When I first started I didn’t really think about downshifting when slowing down. As I got more comfortable with the manual, I learned the right speeds to downshift smoothly and do it pretty much all the time now. It just makes driving more active and is more entertaining, specially when you throw in some rev matching.
Even more fun when you start doing it on the limit. Going down the gears is absolutely essential when you're on the edge and that little bit of engine braking is the difference between your car rotating nicely into the corner and understeering into a ditch lmao
One thing I truly appreciate about driving manual transmission vehicles, is that there is a great deal of variety in technique, strategy, and discipline. No two people drive manual in precisely the same way.
and that is the correct way. Mainly the advantage of shifting down the gears one at a time is actually safety and being actively following what is happening. So you are ready to go in case you need to do avoiding action, near a roundabout or a intersection or animals. Personally I brake and am ready to change gears in any second with one of my hand on gear stick. Since otherwise I prefer for my clutch and engine to wear less as they are harder and more costly to replace.
@@KryssN1 I have been driving a stick over 50 years. I have never worn out a clutch. I don't downshift except around corners. Brakes are cheaper than clutches. My current car has 263,000 on the original clutch. Also take your foot off the clutch except to shift.
19 year old new Manuel driver here. I am watching these videos now as I am learning how not to stall and just drive around. I will eventually learn downshifting but start small and you will learn everything you needa know.
Don’t even worry about this for the first year in my opinion. Just go to neutral and go into gear when you need when slowing down a lot. After you are comfortable then you can get into more advanced driving techniques like downshifting properly.
As a 20 year old American about to buy their first manual car tomorrow, I found all your videos super helpful!! Definitely the best tutorials on RUclips. Thanks so much :)
I do both, it really depends on the situation for me. Like if I am on 4th gear and a red light comes up I will just brake and stop, then put it on 1st for moving off. But if it's like roundabouts or junctions, I'll slow to 2nd gear (and then 1st if it's needed).
i like to gear down, if i know a red is coming up i ease off and gear down, some times you can get the light change from red to green, and you are in the proper gear. The same goes for Rounderabouts and Junctions.
@@procta2343 I was talking about if the red light just comes at that time then I will brake from 4th to 1st. But if the red's been on for a while or if it suddenly goes to amber and green, then I will select the appropriate gear :)
Hello! I’m in the army and we’re taught manual driving. I’ve had issues learning manual but your videos have helped me a lot! I studied using your videos even though I’m driving one of those massive army trucks but everything still applies to it. Just yesterday I did my test and I managed to pass so thanks very much for all the informative content that you put out 🙏🏼
American here. I usually rev match down a gear at least once, maybe twice when approaching a stop. Sort of a compromise between using my brakes and using engine braking. I was told, on fuel injected cars, engine braking used little to no fuel, so if I find myself going down a steep enough hill, I'll downshift to gear that lets me maintain a steady speed down the hill without using gas or brake. Plus, downshifting like that is the perfect excuse to listen to my straight-piped exhaust.
Engine braking is specially important on hills indeed. like you said, if possible, not even using the brakes at all. Faded/burned brakes on a hill ain't pretty. On city traffic I don't downshift because I frankly concentrate a lot more on everything around, which I find more important than any wear aspect, plus also the wear being on the brakes instead of the clutch and transmission is an extra bonus.
Yes, you’re right, fuel injected cars use no fuel when coasting/engine braking in gear and off throttle. it’s just the momentum keeping the engine spinning
The amount of people from the US telling me that driving this way would destroy my car and that I should just use brakes with the clutch pressed in constantly on a killer downhill is honestly embarrassing. You're the only normal one. Good job.
@@caralho5237 The sound of an engine is mostly produced by the movement of the cylinders. Even if you don't inject any fuel, the cylinders will still be moving and therefore produce sound.
I started driving in 2016 and I can say that my driving drastically improved just by watching your excellent videos. You always make driving a manual so fun and thrilling. If I ever come to the UK, I'll sign up for Conquer Driving to master reverse parking!
Downshifting through the gears as you slow is definitely pretty complicated for beginners, but I think it's important to do as soon as you learn it. I was taught, here in the states, that you should stay in gear as long as possible so that you have maximum control over the car in case something bad were to happen (brake failure coming to mind, as if you're in gear you can control and decelerate the car to a degree without brakes)
My instructor has never gone into detail about this so I've always wondered! As a learner, simply applying the clutch and then selecting the appropriate gear after coming to a near stop is MUCH easier. Still, as I've gained more driving experience and began to appreciate the benefits of engine braking, I do sometimes go down each gear in turn when I'm coming up to a junction or when the traffic in front of me is having a hard idea deciding what it's doing...Just wanted to say your video on 'stopping in two stages' has helped me a lot here and made a marked difference to my driving!
@@charankumarreddy5871 If you mean using the clutch for too long or "riding the clutch" then yes that is bad, reason why is it wears out the clutch faster leading to failure or need for replacement much sooner
@@charankumarreddy5871 Yeah, as little clutch time as possible. It can catch fire even. Segment the speeds in your head and speedo.and know when to shift to not stall, and to be in a gear ready to go, especially if you Have to go to avoid.
I am happy to say that I finally passed my driving test with 4 minors. Your videos are very insightful and have helped a lot so I have to say thank you. It still feels surreal that I can drive on my own.
a 32 year old American over here learning how to drive manual from Brits because despite the bravado of our car culture, the stats say we prefer automatics haha.
