Im sort of an mt noob still, I have been driving my 6mt for 4 months or so now and have a question about engine breaking. I like to throw it into a lower gear if I want to gradually slow down, for example if im going downhill or if I see traffic ahead. Is that ok on the tranny in the long run ? I really like it a lot, much better than blipping the brake or riding it. If that engine breaking is ok in the long run the brake pads and rotors will last like 2x as long as they did for me in my 5at, which would be a very nice perk of the 6mt. Not that I need any extra, I love the stick as it is allready (no clever jokes please)

So any advice opinions on that ?

 

Been doing it with MT's since 1978 and never had a problem... I have 40K on my G and it's doing fine, same Brembo pads (they look fine), clutch is great, over 25MPG most days and always downshifting when slowing...

 

cool, thx, I'll keep on doing what im doing.

 

Do you revmatch it into a lower gear or simply put it in a lower gear and let go of the clutch?

 

i suppose as long as you are not putting it into a lower gear while you're slowing down and putting the revs all the way up to 5000-6000 rpm...

 

Just drop it the next lower gear and let go, then keep working through the gears, I do find in this car in is not neccesary to downshift all the way down and into first, once you get to low RPM's in second, you will be moving slow enough to clutch and use just brakes from there, I usually just throw it in neutral at that point (traffic stops etc.) or wait until the car completely stops then shift to first to take off again (for complete stops etc.)...

Most casual driving and dowshifting is smooth, later as you become very good at shifting up and down, you can practice speed matching and you can downshift several gears at once and brake at the same time to get a fast controlled stop. Please practice this when weather is good and you have clear roads etc. I don't ever recommend skipping any gears upshifting, there is no real need for that (some will argue, but I think it is just being lazy)... You will master it all in short time... Use common sense, don't abuse it, you will hear & feel when things are going correctly.

I hope this helps

 

Good question. This will depend on excessive clutch wear or not.

C.

 

I revmatch it perfectly every time. When I downshift in situations like I mentioned in my orginal post I usually end up around 4k rpm, get it down to 2.5-3krpm and downshift again.

 

So what if your only turning 3K?

 

One of the first things I learned from my racing instructor was brakes are meant to stop the car, the clutch is meant to make it go.

Of course, while saying this, I also admit to using the clutch a bit to slow down, but thats generally when I mismatch the revs when heel/toeing. Its usually much more smooth to use the brakes, but if you don't downshift while braking, you wont be set up in the right gear for the exit of the corner. One thing I need to get used to this car though, is that the revs don't drop as quickly as I'm used to, so my rev matching hasn't been perfected yet.

I'd say use the brakes, but learn to rev match (heel toe) and you can get the best of both worlds.

 

I agree with this as well. I've been doing downshift rev matching on my e36 m3, only if i intend to drop a gear to accelerate. But as far as braking those are what brakes are for. Put it this way its easier to replace brake pads then it is to fix a tranny or bent valves due to someone making a mistake of downshifting to 2nd and instead dropping it into 4th. I've alot of friends who downshift to slow down and have caught the 2nd gear as opposed to the 4th gear. Not so pretty and it ended up costing them a pretty penny.

 

Absolutely 100% agree
Brakes are a lot cheaper than engine parts etc.....

Brakes to decelerate....
Rev match downshift to accelerate

 

^+1
I will however downshift on a very steep hill to help keep the car from accelerating without constant braking.

 

^+1
I will do the same on hills. If i have to stop in a hurry (someone slows down really fast in front of me, or i get cut off) I will brake and downshift at the same time.

 

i used to drop it in neutral when i was coming to a stop and just coast my way. i get impatient sitting at a red light sometimes especially broken ones