shakRpahX8

I was searching through heel/toe technique, since i'm trying to learn how to do it :p
it seems very hard.
Well anyways, I countered something about slowing down the car by lowering the gear is bad???
Oh my god if that is true then, i've been hurting my RX8 this WHOLE TIME!
I usually slow the car down by shifting down, because i don't know..i wanted to save break, and also the car seems like to slow down stronger and faster than the break.
I'm not just dropping the clutch on it, but slowly let go, then i can feel the car slows down and RPM goes up. Nothing harsh and "jerking"
somebody please tell me if engine break is bad for transmission, so i can quickly change the habit of mine...I'm so worried right now.

BlueFrenzy

Why oh why? You want to save the brake?? It's SO much cheaper to replace our brakes rather than the transmission/engine. Are you one day going to use the brakes for some super stunt?

Sure the engine may seem to have better stopping power but our brakes are actually quite good (also dependent on your tires). What kind of situations warrant you to need to stop so quickly? Are you blasting through school zones at 100km/h and need to come to dead stops in less than 50meters? I doubt it, so please please just use the brakes. That's what they're designed for, no?

916mph

Engine braking is not specifically bad for the transmission, or the engine, however it will apply wear & tear to both.

If you drive around in 1st gear at 8000rpm for 1000 miles, or 6th gear at 2000rpm for 1000 miles, you'll put the same mileage on your car, but you will put more wear on the engine (and the oil) at 8000rpm... this is analagous to engine braking... it really is just wear and tear on the engine (although it does save some wear and tear on the brakes, so some people think it is worth it).

grinn253

Mikelikes2drive

uhmm... i think its REALLY bad for your car when you are engine braking but downshifting by not rev matching...

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

^yeah basically you're using your CLUTCH to slow down the car

clutch replacement or brake pads replacement, hmm I wonder which one I'd prefer...

guy321

It's not good to break your engine, then you need to buy a new one and your car won't run! :o :p

MrJynx

So engine braking is bad.. Now what if you downshift around 2-3k(that's what i do)?? I normally downshift because what if an emergency happens and you need to get out of the way and your in neutral. regardless of what people say you still need a sec or two to shift into the proper gear and then have the ability to drive on. At least if your in gear you don't have to play with shifting and can focus on saving your ***..

maybe my thinking is flawed, if it is let me know. and i'll start making that damn sqeeky nasty shitty brake pad sound to the lights from now on


MrJynx

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

downshifting to put engine in proper rpm for power is fine, as long as you don't use it as the PRIMARY braking technique like what shakRpahX8 is doing...

went_postal

WTF are you guys smoking? EVERY M/T car that I have ever had I use the gear box to slow down. Do you guys ride the brakes going into a 90 degree turn and then downshift after you are through the turn? I don't. I down shift going into the turn.

Now... downshifting and pushing the RPMs to 9000 would be stupid. That kind of nonsense is fine in Need for Speed... But not in real life.

I downshift to slow down in all my cars... I typically get about 100k out of my clutches.

shakRpahX8

guys I don't downshift and push the RPM to 9000.
The highest i go is is about 4k
well thanks for the thoughts guys
i'll use break more often

CowWong

Hi guys, I don't own an 8 but I do drive a manual...Using gear shift techique is only good when you drive on a slippery road (snow) to stablize the car better.
From what my brother says, doing this also uses more gas cause you're causing the RPG to go really high.
But personally I don't down shift it, just wears out the transmission.

Glyphon

OMG!!!!!111one

i just found out that when i step on accelerator, gas actually gets into my engine!!!

that can't be good for it. it might cause a fire or explosion




:p

BlueFrenzy

You must drive like a madman doing 90degree turns and not have to use your brakes. So from what I gather when you downshift, you don't touch the brake to slow down and rely on the engine braking (ie not heel toe downshift). I think that most people use the heel-toe before a turn ... hence usage of BRAKES to slow down. You hit the brakes to SLOW down before the turn, gas to rev up the engine to match the speed you are SLOWING down to and clutch to engage the lower gear.