It’s refreshing to hear from such an understanding and encouraging instructor. As someone who has had his license for over 15 years I can safely say I use both methods dependent on situation. For smooth daily driving I don’t row down the gears but will jump to second for the last few seconds before coming to a complete stop. That’s just my habit to ensure I’m in a gear and ready to go if needed, like the lights are changing. However if I go for a spirited drive or track day the engine brake method is 100% used and spend as much time with engine and gearbox engaged as possible because you will really feel the benefits of engine braking when at speed and higher up the rev range, but to avoid jerkiness and upsetting the car’s balance when you do I recommend practicing and using heel (side of your foot) and toe technique as well.
I like to use the engine braking technique when I'm slowing down because I'm a fan of massive stopping zones and also never actually coming to a stop when I can avoid it. Thing is that it's all intuitive for me as I've never actually looked into the actual theory of it
@@Fazer_600 engine braking on my 2,5TD feels like it's about ½ as strong as the power output of the engine. Sometimes have to apply the clutch in the winter so the back end doesn't let go when i let off the gas
If, when shifting down you are "rev matching" you will likely find you have much less wear on your clutch compared to without rev matching. I tend to slow with the brakes, downshift with rev match and repeat until I'm going slow enough for the situation, I rarely rev match if I'm going into 1st and similarly to this video will only go into 1st if I'm going to be stopping. In the right gear for any situation, minimal wear on synchros, clutch & brakes and not too hard to do if you've been driving for a few years and give it a go. Rev matching properly, there is 0 jerking motion or clutch spinning and it's extremely smooth. The "work" involved is irrelevant once it becomes muscle memory, but I didn't start rev matching for about 2 years of driving experience. When I first started driving, I would still change down the gears when braking as I was taught this way by my instructor and regardless of your rev matching abilities, it will save you a lot of hassle once you get used to the clutch in your car! In my opinion, braking and shifting down with rev matching is the best possible way for slowing down with very little to no disadvantages. In terms of making something "easier", definitely for starting, but the best method should always be the end goal and doing something the "easy" way shouldn't be the end game.
Yeah the problem is *rev matching* is for slowing without brakes because you can only have two feet , you’re trying to explain heel and toe which is not something someone should be trying to learn for there driving test A- if you get it wrong you end up hammering on the brakes B- the instructor dosnt care if you go all keichi tsuchiya or not, safe driving is all they want
Hey. I let the engine break when coming to a stop while downshifting. Does this wear the clutch a lot and should I rather rev match? Rev matching with a Diesel is harder for me, because the you have to hold on to the gas more to rev up, compared to petrol cars. So rev matching alone feels easy for me, but rev matching and coming to a stop takes too long
@@GregoryCavill most people who can use advanced driving fundamentals or have track experience can react to and perform better in extreme conditions than those who don't. Marks on a driving test mean nothing when your cars at a 60 degree angle on the highway sliding through ice. If you dont know how to get out of those situations then "safety during a driving test" is useless. My driving test here was an absolute joke. Even my motorcycle test was far less than I expected. If people go off the basics they learn in drivers Ed and the test to get their license then it's no wonder I see so many people wrecked in bad weather. Me personally, I think common sense helps but if you have experience driving in extreme conditions you'll be much better off and understand how your vehicle behaves in each situation. Like how to correct a slide.
Thanks so much for this video! I'm about to go for a drive with my dad and was just wandering about when to change gears. You're easily one of the best driving channels on youtube!
One thing id like to add is that there might be more advantages to downshifting when in older cars, especially when they don't have ABS as using the engine braking makes it less likely you'll lock up the brakes when wanting to slow down. This of course only being exaggerated during rain or icy weather.
I never thought that was a question. Always better, more controlled, easier on brakes, and faster to down shift. When first learning you can totally just use the brakes though. But definitely learn downshifting and get good at it.
@Drey My views are limited to the driving instructors which I have met till now. Things are not the same everywhere when you talk about such a big country. Cheers😉
You taught me so much from your videos. I bought my first manual car yesterday and it's thanks to your videos that I had the courage to take it out on the road and thanks to the knowledge you shared that I had zero stalls, though it would have been okay even if I did. Thanks so much for sharing such informative videos. I ran into the first gear issue today when I repeatedly tried to engine brake with first gear but it wouldn't engage. I thought something was wrong with the car so when I got back, first thing was look for a video on downshifting/engine braking and in the first 90 seconds you've already talked about why I was experiencing that 'issue'
I feel like there’s implications for both. When you are comfortable enough with the manual transmission: change down gears to put less wear on brakes, especially when going downhill. If you are still a beginner, focus only on foot braking to reduce confusion . And if you have to come to an emergency stop (children or animal randomly dashes across the road, etc) definitely focus on just braking.
I have been driving a stick over 50 years. I have never worn out a clutch. I don't downshift except around corners. Brakes are cheaper than clutches. My current car has 263,000 on the original clutch. Also take your foot off the clutch except to shift.
I don’t currently drive a car but I’m just so in love with the manual transmission that I can’t stop watching these videos. Will be taking my driver’s test soon, I hope the experience is just as good as I imagined. Thank you for the videos you do!
I’m currently playing American Truck Simulator and it’s amazing how much I’ve learned about driving and changing gears. I’ve never driven manual before but I knew, understood and practiced what this gentlemen is showing in that game! I highly recommend it as a learning tool for ALL drivers.
Hi! Do you play it with keyboard and mouse or some other way? I'm struggling with changing gears and your advice really resonated with me. Thanks in advance!
Best thing to do is when you have more experience behind the wheel you can start rev match downshifting by blipping throttle mid downshift - Always ready to go, less wear on brakes, less to none wear on clutch and less fuel consumption
The less fuel consumption part is not true. Downshifting with revmatching is usefull when you need to shift down without losing speed. It is useless during braking for a stoplight that is red.
