Coasting to a stop vs down shifting to a stop in manual transmissions

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Mar 15, 2013
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I'm on a manual transmission enthusiast page on Facebook and holy hell this debate is heated. Basically many members believe if you coast to a stop in Neutral you should go buy an automatic and quit driving a stick immediately......they also say coasting causes more clutch wear. I could be wrong but isn't coasting easier on the clutch because your not slipping it each time you down shift? Many in the group say leaving it in neutral causes constant wear. I can personally drive either way but unless I am having fun I usually just coast to a red light ect. I understand the argument of less vehicle control ect but I was always taught it produces less clutch wear and synchro wear? How do you do it? Is one superior over the other. I personally think both have their place and executed correctly both can be viable options. But yeah what do you guys think?
 
You use more fuel kicking into neutral and coasting up to the stop. (A Super minor amount to be sure).

But wear on the clutch? If I do it, I don't even use the clutch, minor blip of the throttle to unload the drivetrain and slip it into N.

Even if you use the clutch, how many actuations are you adding over the life of the system? I'd imagine a tiny percentage over the distance. (Less than downshifting through the gears though).

BTW, how many members could a MT Facebook group have? There can't be more than a couple of hundred people on the face of the earth that can drive them, can there? :)
 
Downshift. It's what I was told by my dad over 30 years ago and I've been doing it ever since.

I think if your clutch manipulation is smooth then your okay with downshifting. Don't ride the clutch, do burn outs, drive it too hard and it will last a long time.
 
I'm on a manual transmission enthusiast page on Facebook and holy hell this debate is heated. Basically many members believe if you coast to a stop in Neutral you should go buy an automatic and quit driving a stick immediately......they also say coasting causes more clutch wear. I could be wrong but isn't coasting easier on the clutch because your not slipping it each time you down shift? Many in the group say leaving it in neutral causes constant wear. I can personally drive either way but unless I am having fun I usually just coast to a red light ect. I understand the argument of less vehicle control ect but I was always taught it produces less clutch wear and synchro wear? How do you do it? Is one superior over the other. I personally think both have their place and executed correctly both can be viable options. But yeah what do you guys think?

You are right and they are wrong, period. It's that simple.



Downshift. It's what I was told by my dad over 30 years ago and I've been doing it ever since.

Perhaps some 60 years ago when cars had tiny drum brakes. It only makes some sense today on a steep
decline. Don't miss we're talking about city driving and traffic lights, not spirited driving in the mountains.
.
 
At city speeds I'll usually down-shift into second and approach a stop at moderate speed, then I brake and come to a stop. I know a guy who will accelerate from a stop at a good clip, then he gets quickly off tht gas and costs all the way to the next light. He times it so he pretty much doesn't have to use the brakes. It drives me nuts.
 
Look at it this way, every time you engage or for that matter disengage the clutch it slips [briefly as it engages or disengages] and it is wearing, that's a fact. It wears less when it goes into Neutral because it's under little to no load. If you're downshifting to slow down there's usually more load than up-shifting, again more wear. How much? That depends on speed. I often coast to lights or stop signs in neutral depending on conditions, however there are certain speeds where I can easily get into neutral w/o clutching, no clutching no wear. Free lunch perhaps. I've been doing that for almost 5 decades, no problems. There are also some cars that can be easily shifted up and down once they're moving. That's a whole different story. I don't do that, gears synchros can be expensive if you screw up.

One thing for certain if coasting in neutral with the clutch fully released causes it to wear I learned something new today!
 
I never down shift to slow down, but instead leave it in whatever gear it's in while lightly braking (most of the time vs hard braking) until the RPM is around 1500 to 1200, then pop it into neutral and brake to a stop. It's just added wear on the clutch and throw-out brearing if I down shifted as much as I up shifted. I'd rather change brake pads instead of a clutch.

I've never worn out brake pads any faster on a manual vs an automatic, which really doesn't compression brake much. How I drive my manual car is probably less stress on the brake pads than on a typical automatic.
 
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I coast in neutral to a stop but disengage the clutch when I get to a lower speed (35-40). Coasting in neutral produces less RPM of the engine. Basically idling. So I would believe that method uses less fuel than downshifting or engine braking to a stop.
 
I never down shift to slow down, but instead leave it in whatever gear it's in while lightly braking (most of the time vs hard braking) until the RPM is around 1500 to 1200, then pop it into neutral and brake to a stop. It's just added wear on the clutch and throw-out brearing if I down shifted as much as I up shifted. I'd rather change brake pads instead of a clutch.

I've never worn out brake pads any faster on a manual vs an automatic, which really doesn't compression brake much. How I drive my manual car probably is less stress on the brake pads than on a typical automatic.
I do the same thing, being certain not to lug the engine. The brakes do a fine job of stopping, and are a hell of a lot easier and cheaper than changing a clutch.
 
When I had a manual transmission I would leave it in whatever gear it was in to coast to a stop sign. I never put it in neutral to coast. I also didn't downshift and use the engine as a brake because engine wear is more expensive than brake wear. I always thought if your foot was off the gas the fuel injectors were off but if you are idling in neutral the injectors are still pumping gas in the cylinders. Anyway, no I didn't throw it in neutral and coast.
 
Quit visiting Facebook and the problem goes away, no?

I’ve always skipped-shift when downshifting. Ticking through every gear wasn’t that much fun and I’m not sure it does that much. I’d coast in 5th, then burp the motor and drop into 3rd, then clutch and come to a stop. Maybe 2nd if I thought the light might turn or something. [If I had been in 4th I’d probably downshift to 2nd.].

Wife is more of the sort to tick down through all the gears, and the trans on her car seems ok after 225k (original clutch). Me, I thought the trans on my 314k car was starting to make a bit of noise, and I had a flywheel failure at 250k (darn VW! clutch was fine, go figure), so it’s possible I’m all washed up.
 
I always downshift and do engine braking. Brakes last forever and so do the clutches. 183k on the OE clutch in my Accent,

I figure the engine braking equalizes the wear as force is applied backwards........
 
I never slip the clutch unless it is an uphill 1st gear situation or reverse. Usually just shift and dump when downshifting, shift and accelerate when upshifting. But 1st gear from a stop on level surface is just let out and accelerate, no slipping needed.
 
Who really wears out brakes anymore? All the brake problems I've run into have been

-- rusted rotors from disuse
-- seized pins from not spirited use

This stupid facebook page is for people that think a stick shift is a toy. I don't mind-- it keeps someone (subaru?) making them. But their proselyting that their elite methods are the only way to drive are stupid.

When I had sticks I'd keep them in (5th) gear while decellerating until I hit idle speed then I dumped them into neutral. My cars were all old turds that needed double clutching so I did that too if I were making a corner. That habit carries over when I drive something new that still has meat on the synchros. And, yeah, sometimes I'd do a clutchless dump to neutral if it amused me... just takes 2 lbs of pressure on the shifter knob while you modulate the gas pedal.
 
Downshifting and coasting have their place. 92' Geo Storm (new) with 126k miles, 1997 Nissan Sentra (new) with 135k miles, and a 1994 Dodge Shadow (used) with 236k miles before the clutch went out. And that's for a Chrysler product. All manuals and never an issue with them.
 
Rev match downshift, coast up to the light, out of gear & off the clutch at the red light. Or time it so you just keep rolling along. Annoys the heck out of tailgaters, no (or very little) brake lights. The xB ALWAYS rusts rotors before the pads are gone, and original clutch at 116K, bought new in '05.
 
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