Stick shift drivers: Come in, I have a question!!

[rg200amp]

Hello all. I saw this question on another forum, so I want to see what say you.

While coming to a stop:

Do you down shift?


I personally do not most of the time. 80%+ of the time, I clutch in, throw the shifter into N, clutch out, and coast/brake to a stop.

While doing a turn, I will down shift. But stopping, I don't see the need. . . . Brakes are cheaper than clutchs in my eyes. . . . .

Well, What do you do and why?

 

[cchase]

I leave it in gear and engine brake until the rpm's hit about 1200 or so, which is where the fuel kicks on again, then push in clutch, shift neutral, release clutch.

I'd rather save the life of the clutch and my brakes at the same time, if possible.

 

[nwjones18]

Originally Posted By: rg200amp
Hello all. I saw this question on another forum, so I want to see what say you.

While coming to a stop:

Do you down shift?


I personally do not most of the time. 80%+ of the time, I clutch in, throw the shifter into N, clutch out, and coast/brake to a stop.

While doing a turn, I will down shift. But stopping, I don't see the need. . . . Brakes are cheaper than clutchs in my eyes. . . . .

Well, What do you do and why?

+1. this is how I drive.

 

[fsdork]

Originally Posted By: rg200amp
While doing a turn, I will down shift. But stopping, I don't see the need. . . . Brakes are cheaper than clutchs in my eyes. . . . .


This.

I downshift if I don't expect to come to a complete stop. If it's a light or stop sign, brakes will do just fine.

I think the downshifting mentality came from the days of having to stand on your brake pedal to stop. These days, a woman in high-heels can stop a car using the brake pedal. No downshifting needed.

 

[FowVay]

I usually leave it in gear until the revs are down around 1500 or so. Then I'll just push in the clutch, find neutral and use the brakes to stop the vehicle.

When I'm feeling my oats I'll row it back through the gears and rev-match the engine to the higher RPM as I downshift.

 

[A_Harman]

On the street, most of the time I don't downshift if I know I'm coming to a stop. It's just clutch in, coast, and brake. Shift into first in the last few feet before I stop.

But in the snow, I do downshift to get additional braking effort from the rear tires. I find this decreases stopping distance.

When turning, I brake in a straight line and downshift before the turn so the engine is not bogging when I get on the gas. All of my downshifts are rev-matching heel&toe, so letting out the clutch does not disturb the car. This also saves the clutch and syncro's.

 

[gathermewool]

Depends on the stop. For one particular downgrade (coming off a bridge exit) before an always-red stoplight, I'll downshift to 3rd at 60 as soon as I hit the last expansion joint, and won't have to use my brakes until I'm down to less than 20 MPH. If there's no one at the light, even slower. I usually get to work early, so I rarely have to worry about upsetting those behind me who like to do 60 all the way to the 25 mph exit and then slam on their brakes.

I decide whether to downshift vice coast and brake based on grade, distance to stop, probability of stop - some downtown lights coming around corners are red 75% of the time - and traffic behind me.

 

[Astro14]

This really depends on circumstances...sure, brakes are cheaper than clutches, but throwout bearings aren't free...so I don't like coasting with the clutch pedal in...holding the pedal down wears on that bearing...

I also don't like coasting to a stop in neutral in many circumstances...traffic, road conditions, many potential reasons that I might want to be able to give the car a bit of gas to go without having to push the clutch in and select a gear. (before you talk about how quickly you can shift, I am a fighter pilot, I can shift quickly too...but shifting still takes time...).

Note too that engine braking is free - no wear on the clutch, engine or brakes, so as you come off the highway, for example, just staying in gear and letting off the gas early saves wear on both the brakes and clutch.

I drove in NYC for 5 years with a 4+1 manual in a Volvo turbo and there were many times that I needed to hit the gas quickly and being in the correct gear was needed.

So, I stay in gear, and as the RPM decreases towards idle, if conditions permit, I will go to neutral. If not, then I select a lower gear to preserve options and then select neutral in the last few miles per hour of deceleration.

Safety and control trump any fuel mileage or parts wear considerations.

my .02...

Cheers

 

[Radman]

Not many people these days drive a stick correctly. I am glad to say you drive the same way I do. Lots of people will keep the trans in gear and hold the clutch down...that wears out the throw out bearing.

 

[Bill in Utah]

I downshift down to 2nd gear. I never go into 1st. On my current vehicle coming up to 200k on the factory pads and shoes with PLENTY of miles left on them.

Never had to replace a clutch, throwout bearing or such in many decades of driving manuals. Just fluid changes and driving them well. One went 394k with one fluid change, one clutch cable.

Bill

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: rg200amp
Hello all. I saw this question on another forum, so I want to see what say you.

While coming to a stop:

Do you down shift?



I heel/toe rev-match downshift through at least a couple of gears into 90%+ of stops. I don't go right down into first for most typical traffic lights/stopsigns. Revmatching into first has a much higher potential of bucking and causing driveline issues. I still revmatch into first when pulling into my driveway, or when a light turns green just as I'm almost stopped, or for really tight turn exits (like switchbacks).

Why? It boils down to the fact that I enjoy driving - I'm not just shuffling an appliance from point A to B and I'm not hypermiling. I always downshift so that I keep the engine in a range that it isn't bogging if I had to accelerate again. Since I don't drive a diesel or a bulldozer this means downshifting. When coming into turns as opposed to known stops I not only want to be not bogging but often want to be a little closer to the power band for corner exit. Sometimes right at the peak power band for a fun squirt out of the apex.

