Down shifting or neutral braking?
Autocross Junky
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Originally posted by trashguy
AutoX and anyr acing is stopping and aclerating fast as the car can handle why maintaing smoothness :-D
AutoX and anyr acing is stopping and aclerating fast as the car can handle why maintaing smoothness :-D
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Rep Power: 359 I often times just neutral brake. I know how to and occassionaly downshift and brake. It allows me to slow down faster while not having to brake hard and send my passangers flying by the sudden jolt of the tires getting stopped. Do depending on the situation, I don't do either all the time.
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Originally Posted by pheaton
I often times just neutral brake. I know how to and occassionaly downshift and brake. It allows me to slow down faster while not having to brake hard and send my passangers flying by the sudden jolt of the tires getting stopped. Do depending on the situation, I don't do either all the time.
Originally Posted by Boilermaker1
You can't mess up your drivetrain if you know how to downshift. Its just the reverse of upshifting. Clutch, shift, gas to match revs, let off the clutch, then take your foot off the gas and let momentum slow you down. Won't do anything bad if you do it right, use the engines momentum with the brakes and you'll slow down smoother and waste less brakes. Now, in short stops and panics, by all means use just the brakes and kick it in neutral, but if you've got a light you know is red, just downshift and coast. Go down on the 5's....
4th at 55, 3rd at 45, 2nd about 35 (go a little less)... should drop you right about 4K RPM.
4th at 55, 3rd at 45, 2nd about 35 (go a little less)... should drop you right about 4K RPM.
Last time I had this much fun some furniture got broken!
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Rep Power: 360 the auto trannies that come with our civics suck and should not be put into neutral or anything while driving cause they are too weak. other cars yes its ok but does absolutly nothing except wear the auto trannies clutches. thats the only gain...more garage time, that and the engine will run for 100 more miles its whole life. but yeah dont bother.
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Rep Power: 0 mee noo liek dees threaad. Everyone seems to stick to their own opinions even after discussing about this for 3 months. I am in favor for downshifting, even the honda manual says that downshifiting to help stop your car is recommended to save the brakes in the long run. I think if downshifiting was bad in the longrun, the honda manual would say not to do that. BUT, then again, why do I even bother, its not gonna change anyone's minds.
Last time I had this much fun some furniture got broken!
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Rep Power: 360 downshift in manual:
less brake wear
more fuel
downshift in auto:
less brake wear
more fuel
kills tranny slowly
less brake wear
more fuel
downshift in auto:
less brake wear
more fuel
kills tranny slowly
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From: warren ohio
Rep Power: 0 downshifting and slipping the clutch in doesnt waste more gas unless you press the gas to match revs. otherwise there is no more fuel going into your motor than it is sitting at a 700rpm idle. and downshifting on a 55 or 35 mph road is pointless and adds clutch and tranny wear. just as shifting does... so why add clutch and tranny wear when clowing down is what the brakes are for.
seems a waste and added unwanted stress to the car. but if your racing then yes, becasue racing is adding WAnted stress and you want to win right. otherwise, if slowing down for a stop light, just use the brakes like there designed for....
seems a waste and added unwanted stress to the car. but if your racing then yes, becasue racing is adding WAnted stress and you want to win right. otherwise, if slowing down for a stop light, just use the brakes like there designed for....
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Originally Posted by Zzyzx
so I down shift all the way down to 1st on and off the track.
Overall you have to be smooth, denfinately, when your pushing your car hard you don't want to slip the clutch, not only from the point of few of damaging your clutch but also from a safety point of view. You will see that you will loose balance and smoothness so your car wont behave predictabily which is very dangerous when your going fast.
I wouldn't use the compression of the engine of the car to slow it down. For example I wont downshift to slow down the car, I'll down shift to stay in a certain rpm range. Our car engines are designed to accelerate they aren't built the same way as truck engines.
Last edited by nindoo; Mar 23, 2005 at 07:12 AM.
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