the brakes acts on all 4 wheels, coming from a background of driving artics using brakes acts on six axles (12 wheels) using the gears would act normally on only one axle (2 wheels), so it's a no brainer really.

Want to keep control use brakes, want to risk unbalancing the vehicle use the gears!!

thecableguy12

a friend of mine insisted on using gears to slow him down, in the end his gearbox went bang! now he gets the bus to work, i just use the brakes

vikingaero

negg wrote: »

... but automatics don't change down until they really need to at very low revs - they do not use engine braking to help stop the car.

It's possible on some automatics to change down gears. Some make it easier than others. On cars with straight gates on the automatic gear boxes you can pull the shifter down to 3, but with a straight gate there's the risk of moving to 2 by mistake. On other cars with staggered gates it's easier or with Tiptronic +/- shifting.

On my wifes Corsa if I want to engine brake then I press the "S" Sport button which locks out 4th gear and places the engine in 3rd gear. Then press S again to go back into 4th.

tomstickland

Both, depending on circumstances.
With normal driving then I'll use the gears for gradual slowing and add the brakes in when necessary.

Premier_2

derrick wrote: »

The IAM,(when I did it a few years ago), taught the "brakes to stop/slow, gears to go/accelerate, they had a saying "Can My Safety Be Given Away", (from the police advanced manual, "Roadcraft"), interpreted as; -
C = Course, the course you intend to take, (forward thinking).
M = Mirror, check if it is safe to take that course, (i.e. lane change).
S = Signal, is a signal necessary,(may not as there may be no one about or to who it might be an advantage to).
B = Brake, to the speed you will need to go through the course.
G = Gear, once down to the correct speed for the course, select the appropriate gear to go through.
A = Accelerate, through the course.

The word course can be substituted for the word hazard, which could include parked vehicles a corner etc.

Also that for controlled safe braking, this should be done with both hands on the wheel and in a straight line.

...

This is exactly how the Institute of Advanced Motorists advises on how to drive modern motor vehicles and is in line with the method police advanced drivers are trained.

The reason it was traditionally taught to slow down using the gears was that vehicle braking systems were far less effective many years ago. however, with modern developments in car design, and braking systems in particular, the brakes are fully designed to be effective and durable enough for most braking requirements.

Roadcraft does still advocate the use of a lower gear to provide engine braking when decending a long steep hill.