@@dutchdrifter8740 I didn't understand what you meant by "shift down without losing speed", also you use less fuel staying in gear because wheels are used to power your engine at which point it uses 0 fuel as opposed to shifting in neutral and letting your engine idle which uses little bit of fuel.
@@milendur7398 what he meant is that youre not losing speed with your engine. If you let go of the clutch without revmatching the cars slows down while the engine gets up to speed. Also, you use fuel when you accelerate to match the revs and puts more strain on the gearbox and syncros when flipping gears unnecessarily. You don't really coast as was said in the video because you only let go of the clutch when you're about 1k rpm
rev matching does not really reduce or remove wear from the clutch or synchros. this is a common myth. you would have to double-clutch to remove the wear from sychros... rev matching enables you to lift your fooz form the clutch quickly.
There's one other major advantage of changing down gears sequentially as opposed to block changing and that's when driving in the snow. If you brake and block change in the snow or ice you'll lock up and slide far more than just letting the gearbox do the work. This is why older automatics without manual shift option slide such a lot when slowing up. Infact, it's possible to drive in the snow without using the brakes at all if you drive at the correct speed with a manual gearbox. I've now had to show my kids this as they were taught to block change. This may well be a major contributor to the amount of accidents we see in this county as soon as we have a bit of snow on the ground. Great video though 👍
I agree 95% of the time - I was a goof as a youth and downshifted fairly aggressively to slow in the snow in my father's Nissan but it provided so much compression braking and the road was so slick that I still ended up sliding the front wheels. But completely agree with the general driving in the snow comment - we just got 5-6 inches yesterday and there were morons crashed into curbs all over who were going too fast down minor little hills...
The disadvantage of changing down gears in slippery conditions is that you're only using two wheels to slow the car down as most cars are two wheel drive. In a rear wheel drive car it's the wrong wheels for braking. The brakes use all four tyres.
@@ConquerDriving Brakes are biased more heavily towards the front so they will lock first or at least the ABS wil activate. If you drive at a sensible speed in the snow then it works far better than applying the brakes. I've driven front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and AWD and it's never let me down in 32 years of driving in some pretty bad conditions and living in the Chilterns we've got some pretty bad hills to negotiate.
i agree. In fact, you brought up a very key reason for slowing down in gear, as opposed to in neutral : Grip. I have learnt both from racing instructors, and the internet, that no matter FWD, RWD or 4/AWD, when you slow down in gear, there is some pressure on the differentials, which gives a slight locking effect. In poor grip condtions, if you just use the brakes without being in gear, there is a higher chance that a wheel will lock up if that wheel hit an extra slippery patch. But if you brake in gear, the slight locking effect means that, if one wheel skids and wants to lock up, it will have to lock by overcoming the power of the whole axle, gearbox, engine, and the other wheel as well, which is not possible. That wheel will skid, no doubt, but it will not lock up, and so you will not need to get off the brakes in order for that wheel to spinning again, and regain traction This principle, is also the principle of why rock crawlers lock their differentials, so that you don't have individual wheels spinning away, taking power away from the other wheels. Of course, there is little need to do this, on a dry, good condition road...but on wet, snow and washed out road conditions, this helps tremendously.
24 y/o and just bought a manual 2003 Chevy s10. Been learning how to drive it based off your videos and I’m already doing so much better! Right now I’m working on hill starts and clutch control. I’m starting getting comfortable controlling both legs after years of driving automatic.
I haven't had lessons for a while because I got overwhelmed and felt I just couldn't do it down shifting was one of my problem areas it stressed me out I had to down shift each gear matching them with the revs Your videos are giving me the confidence to try again you explain everything so clearly thank you for your content
Engine braking can be pretty important when towing a large trailer. In my 5 speed pickup truck I would typically downshift from 5th, 4th, then 3rd... after that I would simply shift into neutral and use the brake.
It isn’t the brake wear that matters it’s the control of the vehicle. For example if you’re going downhill at a high speed stopping too quickly will cause your trailer to lose control. You have to remember it takes considerably more force to stop a trucks momentum than a car. This also applies to poor road condition like when it’s raining or icy out.
I agree with you on most of your points. It's much simpler for new drivers to not have to think about changing the gears. However, once they get used to it, they should practice rowing through each gears because it helps you get comfortable with shifting through the gears and modulating the clutch. You also learn the connections among current speed, revs and gears by shifting through all the gears as well. The once you are completely comfortable with that, it's easier to just skip gears or clutch in and come to a complete stop, then switch into 1st.
