soma

I've been driving a stick shift car for about 4 years now, and I've started to doubt my driving technique. This is currently how I slow down:

1. Push clutch down
2. Apply brake
3. Come to a stop, or pop back into gear

I don't touch my brake pedal unless my clutch pedal is on the floor. I've been doing some reading now and it seems like the proper method to slow down is to apply the brake first until you reach a low speed, then pushing down the clutch before coming to a complete stop to avoid stalling.

Is my technique so bad enough for me to change?

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Baraka_Guru

It's my understanding that releasing (pressing) the clutch will save wear and tear on your gears.

I don't have much experience with driving manual transmission, but that seems to make sense to me. I've read somewhere that gearing down to slow down might give you more control but, again, it is more wear and tear.

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Craven Morehead

Not driving a stick now but I always would downshift when slowing down, that being the only time the clutch was depressed until I was amost at a complete stop.

Hektore

If you're not slowing down enough to require a shift, there's no need to depress the clutch pedal. It may or may not be less wear on your gearbox, it depends on on how smoothly you shift (I would say you have to be nearly perfect in your shift to be less or equal). It's definitely more wear on your clutch.

I was taught it's best to have your car in gear, with the clutch pedal out unless you're actively shifting. This is for control reasons. The only exceptions is idling, where you can leave the car in neutral with the clutch pedal out. I was taught that it's lazy, but if your aren't going to shift through your gears to slow down, it's better to shift your car into neutral and let the clutch pedal out and come to a stop then to just hold the clutch down the whole way.

My teacher was of course my Dad, but in his defense he can drive most anything with wheels (including very large trucks), and quite a few things without. Also a bit by my grandfather who drove a large dump-truck as a delivery man for a quarry for a while. They're both pretty familiar with the ins and outs of a manual gearbox.

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spindles

if you are slowing down, you are better to use the gears more than the brake. If you are in 4th and doing 3500rpm but are slowing down (i.e. not accelerating), you could downshift without using the brake at all.

If I'm a traffic lights, I'll put the car in neutral and release the clutch - saves wear and tear.

'Clutch coasting' is definitely frowned upon by driving instructors as you have less control over the car. I have a feeling it is illegal (here in NSW, Oz).

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Charlatan

I always downshifted to reduce speed and only engaged the clutch when shifting or when at a full stop.

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inBOIL

Staying in gear to slow down (engine braking) won't wear down your gears any more than accelerating the same distance. Downshifting instead of breaking will save you wear on your break pads, at the expense of more wear on your clutch (unless you shift perfectly).

I decelerate in whatever gear I'm in until my RPMs drop to near idle, then push the clutch in and brake the rest of the way.

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dlish

i downshift the gears and only brake when necessary.

around corners, its no brake, just a shift down, then shift back up again

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robot_parade

Not an expert, but I'm in engine braking/downshifting club...it seems to provide far more control. Imagine a situation where you're slowing down, but then need to accelerate suddenly. If you've been engine braking and downshifting, you should already be in the correct gear to go where you need to go. If you've been riding the clutch, you'd have to guess the right gear.

soma

Thanks for the posts.
The other day I drove my dad and I to dinner trying to do the brake/downshift thing and it was really hard to break my old habits. I'll keep working at it.

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Martian

Proper technique, as stated, is to downshift through a deceleration. The reasoning is simple -- this allows you to keep control of the car as long as possible. If you get into trouble, usually the best way out is to drive out, and in my mind the safety concern trumps any debates regarding wear and tear (which are irrelevant in my opinion anyway, since extending the lifespan of your clutch should be your first thought -- unless you suck, your transmission is hardy enough to handle the extra shifts).

As to breaking bad habits, this is why it's better to form good habits from the start. Keep at it.

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Redjake

I usually downshift until I need to pop it back into 1st, which I generally don't like doing - at that point I push the clutch in. My brake pads have lasted 80,000 miles because of downshifting. Proper downshifting doesn't put abnormal wear and tear on your tranny either, as long as you rev match (giving it throttle until you reach the appropriate RPM for that speed and gear).

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telekinetic

Yeah, you're doing it wrong, for the reasons Martian stated. If you're in 4th or 5th, slowing down for a light, and suddenly it turns green, what do you do? Just randomly pick a gear to pop back into? Or worse, you see a car flying out of a driveway and you need to go forward NOW to get out of the way...hunting for a gear then is going to be the difference between a near miss and a t-bone.

The correct way is to always be in gear unless you're sitting at a light, you only hit the clutch for as long as it takes you to downshift. You should really be blipping the gas while the clutch is in and rev matching, if you're slowing down aggressively, to save wear on your synchros, and also clutch, depending on how much you feather it.

