What are you talking about, its pretty much universally agreed upon that revmatching is the correct method of downshifting. Your method is requiring the syncros to work needlessly. If you are downshifting the way you are, then doesn't it jerk between every gear as the syncros kick in? That must suck at every light.

 

What you are describing is engine braking. Personally, I'd rather shell out money for brake pads more often than to risk damaging or adding additional unnecessary wear to my engine.

 

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1181314

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_braking

"There are a number of reasons you might want to engage in engine braking. The first is that it puts little or no more load on your engine than it would otherwise bear, but saves considerable wear on your brakes".

I do it every now and then.. And only at 3 - 3.5k rpm ranges... i ur at 5k and u downshift of course ur gonna F somethign up...


I don't see any threads around here saying they F'd up there engine from engine braking.... Most of the oil consupmption problmes i see around here is from people trying to race a ricer and then posting it on G35 to try to earn sometype of respect or some****. haha.

 

The wear isn't to the engine, the engine can rev to 4-5k all day, the issue is clutch and syncro wear. Every downshift requires clutching, which will add slight wear each time, and unnecessary syncro use to bring the rpms up to the correct range for that speed at a lower gear. Thats why downshifting to slow down at a light is a bad idea. Brakes are much easier to replace than a clutch so I don't see the reason.

 

Your links make now mention of clutch wear, you are basically trading one or the other. Everytime to disengage and engage the clutch, you are adding some wear to it.

 

I'm not sure how you normally drive your manual cars but I shift 1000+ times a day commuting through traffic. Shifting is all part of owning a manual car. Sure parts will wear and etc but exactly what can you do beside replace the parts or not drive your car? I downshift all the time in slow traffic since if you apply the brakes, your speeds will be too low and you'll need to change gears anyways. And I'm sure being in the right gear is a lot less stressful on the engine (an expensive part) than trying to get going again at 20mph in 5th gear.

 

We are talking about when coming to a light, and downshifting to slow down, not downshifting to accelerate. Of course you have to downshift if traffic. When coming to a light, I brake in whatever gear I'm in until my rpms drop and then a clutch and shift into neutral while I wait for the light and release my clutch. That requires 1 use of the clutch. cnaman's method would require up to 5 uses of the clutch between each downshift if in 6th gear, and all that just to save minimal brake wear.

 

Downshifting in traffic to slow down your car and downshifting at a light is pretty much the same given that in traffic, you can go from 60mph down to 10mph. You still have to cycle through the gears. Anything lower than 10mph, you might as well apply the brakes. The advantage in traffic is you can accelerate if traffic picks up as oppose to slowing down since you're in the right gear. I personally avoid putting in neutral in traffic and ride the brakes. You'll never know if someone will cut you off and may need to accelerate to swerve. That extra second to put it into gear might prevent an accident. The same situation might be true slowing down at a stop light.

 

like most people that have replied, i downshift to slow down the car. sometimes i do it to be in the right gear to accelerate through a turn. other times to slow the car down without using the brake. coming to a light, i like to engine brake at higher speeds and then use the brakes at the lower speeds. i feel like it saves my brakes. another note, my uncle once told me its good to engine brake as well and have ur rpms shoot up. it helps to burn out carbon deposits in the engine. not sure if he's right or not but he was a jet engine mechanic for a big airline company.

 

I am the one who started the "Everybody Check Your Oil" thread. And yes, I do heel toe downshift...sometimes rather aggressively.

 

I drive in traffic all day heavy and light and i use engine braking all the time of course you use your brakes to, but like Espresso said you shouldn't just pop it in to neutral and brake to a stop, you should gear down incase like he said you have to avoid something. can't speed up if your in neutral. also a stupid fact cruising in neutral is illegal. (no control over the car...) just my .02

 

FYI, there's a sign on Hwy290 going between Austin and Houston, TX that says "No Engine Braking Allowed"...LOL

 

New brake pads $80
New transmission-few grand
Blowing your engine after you overreved it downshifting-priceless....

 

So to get this straight, lets say you are slowing from 45mph to a stop at a red light. You guys are going from 6-5-4-3-2 while revmatching between downshifts then braking? I just go 6-brake to 3-4mph then neutral. To avoid something then just clutch and choose a gear. That takes less than 1 sec so thats not really a good reason. Or I can go from 6th then brake then downshift while revmatching to any gear to avoid something. The only time I shift into neutral is when I'm almost at a complete stop. I see no point in sequentially downshifting at every light just to save your brakes. It adds more wear to your clutch rather than your brakes, which are easier to change

 

I usually just downshift using engine braking depending on the situation of course ie. cruisng in 6th need to stop down shift to 5th will applying the brakes not heal toe to rev match then let the engine brake the neutral coast with breaks then select the gear to accelrate