I 1st learned how to drive clutch on a motorcycle in the 1980's . But never drove clutch cars untill the 1990's how I learned was by watching other people do it. while I sat in the back seat between the 2 front seats I did till I figured it out one day a female friend had a Honda car and I asked if I could try driving it. She said yeah so I did and I did well for my 1st time I thinking knowing motorcycle clutch. Helped too I have learned alot about clutch vehicles by being a passenger in them and how most people or the average person drives them. Here's what I learned there are 3 different styles of how we all can drive a clutch car or bike. #1 average style driving Most drivers is where most drivers shit up through all the gears. And shift down through all the gears and are herky jerky through the gears accelerating and slowing down. The average also holds the clutch pedal all of time when they really don't need to even at stop lights and sitting in backed up traffic they also over rev the engine from 1st gear to the final gear. #2 Economy efficient clutch driving style Using just the right amount of RPMS to start the car driving without overeving the engine. Getting the car to the next appropriate speed before going into the 2nd gear. This requires no throttle usage what so ever when done right you just simply put the car in the next gear. When in gear while car is rolling just moderately let the clutch out and resume with the throttle. Till you get to your final gear Next slowing down and stopping The best thing to do is. take the car out of gear and put in neutral this won't wear your brakes out any faster because. If you keep reasonable distance between your and the vehicle in front of you it will give you. the ability to break earlier then most drivers do weather you drive clutch or automatic. brakes wear out faster because drivers do the practice of late breaking. To save fuel and clutch wear when slowing down put the transmission in neutral. because going down through the uses more fuel and puts unnecessary wear and tear on the engine as well. Sitting in backed up traffic or city driving bring your car to a stop as needed. And there's never no need to do that with the clutch pedal to the floor Save your energy. to Drive the car when in traffic put in neutral till you know when it's time to drive again. #3 Racing style shifting Is the most aggressive style of to squeeze the most. Performance out of you car or motorcycle but there's a fine line between success and failure. And mistakes can be made that can lead to crashing due to losing control of the vehicle. Or mechanical failure Let's go with the basics starting off fast is knowing what RPMS to launch the car or bike at. Going through the gears you're goal would be to shit to the next gear near the redline. during this process if your in 1st gear is and your torque curve drops off. before reaching the redline that's a indication that you need to go to the next gear. Stretching out all your gear shifts near the redline like on straight aways will get you going faster in less time. Going into turns at race speed with a clutch vehicles this is all determined by your speed. before the turn and knowing when to start you're breaking and downshifting points. this key to successfully going through a turn at the highest rate speed. without losing control and selecting the right gear to negotiate to turn. so you can exist the turn as fast as possible matching the right gear to speed. will keep you near the redline through the turn so when existing you can winde that out gear. for maximum speed before the gear change however this type of shifting and driving. is hard on fuel and puts added wear and tare on the clutch plates and more breaking. is needed for this style of driving Of all these 3 different clutch driving styles I mainly use #2 90% of time. The other 10% of the time I use #3 and I never use #1 One thing that I forgot to mention. About driving style #2 is when you vehicle is rolling in motion at the right speed you can. Shift at lower RPMS to save on fuel about 1,000 to 1,150 RPMS this will save you money. because over revving the engine in between shifts is only wasting gasoline. I hope that this helps people understand more about clutch vehicles
Honestly, i think both are good. sometimes, i need to slow down quickly, and don't have time to fiddle with the gears one at a time. just select whatever gear i expect to need and slowly lift the clutch while braking. other times, i do it because it's fun and i enjoy being in gear and letting the inertia run the engine (for fuel efficiency).
Your videos helped me a lot when I learned how to drive my manual car. One of the things that clicked for me was when you would brake & let off the clutch to go into gear. I used to think you could only downshift if you rev matched. Everything changed when I realized I didn’t need to blip the gas, I could just ease off the clutch while braking. Very simple & makes sense for any experienced manual driver, but it was the “click” moment for me.
I learned how to drive manual from RUclips tips and suggestions. I’m so glad I found this channel. I learned how to downshift the hard way 1st. Later I learned how to downshift with less wear on my clutch, which I’m sure already has some wear due to me stalling so many times. I coast so much more often when coming to a complete stop now, after watching many helpful tips from this channel. I would always prefer more wear on my brakes than my clutch. Good luck to those who are learning to drive manual for the first time. It’s a great skill to have that many don’t have. Also, you worry less about someone stealing your car.
The main atvantage of engine breaking is in a catastrophic scenarios. A truck driver cut me off once and for me to not hit the rear of the truck I switched from 5- the to 3-rd with my foot slamming the break pedal. To have the engine slowing down the rotation of the wheels as a second instrument lowers the stopping distance of the car in high speed situations
Exactly! I've been in that situation where the traffic suddenly came to a stop on the motorway and I had to stop fast (I was driving an old car, with a lot less braking power than modern ones). Having some experience in shifting down gears while braking helped immensely!
This is only relevant in really old cars without power brakes. Modern cars will lock up their wheels at really high speeds. In my learner car I will lock them up at 150kmph on a dry road with proper tyres. Shifting down will not help the car reduce speed faster due to the tyres already losing their grip. It doesn't add anything.
@@dutchdrifter8740 my peugeot 207 from 2011 never locked a wheel even when full-strength braking from above 170 km/h. Are you sure you've got a decent ABS system?😂
Having a second instrument makes no difference to the stopping distance of a car. Both engine braking and traditional braking provide resistance to the wheels in the same way. Once that resistance has reached the limit of the grip of the tires, there is no way to slow down faster. In a modern car, the regular brakes are able to provide enough resistance to reach that point, meaning engine braking is unnecessary in said catastrophic scenario. If you're in a car where the brakes are unable to reach that point, I'd argue that you shouldn't be driving it.
I wish my driving instructor had the same mentality as you. He made it seem mandatory that I'd change down the gears when braking and that it'd be dangerous not to, as I'd be "essentially skipping gears". Needless to say it was a difficult technique to learn for a complete beginner and it made me put my whole focus on that one thing instead of other important aspects of driving
When I started driving manual, I thought skipping gears was bad too. Turns out it's only "bad" because it makes it easier to screw things up. Eg overrev the engine or burn the synchros or mess up rev matching. If you can learn to double clutch, you can go from any gear to any gear. Also, if your instructor thought stopping in 4th then shifting to 1st was the same as "skipping gears", they had no idea what they were saying.
This is actually how it used to be, but now coasting is considered fine and you don't need to have engine matched to speed and gear all the time. When I took my test, a long time ago, you would fail for not using the gears when slowing down in all but emergency situations.