Guess you're lucky to get 100K out of your clutches/transmission. Tell us when your 8's clutch/transmission needs to be replaced.

Mikelikes2drive

and i think when the OP is downshifting he's not rev matching... w/o rev matching you're just killing your clutch. and yes everyone downshifts before going into a turn but you gotta properly rev match and brake to do it (i.e. heel n toe)

zoom44

what "they " are smoking is the TRUTHuse you brakes to slow the car coming up to the turn, then rev match shift to the gear you want to exit the turn in. you dont use the brakes thru the turn but BEFORE the turn to get down to the proper speed.

it is ok and prudent to shift down to 2nd then 1st when coming to a complete stop in case you need to accelerate because of an emergency

Emsdad

I use engine braking. I have always used it, never had any problem. The key is to match the rpms though. Blip the throttle, get the rpms up to where they will be in the lower gear, and let the clutch out.

I'm not sure how it works, but in the BMWs I've owned, the miles per gallon gauge goes higher when I engine brake instead of just putting it in neutral or holding the clutch in.

TEW Rotors

It is ENGINE braking we're talking about, not clutch braking. Agreed, if you were to half-way engage the clutch to slow the car down, you'd be doing a lot of damage. But, engaging the clutch safely with rev matching in a lower gear and cutting the throttle is an effective way to slow the car. There might be a slight bit of extra wear on the clutch, but it is negligible. Like others in this thread, I've had several MT cars, used engine braking with all of them, and have had no clutch problems.

salituro64

All this talk about down shifting to slow down or go around a turn. What about when you drop the car two gears on the highway and punch it (for quick acceleration)? Isn't that doing the same thing?

BlueFrenzy

So those of you that engine brake, you rev-match/downshift, then you are letting your foot off the gas and letting the RPMs drop you down to a slower speed. Correct? To me this seems like a VERY inefficient way to slow down. But I guess if you're comfortable with it.

Zootx8

So those of you that engine brake, you rev-match/downshift, then you are letting your foot off the gas and letting the RPMs drop you down to a slower speed. Correct? To me this seems like a VERY inefficient way to slow down. But I guess if you're comfortable with it.

It's nothing more than anyone would do, get in the gear (rev match and engage) you should be in if you needed to accelerate after the braking or slowing, then don't give the car gas and let the higher gear work with the engine to slow things down, now if it's not slowing quick enough for your particular situation, then use the brakes. An automatic transmission downshifts automatically when you start slowing down as well so it's really no different.

ezrider55

I hate waste so I rev match and down shift for controll . also I can get my ms flywheel and clutch sooner. :D

Emsdad

Actually it's more efficient than just pushing in the clutch and stomping the brakes. From your response to those of us that engine brake, it seems that you use no other way to slow down besides your brakes? So when you see a red light you continue at the same speed until the last possible minute and then hammer the brakes, as your only way of slowing down? Or do you coast? This actually consumes more fuel than engine braking.... all engines require fuel to continue running at idle, but if you engine brake the cars computer cuts off all fuel when above idle and no throttle.

So like I said, engine braking is more efficient than either coasting, or slamming on the brakes.

Food for thought.

Emsdad

Obviously I posted the above before I read the thread on coasting, which made my point for me!

BlueFrenzy

See from what the other fellows were describing, it seems like engine braking fellows are the ones NOT using the brake. I'm the one that's asking engine-braker's if they use the brake (not vice versa). Besides, Zootx8's clarification of engine braking was pretty good.

Why would you assume that I stomp on the brake last moment at a red light? You missed another method is slowing down which is ... when I see a redlight, I press on the BRAKE to slow me down while in gear then shifting into neutral to coast for the last few meters. If anything, I think my method is more efficient in fuel usage as I don't need to rev-match during the DFCO (by a very miniscule amout). I guess the only difference between engine-brakers and non-EBers is the downshifting and reliance on the transmission for stopping power.

My comment was mainly geared towards went_postal when he commented that he doesn't use the brake while going into a turn and relies on engine braking alone to slow him down. I personally use heel-toe technique for a turn so obviously the BRAKE is being used for turns.