I revmatch all of my downshifts for a smooth ride and to save clutch friction surface wear. Plus it sounds great. It's completely second nature now, I don't even think about it. I don't hear too many people in my community rev matching their downshifts. Most don't drive stick at all but if I'm on foot and hear a good revmatching downshifter I take notice.

I never sit with the clutch pedal pressed in either. My brakes seem to last forever (6-7 years between brake jobs) considering all of the in-town driving I do. My fair weather car had a clutch replaced when I bought it but other than that I've never replaced a clutch either. My 13 year old BMW could use a clutch but that's because it's getting grabby and shuddery, not because it's worn out and slipping.

 

[IndyIan]

Coming up to a stop, I'll leave the Tracker in gear to engine brake and use the fuel cutoff down to 1200rpm. Which gets down to very slow in most gears, then push in the clutch and use the brakes to stop. There's no point in shifting to N before this.
Coming up to a turn I'll do my best heel and toe downshifts to rev match for fun. The engine and gearing are actually very similar to a 1.8L Miata, and with very little body roll, you can kind of pretend its sporty.

 

[Thermo1223]

I down shift when needed based on factors already mentioned.

I will run the down the engine to 1200 or so in traffic in whatever gear I am in, then brake. I will only downshift in an attempt to slow down without brakes if for instance the light is close to changing.

I will do as above on highway off-ramps, use the engine to bleed speed off and in doing so I will never have to touch the brakes unless I got a left foot braker in front of me. Seriously some people are so scared to do anything over recommended ramp speed. Personally if I can do it safely at higher speed it means less brake wear & fuel consumption and the miniscule expense of tire life.

It is also a given for taking corners/turns. You need to be in the right gear to apply power and exit.

Rev-matching makes it easier on the clutch, the synchros are at 100% of the time no matter what you do. If you didn't rev match you would have to use the clutch to rotate the engine up to speed.

So ya save your clutch, use the brakes mostly. There is still debates about keeping it in gear and clutch in at stops wearing the throwout bearing more than leaving it in neutral. I personally like the mindset of knowing I am in 1st gear ready to go should an incident occur(like the lady squealing to a stop behind me). I will leave it in neutral for some loooong lights we have around here though.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: cchase
I leave it in gear and engine brake until the rpm's hit about 1200 or so, which is where the fuel kicks on again, then push in clutch, shift neutral, release clutch.

I'd rather save the life of the clutch and my brakes at the same time, if possible.


I pretty much do the same thing. If I have to downshift I'll rev match, if I'm coming to a complete stop, I'll pop into N and leave my foot off the clutch while stopped. I guess it works I've owned stick shift vehicles since the 70's and still drive one. The only time I ever needed a clutch was because of a rear main seal leak, or a leaking internal slave cylinder had to be replaced. No point in pulling a tranny and not changing the clutch if it had high miles on it. JMO

 

[PeteTheFarmer]

I don't down shift to slow down, unless putting it a lower gear to control speed while going downhill would qualify. I will downshift during some turns, but that is so I'm in a lower gear when it comes time to resume speed.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: rg200amp
Hello all. I saw this question on another forum, so I want to see what say you.

While coming to a stop:

Do you down shift?




Sometimes, probably about 40% of the time, and usually only 1 intermediate gear (2nd) rather than taking it all the way down to first. I usually match RPM by blipping the throttle when I do that, so I'm not overly concerned about clutch wear. Not all cars are created equal- it works very well in the Cherokee but I've driven others that work best just by leaving it in high gear until the tach is down to a few hundred RPM above idle, then just putting it in neutral and using brakes only the rest of the way.

The funny thing is that of all the cars I drive, the one I'm most likely to downshift manually when coming to a stop is my (automatic transmission) '69 R/T. The way the valve body is set up on that car it just works great- move the lever to 2nd and blip the throttle, and its instantly in 2nd gear and engine-braking again with no chassis shudder at all. Plus it sounds wickedly fine through the twin Magnaflows....

 

[Jeffs2006EvoIX]

Well there is the "Legal" way, the "Right" way and how I do it. haha.

Legal way is your supposed to downshift coming to a stop as per California code.

Right way would be to knock it in nuetral and coast. It saves the clutch any undo wear and its cheaper to replace brakes vs. a clutch.

My way, I slide the lever into nuetral, kinda like a rev match, I don't touch the pedals while doing this. It may be harder on the synchros, so its a good thing I change the fluid every 5K miles or so. haha.

Jeff

 

[Lethal1ty17]

leave it in gear until i either have to use the brakes to slow down even quicker or until the rpms get around the stall point, then i just put it in neutral.

downshifting serves little purpose in normal, every day street driving. it will put more wear on your clutch and brakes are cheaper and easier to replace than the clutch.

 

[bullwinkle]

I think of clutches as like cats' fur-you're rubbing it one way when you're taking off, and rubbing it the other way when you downshift. I've never lost a clutch in probably 350K of driving multiple manual transmission vehicles, but brakes are a lot cheaper than clutch kits.

 

[Nederlander75]

I will only down shift in gear if I will be continuing at lower speed such as a stop and go moment or turning.

If coming to a dead stop I move through the gate to second as the speed reducs in case I have to grab a gear and move in and emergancy or I change my mind. Clutch is in the whole time.

Once stopped I am in neutral and clutch is out.