As a truck driver that drives a 10 speed manual it's always a good thing to downshift. Because that light might turn green as soon as you get to it & you'll be in the right gear or at least near the right gear when it's time to move but cars are different not so many gears & not as heavy
My instructor was adamant about shifting down which I couldn't do very well at all and I got scolded for damaging his gearbox. Once I passed my test I just went driving on an empty road to learn this at my place, wanting to know all there's to know about driving. Nice and helpful, thanks
Mechanically it's way better to just hold down the clutch (or even switch into neutral if you know you'll be coming to a stop or slowly breaking for long time like when approaching red light and slowly reducing speed while waiting for possible green) because pointlessly switching the gears will wear the brass synchros inside the transmission (they are between each gear and are friction-"rammed" onto a tapered surface to match the gear-cog speed with the engine speed) . The amount of friction on the synchros is small but it adds up over time especially if you live in the city. Keep in mind that downshifting with high rev (as done with engine braking) puts MUCH higher wear on the synchros than upshifting (i can explain more about it if anyone is interested). If you NEED to downshift on a downslope , it's always better to switch into neutral , push the gas down to rev the engine slightly higher than you expect the revs to be with your intended gear , then press the clutch again and switch to the gear My car has done 200k 99% of which in city and the first 3 gears synchros are pretty worn (especially first) so i'm at a point where i have to double clutch (even better to learn double clutch before the synchros die if you're experienced and know how to rev-match) Replacing brake pads more often is way cheaper they cost 50$ or less and even the disks are cheap . If you synchros die you can't really replace them as you have to take apart the entire transmission , better off buying another used car as replacing a whole transmission is likely to cost more than a decent used car. Another thing is that in order to get appreciable engine braking , the engine has to rev high 4k+ and that's additional wear on all engine components as it's running 4+ times the speed it (read miles) would if it was idling over the life of the car that can add up to extra thousands or even tens of thousands of effective engine mileage depending how you drive and where you live. Exclusion is when you're going down a long downslope or towing as this will eventually overheat the breakes
I was watching this and reading comments waiting for someone to mention just switching to neutral. That’s what I used to do - if I knew I was coming to a complete stop at least. Downshift if I was just slowing down within traffic.
Same. I see one other person here was also looking in the comments for some confirmation too, lol. This was the way I was taught as well. There's always exceptions in different scenarios like you pointed out, but generally speaking if I'm still in 3rd and I see there's a stop up ahead, I'll just pop it in neutral and coast in using my brakes. Less downshifting = less wear and tear, is the way I see it.
Great information as always! Personally I downshift as I slow down because of the advantages you stated as well as to save a little fuel since it keeps the engine in decel fuel cutoff a little longer. Less brake wear means less dust on the wheels too which I like. I just like shifting too. I don't feel that downshifting causes any appreciable wear on the clutch as long as the revs are matched reasonably well, which I have gotten pretty good at lately. And a clutch kit for my car is about $120 and a few hours of my time to change it, so while I certainly don't abuse it if I need to change it a couple weeks sooner that's not the end of the world to me.
If I may play Devil's Advocate for a second, which would you rather wear out: a £100 set of brake pads, or a £2,000 gearbox? There are few hard and fast rules about driving, but the old saying "Brakes are for slowing, gears are for going" still has merit. In practice, however, I suspect everybody does both.
@@MSM4U2POM The way engine braking and friction braking slows the vehicle is fundamentally very different since the former basically slows the vehicle by pumping and compressing air while the latter slows the vehicle by forcing brake pads against spinning rotors, so the assumption that there is meaningful wear on the very well lubricated and understressed hardened steel gears like there is on comparatively very soft, unlubricated, and poorly cooled brake pads is completely incorrect. Think about going down a long, steep hill as an extreme example. The engine will happily act as a brake all day with no overheating or appreciable wear to it or the trans, but the brakes will burn out and fail if overused. Also, you are right that we are often forced to downshift when slowing down such as when turning corners. going over railroad tracks, slowing down for traffic, etc. In that case, if possible, you may as well gradually downshift to the gear you will ultimately need as the car naturally slows down and not use the brakes at all. Then you put the same absolutely negligible amount of wear on the drivetrain that you would anyways while not wearing the brakes at all instead of wearing both to some extent.
@@averyalexander2303 I think you missed the point. Every gearchange causes wear on the box, and the more times you do it, the greater the wear. That simply _must_ be true. It is not engine braking itself that is the problem, but unnecessary use of the gearbox. How many times have you seen drivers use sequential downshifts instead of simply using the brakes? Probably quite a few, because that is the way they were taught back in the 1970's and earlier. That is regarded as an antiquated method today, and if you do it all the time in the UK "L" test it could potentially result in a fail.
That's funny, as in my experience I got better mpg when _not_ shifting down. Perhaps if you downshift very quick it won't make a difference. But I really prefer doing it smoothly, due to many people downshifting quite rough. Not so nice for the passengers. During the time of the downshift, the engine may need a bit of fuel to run in idle. Also, when you do rev matching, that obviously uses fuel too.
@@tehedx Interesting. I wonder if the fuel used when rev matching offset the fuel saved from staying in decel fuel cut using no fuel at all longer rather than idling in neutral or with the clutch in. Just like with everything else, there are a lot of variables like the ECU's programming, your driving style, traffic conditions, how you downshift, the weight of the flywheel and the rest of the rotating assembly, how much fuel your engine uses while idling, etc.