1st gear is an exception, never shift into 1st unless you are stopped. Go from 2nd gear to stopped, and don't get in first until you're ready to go. It's way too easy to misjudge and mechanically overrev if you drop all the way into 1st.

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ngdawg

There's no "right" or "wrong"-as long as you're not hearing a grinding noise or throwing yourself thru the windshield, stop obsessing over it.
I've been driving a stick since I was 16(so roughly 4 decades), only buy cars with manual trannies and have done the down-shifting way of stopping and brake/clutch way. They have their advantages and drawbacks either way.
Trying to break a braking habit is not the best thing to do in traffic. One small "mistake" and you could be talking to a cop.
Is your method safe for you? If it is, fine.
I've gotten 90k miles on my brakes before having them replaced and I don't downshift to stop and I live in a very congested area where a 9 mile commute takes 25 minutes-on a highway.
(I'm also willing to bet that the "you MUST downshift" crowd goes for the brake pedal subconsciously or downshifts as they brake.)

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MSD

Also know that when your foot is off the accelerator pedal and the car is coasting, you use no gas
Heel-toe and rev match if you have to brake to keep your car in the power band in case you have to accelerate suddenly.

Lasereth

I typically do both soma. My Evo is actually OK in 5th gear all the way down to 35 MPH, so I usually let her ride down to 35 and then put in the clutch and go in neutral. Sometimes I put it in neutral at like 70 though and just let the car coast down to 0 (it does save gas).

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Jinn

What, exactly, is powering the cylinders, then? If you were using no gas, the engine would immediately die. You are using less, simply as a result of a lower revolution speed of the crankshaft; but no less than idle.

My general rule of thumb, soma, is if you're stopping at a red light from 55 or less, both pedals in. You're stopping quickly enough that you don't need to downshift through the gears. If you're slowing from 70 or less and anticipate accelerating away (light turns to green) or are decelerating for a corner, downshift.

And most importantly, if it's an emergency stop, BOTH PEDALS in. They burn that you into training for the track. In a spin? BOTH FEET IN! Saves destroying the transmission in the event that you spin completely around.

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Lindy

I basically agree with what you say here. This is pretty much the way I drive my 5-speed SAAB 9-5 Turbo. On the freeway or open road I'm usually in 5th gear. If it is getting congested and average speed of traffic is dropping, especially if the terrain is a little rolling, I may drop into 4th. Occasionally, I'll use 3rd on a twisty or hilly two-lane where I might be driving ~45-60 mph, and my car is OK in 3rd up to 80 or more, probably higher, but I've never seen the need to do that.
I rarely downshift below third when slowing to a stop unless, like others have said, I expect the light to change, and even then 3rd is usually OK, even if not ideal. The turbo gives plenty of torque, and third is a great all around (non cruising) gear. I clutch as I stop, and shift to 1st when it's time to move off.
My dad, who has always driven stickshifts, Alfas to Freightliners, specifically taught me NOT to downshift sequentially through the gears when slowing down to "save the brakes." He said that downshifting was harder on the transmission, syncros, and clutch than upshifting, and that "brake pads are much cheaper than clutches."

Lindy
My sister has a manual Chevy Aveo. I'd drive it differently.

MSD

The wheels are turning the driveshaft, which is turning the transmission, which is turning the crankshaft, which is moving the pistons. Engine braking works because the pistons are compressing air during the compression stroke and not being powered on the way back down. This is true of all EFI engines, but not carbureted or MFI. Once you get down to just above idle speed, the injectors turn back on. Above that engine speed (usually 1200-1500RPM,) no fuel is being used.

Jinn

If that's true, that's awesome. I had no idea. Source?

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RuralJuror

I once got three X's on a driving exam for coasting with the clutch out. She still upgraded my license, but said she was so annoyed with me for the entire 45 minute exam.

I also had open alcohol in the vehicle which she noticed at the end of the exam. Again, this didn't stop me from passing.

Peryn

As for the fuel cut on decel, this is probably universally true at this point. Most, in not all, manufacturers design their cars to completely cut fuel when you lift off the gas and use engine braking. If you have a car that shows instant fuel economy, watch what happens when you lift off the gas. Mazda has actually sent out a notice to explain to customers that they should stay in gear when coasting downhill rather than go to idle because it saves gas, brakes, and, so they claim, helps minimize wear on the drivetrain.

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MSD

It's fairly common knowledge, but you can hook up an OBDII reader to the car and look at fuel flow.