Downshifting and letting car slow down by itself

[Patrick S]

one of the reasons i was very happy to get back into a manual was the engine breaking. there is a hill in my neighborhood and i get into second, and let the engine keep the car at neighborhood acceptable speeds (25) all the way down the hill.

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[sandpiper]

I dont downshift. I leave it in gear until I am almost stopped then I push in the clutch. Brake pads are cheap and one of the few mechanical things I can still do myself.

 

[GT Pony]

I dont downshift. I leave it in gear until I am almost stopped then I push in the clutch. Brake pads are cheap and one of the few mechanical things I can still do myself.

+1 ... I've always drive a stick that way. And if you let off soon enough and start coasting in to where you have to stop, you don't really have to use the brakes that hard. The car still gets some engine braking even if left in a higher gear.

 

[Cars_1959]

+1 ... I've always drive a stick that way. And if you let off soon enough and start coasting in to where you have to stop, you don't really have to use the brakes that hard. The car still gets some engine braking even if left in a higher gear.

I've always drove a stick like that too.

On a motorcycle you can sometime time it so you don't have to take your feet off the pegs to balance it before you can ride on.

 

[MagneticMan]

I'm a put the clutch and coast type of guy. While coasting whatever the current car speed is I'll shift to that gear while the clutch is still in so if the light turns green and I'm still rolling for example, let the clutch in and gas it!

 

[n8rfastback]

I dont engine brake at all with my 15 GT. I even have the 3.73's and it just doesnt slow me down enough. In my 65, itll engine brake HARD for me when I downshift, I use it in combination with the brakes even when I am trying to stop faster (drums on all 4 corners). With the new Stang though it just wants to go! I think a lot of it has to do with tuning as well, I bet it could be set up to help engine brake better with a custom tune.

 

[hiccup]

Is it ok to coast in neutral for a good distance ?..say you are on a downhill with the turn about an 1/8 to 1/4 away. Just nudge it out of gear so i can take foot out of clutch till I reach my turn off. Does this do any harm?

 

[hiccup]

Sorry..i meant this one ..why couldnt i edit the "madlook" out?

 

[GT Pony]

Is it ok to coast in neutral for a good distance ?..say you are on a downhill with the turn about an 1/8 to 1/4 away. Just nudge it out of gear so i can take foot out of clutch till I reach my turn off. Does this do any harm?

No, it will not hurt to coast with the manual transmission in neutral. Just leave it in whatever gear you are in and let it coast until you slow down enough where you have to put the clutch in before you stop.

 

[hiccup]

No, it will not hurt to coast with the manual transmission in neutral. Just leave it in whatever gear you are in and let it coast until you slow down enough where you have to put the clutch in before you stop.

Im talking about taking it out of gear while moving till I get to my turnoff or a stop sign..and not pressing clutch pedal..helps my occasional bum knee ;)

 

[MagneticA]

There are a number of ways to coast, each with advantages/disadvantages...

1. keep her in gear while letting off the gas
2. keep her in gear while letting off the gas & engaging the clutch
3. take her out of gear while letting off the gas

#1 isn't really "coasting" since the engine is actually slowing you down.
I'm not recommending #2, but it is an option.
#3 will give you the most distance/speed, but you'll have to do a little guess work as to which gear to put it in when you're ready to speed up.

 

[Banjo]

If you leave it in gear while coasting to a stop you will use slightly less fuel than taking it out of gear as soon as you decide to start slowing down. This is because the car doesn't need to add fuel to keep the engine spinning. I don't think this is a big enough amount to be noticeable in your MPG per tank though. However I would think this would be negated if you keep blipping and downshifting. You can see this going on by pulling up the AF ratio gauge on the center screen.

 

[hiccup]

There are a number of ways to coast, each with advantages/disadvantages...

1. keep her in gear while letting off the gas
2. keep her in gear while letting off the gas & engaging the clutch
3. take her out of gear while letting off the gas

#1 isn't really "coasting" since the engine is actually slowing you down.
I'm not recommending #2, but it is an option.
#3 will give you the most distance/speed, but you'll have to do a little guess work as to which gear to put it in when you're ready to speed up.

..just what i want to hear

 

[Tamadrummer88]

No, it will not hurt to coast with the manual transmission in neutral. Just leave it in whatever gear you are in and let it coast until you slow down enough where you have to put the clutch in before you stop.

Believe it or not, in some states it's actually illegal to coast in neutral.


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[GT Pony]

Im talking about taking it out of gear while moving till I get to my turnoff or a stop sign..and not pressing clutch pedal..helps my occasional bum knee ;)

I know, and I said "No, it will not hurt to coast with the manual transmission in neutral." I was just suggesting another way to do it, that is just leave it in gear until you get closer to where you need to stop and then pop it into neutral before stopping. Either way will work.

You could coast all day long with the transmission in neutral and the clutch pedal out with the engine idling.

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