Like just about everything else in life, it depends on the circumstances. Making it easy for a new driver is always a good idea. Once they become familiar with shifting they can learn downshifting. As someone who has been driving manual gearboxes for some 50 years, I usually downshift as I'm slowing, using both the brakes and the transmission to slow the vehicle. There are times where you need to focus on the road and what is happening ahead of you, in those circumstances I rely more heavily on the brakes and downshift when appropriate. I will also say I have only bought one clutch in my life, that was when I swapped a 440 in place of a 383 in my '68 Roadrunner. It just made sense to install a new clutch while I had the engine on the hoist.
I just started driving standard around 2 months ago. I've had experiences with it because of my time working around dealerships, but I have been used to auto all my life. Watching these videos has made me feel like I am actually learning how to drive standard better. I'd say I have gotten good with rev matching and everything I need too and even traffic isnt intimidating, and hill starts are easier. I just want to say I really appreciate your videos because of the fact they explain things better than how I was taught originally and its much clearer to understand.
I think either is fine as part of safer and considerate driving. I think for long or steep descents, or driving older cars with drums all round or when heavily laden/towing a trailer changing down is an essential technique to save braking efficiency.
Thanks buddy, I just changed my mitsubishi L200 D. Cab truck from Auto to Manual transmission....Your videos have helped me a lot to adjust.... Manual Rocks.......Kenya
As someone who own's and loves classic cars, and I mean non-servo assisted drum brakes. Yes, use the gearbox- those brakes aren't doing anything lol. My children (Late teens) were terrified when I let them have a go in my old Humber after having this debate! This is a good video that clears up the argument.
Logic would tell me that it's far easier to change the brakes than the gearbox and/or clutch, so I do prefer the second method, but I can understand why it will make people feel like braking early is less important. Ultimately, I think that is just an adjustment one needs to make to the way they drive, though.
It's really important to downshift when driving semi trucks. Helps a lot more when you're pulling weight But in my compact car, I occasionally just drop into neutral and use brakes
It is so relieving to watch your videos. I had a driving instructor that never let me apply gas to move off because it was a diesel, he also would go on about dry steering and all this random nonsense to complicate things. Once I got us stuck on a hill and I had to use gas to move off, he started trying to guilt trip me about eating his clutch the one time I used it, like come on man. xD
You probably did not *have* to use the gas. If in an incline, it must be veeeeeeery steep ( i mean very steep) to really need gas. If stalling occurs, guess what you raised the clutch pedal too fast through the bite point.
@@HeyAddieImTojo Trust me, it was a very very steep incline, to the point where if I didn't have the handbrake firmly in place at the maximum point, the car would start rolling back instantly xD
Your ball joints and tie rod ends hate dry steering … your power steering pump scream when you do a dry steer. (You know when you are doing a three point turn and yanking on the wheel while stationery that’s a dry steer … tip is to counter steer before you come to a complete halt so at least the wheels are pointed in the right direction for the second part of the manoeuvre which takes a heap,of load off the steering parts of your car.)
Engine braking=slower braking, but gives you precise and stable control of the whole car just by using the throttle. Normal braking=faster braking at the expense of control, stability, and smoothness between braking and accelerating. Heat fade is also a problem after intense braking. Learn to match revs and you won't burn your clutch up nearly as fast from engine braking. Double clutch too if you're worried about your synchros.
That is a very useful technique if go to fast and need to slow down or stop in a very short distance, Fact is brake pads are cheaper than a clutch replacement! Best option, anticipation, try to drive without using the brake pedals.
I really love your videos. Helped me learn a lot. My current instructor is a nice fellow but didnt teach me a lot of stuffs like engine braking and rev matching. Thanks to you I have learnt a few extra concepts :)
Personally in my car that has a slipping clutch at full torque, I slow down in the gear I was In and if then I can keep going, I just select the right gear for that speed, but that does take a little practice to figure out which gear for what speed. Its a 1.9 diesel with a dmf so rev matching is imo quite a bit harder, since the lower the rpm, the longer you have blip the throttle for and with the turbo kicking in somewhere in between, i still haven't quite managed to figure it out. I do however almost always hit the 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th in the perfect time and it feels soo smooth and satisfying. Hopefully I figure out the downshift revmatch someday too, because the one in 10 times I hit it perfect its godlike and I completely understand, why you like to shift down gears using rev matching
If you want, you can brake only with your brakes, but knowing how to brake while changing down the gears is sometimes very important and lifesaving. Mostly when you have rear wheel drive and it's winter and roads are frozen. You definitely won't by able to slow down with brakes only. In this situations is almost necessary to know how to brake with engine. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
I prefer downshifting because I feel there's more control in all situations and it helps to get familiar with the car. I agree that it's not important for coming to a stop, but it can be helpful when reducing speed to take a turn that could be handled in second gear. Being in second before taking the turn makes the exit and acceleration easier and doesn't require finding the gear and engaging/disengaging the clutch. Another benefit to this, once experienced, is managing speed on a freeway/highway/motorway/carriageway. If you're in the high gear traveling at 75 MPH, then you have to slow down to 55 MPH due to something being in the way, then you have two options: One is to leave in the high gear and bog down the engine to get back up to speed [probably wasting fuel and fouling the spark plugs] and the other is to quickly move down a gear, accelerate to the previous speed, then shift back up and cruise. If you're familiar with the car, then you'll be able to grab the right gear in that situation and have an easier drive. Another example could be more of a slow-down. 75 MPH to 35 MPH, then the lane clears up. Which gear do you need? I wouldn't downshift when doing emergency braking like that, but being accustomed to downshifting in normal traffic would help me select the right gear. If I have a 5-speed, then I slow down to deal with the traffic bottleneck, then know to grab third to get back up to speed. I'd encourage anyone who drives a manual to get familiar with all of it and spend less time on the clutch between shifts. Learn to rev match and make smooth, quick shifts both up and down (once experienced).
