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Old 08-02-2004, 12:40 PM   #25 (permalink)
catback
Psycho
 
Location: North America
The point of downshifting is to have more engine braking for the purpose of slowing down. Almost all professional drivers that drive a manual for a living whether racing or truck driving will downshift. Even if the amount of engine brake is small compared to the brakes it's better than nothing. As it's been said already big rigs have to downshift and rely on engine braking for most of their braking because if the brakes overheat they won't be able to stop. When they downshift the engine still doesn't apply enough engine brake to really slow them down so they have a device called a jake brake that they turn on after they downshift and it basically turns the engine into a big brake. All race car drivers that drive on a track will downshift rather than brake for the reason that once they burn up the brakes they won't be able to stop anymore. For any race car driver brakes are for unplanned moments or to add a touch extra braking to an already downshifted car. So if you wanna be pro with your car you downshift all the way to 2 gear, if you wanna save your clutch and save yourself the hassle of going down all the gears when you don't feel it worth the while then don't. Personally I don't downshift most of the time because it's easier for me to change brake pads than the clutch and the way I drive downshifting doesn't help much more than just leaving it in gear until I'm slow enough to put it in neutral. On the days I feel racy I downshift not really for the braking but instead for the gear matching for when I'm making a corner or something.
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