I've been driving manual transmission cars now for about 61 years. I can count on one hand the number of times I've not downshifted when slowing EXCEPT in the case of an emergency stop. I like being in the appropriate gear for the speed the car is travelling, as you never know when you might need to react to some road event. YMMV.
Interesting. I used to downshift while braking because it made driving more interesting and 'sporty'. But, it occurred to me the last time I had a clutch fail on the road (i'm 74 and have had four that I remember in the last 50+ years), that 1) clutch breakdowns are always inconvenient and possibly even dangerous, and 2) brakes are cheaper than clutches, and depending on the vehicle, sometimes a LOT cheaper. So now I don't downshift when braking.
Interesting video. I've been downshifting while breaking since the first day I got in a drivers seat, the only time I didn't change gear while breaking was on an emergency stop and that's because there isn't time. Most modern cars don't have a gearbox with a syncromesh 1st gear so getting 1st is REALLY hard to do (you can get into 1st while moving if you're going slow enough and use double clutching but that's something which most people don't get taught to do).
I change down gears, there's been countless times that the situation has changed where being in the right gear ready to go have been advantageous. Approaching a red light when it changes to green and I can accelerate away without having the sudden panic of "which gear for this speed"?! It's more work definitely, but it gets me thinking of the road ahead far more than simply braking with clutch down - plus I thought that coasting was an unsafe practice?
Coasting is unsafe when done at high speeds unnecesserily. When you are stopping, say, from 50 miles an hour at 5th gear, and the revvs drop to idle (about 1000), you have used all of this gears braking potential. Clutching down from this point and coming to a stop with a brake is perfectly safe and good practice. Here is an example of bad coasting. I have had many experienced drivers tell me this. Driving at 50 mph and selecting neutral. At this point you are riding a massive scateboard and you can't slow down with the engine or accelrate if needed. People say it saves fuel, but it doesn't. The engine has to use petrol to run at idle speed. But when you let off the gas in a gear the engine stops injecting fuel and this way you can actually save fuel. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
The sudden panic you are talking about should be eliminated by anticipation of the traffic lights and scanning of the junction, which is something that changing down gears moves your attention away from.
It's right that the less you coast the more ready you are. Personally I wouldn't call coasting unsafe only very slightly less safe. However on hills it can be even less safe.
@@ConquerDriving less safe than what? :-( Even on the theory test it says you are not in control of the car. Was never sure what that meant since if I can steer, brake and accelerate I'd assume I have control.
You could probably add as an advantage to engine braking, that fuel consumption should be better, because the engine won't need fuel while engine braking, but needs fuel when idling / clutch is pressed. But that's also an aspect for when you're comfortable with your car and already have good control.
In my experience you get better fuel consumption with leaving it in the higher gears as long as possible. The engine uses more fuel when syncing to a higer rpm. Also I feel like I'm longer off the clutch when downshifting (combining the downshifts) then when leaving it in the higher gear. If I expect to continue, surely I will change to the gear I need.
I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but I've always started braking with the clutch down, rapidly changing to neutral, then braking as much as needed, and then changing back to the gear I need. Any pros and cons on this approach?
@@Tideman11 he meant that when he see that he needs to brake let's say red light he just throws in neutral and brakes slowly. And if he needs to go forward he then shifts to w/e gear is ok for that speed/RPM. I do the same thing.
@@TooEasyL2P I also often put the gear to neutral but only at quite low speeds of below 30km/h or 20mph, but I only press the clutch when the rpm reaches around 1000.
@@Tideman11 I do it always. even on highway when you're going >100 and you see that there's a traffic jam or w/e I just instantly kick in neutral and brake slowly.
You should downshift, as it ensures the engine always matches the road speed and therefore you have better control of the car. Double-declutching helps keep revs and speed matched, as we as protecting the gearbox… I’m amazed that anyone who considers themselves a car enthusiast wouldn’t know this stuff.
@@clubstep8244 depress clutch, put car in neutral, lift clutch, rev engine to spin the lay shaft, depress clutch, engage lower gear, raise clutch. Stops drivetrain shunt and clutch wear and also keeps the revs matched and stops the engine bogging as you let the clutch up on the downshift as the transmission hasn’t slowed down.
What's your take on skipping gears. Like you did at the start of the video. Such as going from 2nd to 6th. Would it be better/more economical to do that instead of going up in sequence?
Block changing gears is encouraged for various reasons, but only when done sensibly. You shouldn't be travelling anywhere near fast enough in 2nd gear for 6th gear to be appropriate.
If Richard had changed from 2nd to 6th instead of 2nd to 3rd to 6th (0:41), that would've been fine anyway. He accelerated to 47mph in 2nd, so changing to 6th is not an issue. Richard has also mentioned in previous videos that his Leon drives very comfortably at 40mph in 6th, so 47mph is definitely fine.
I was always taught that in modern cars you don't have to downshift while breaking, just break n then clutch in at the last second before the car stalls. Downshifting through gears is a sure fire way to tear up your clutch n gear box. Especially if your still new at driving n don't have a very smooth gear change. It may cause more wear on your breaks to just break rather than downshifting but it's alot cheaper and easier to replace the break pads than it is to rebuild your gearbox n replace your clutch
I used to go down every gear but now i go down every two gears. It's a good compromise - it's still very efficent engine braking and it keeps my focus more on what's around me rather than on what's happening with the car. I think you should use each of those methods depending on the situation. You probably don't need to go down every gear when driving in the city, just put it in 3rd until you stop or go 4th to 2nd until you stop and focus more on your surroundings. In some cases going down every gear is a must like for example driving in more mountainous areas when going down steep hills.
The best method is heel & toe -low clutch wear (if done correctly) -low breaks wear -you're always on the optimal RPM, so you can always accelerate quickly if needed -it's fun and sounds cool
To expand upon the advantage of already being in gear, I've seen people who hesitate if they need to accelerate suddenly, because they need to think for a moment about which gear to go into, depending on how much they've already slowed down. That moment of indecision really delays how quickly you can get on the gas if there's some unexpected need to accelerate while you're in a breaking zone. If you change down through the gears, there's no hesitation as you search for the appropriate gear for your speed before you can apply the gas. Even if you don't want to use engine breaking, I still recommend people shift through the gears as they slow down (even if they just keep the clutch in the whole time) so they're ready to give it gas immediately if there's an emergency.
It's rare to see people that really enjoy driving being driving instructors, at least here in Germany. And as a car guy, I really like that. This is the third video so far, as even though I have my license for 14 years now, I figured that you are never done learning, and can always use a reminder. Other than that, I enjoy watching car enthusiasts being enthusiastic about driving.
Your videos are a great help, 3 weeks ago i was just learning standard, scared to even be in traffic, now 3 weeks in i'm 100% confident, rev matching and downshifting now getting into an automatic is weird
Im teaching myself how to drive manual right now, and you just solved one of my biggest confusions of it. I always thought to slow down, you'd need to downshift to from the origanl gear you were at to 1st gear to properly slow down but actually you can do it at any gear by pressing in clutch and brake, and then starting at the appropriate gear when regaining speed!
Thank you for doing this video! Got in a whole argument with an acquaintance about me down shifting through the gears to come to a stop. The argument didn't feel right and this simply reconfirms how I feel about it, which is, it comes down to the driver's preference
As a driving instructor, one of the issues I find with my pupils when skipping out gears is their eagerness to jump off of that clutch before matching the appropriate speed. In particularly when coming to down to such speeds that 1st gear would be appropriate. I'm sure you've experienced the jolt of an early clutch release ha! This is almost always a confidence issue as they feel that they are being a pest to traffic behind so want to get going again. For this reason I start off with gear by gear reduction. I find it helps them get a feel for what each gear can do as well. I always tell them that there are essentially 3 eays a car will move. Pushed. Pulled. Or rolled! Great videos!
A couple of additional observations i'd make.... First - teaching a simple technique. One thing we're doing is imbuing people with habits and practices that are not necessarily just steps on a journey. The habits they develop in the beginning may never be re-examined and that may just be the way they do it for life. Simple is great, but simple is only great if it's truly fit for purpose - ideally, best practice, or something that necessarily provides the foundation for best practice. Second - having power on demand. When you downshift while decelerating, ensuring that engine speed always matches road speed, then you always maintain all the options for getting out of harm's way - be it slower, faster, and / or steer. We can make an assumption that the situation we are entering - say the oblique Give Way in the video - is complete to our senses and analysis and that a particular method for whatever will serve. The problem with this is that the assumption also includes the implicit 'i know everything that is or could possibly be'.... The idea that braking is mainly about what is directly in front of you is also flawed, and i've been saved twice in the last few decades by, in the first instance, being able to accelerate into a convenient driveway (before a line of stopped vehicles) to avoid a SUV locked up on ice that was hurtling up my rear and, in the second instance, by being able to accelerate off the road and down a convenient embankment to avoid a vehicle coming in the opposite direction and crossing the centre-line. Finally, if people want or need 'simple', then they should be driving automatic - the vast majority of people are, anyway - as they always, especially if they left-foot brake, have power on demand. Driving a manual, if they're 'up for the challenge' involves learning techniques that are more involved but, we need also to remember, were perfectly commonplace until relatively recently and were inevitably taught to learner drivers - from matching engine and road speed on downshifts without straining the components to relative obscurities like clutch-less changes up and down.
I had questions in my mind and couldn't find the answers anywhere on the internet, yet they've all been cleared up in just one video! Thanks for being so informative and concise!
I downshift when approaching a turn or bend in the road, the engine helps to slow down and stabilize the car, and I can accelerate out of the turn because I'm already in a lower gear.
As a driving instructor living in sweden, we teach this to EVERYONE who wants to take manual license. It is the third ”chapter” so to speak, coming after controlling clutch and breaks and gas at low speeds (like in a parking lot). I am so surprised so many people in other countries (maybe in my own as well) do not know this
I feel like it varies by country. In Poland we learn downshifting as “economical driving” (one of the exam criteria), but to me it should be taught everywhere for safety reasons - clutch-loving drivers may overheat brakes once they visit mountainous areas. I will never forget following WV golf with smoking brakes in Norway.
@@BlueScreenOfDeathPL downshifting is different from downshifting while slowing down. It's easier to downshift when you don't have to juggle between the gas and brake
Slow down using only the breaks. Engine breaking is great when you're racing, not so much when commuting. Pick the gear for the appropriate speed and the life of your transmission will last longer. I have a 2013 FRS and I'm the original owner with 46k miles. Still using the stock clutch that came with the car. How you drive will determine the life of the transmission.
I really enjoy your RUclips postings, so please keep them coming. It’s very rare for me to ever send in any comments, but I just couldn’t resist in this case. Sorry it’s a long one … Just sharing my thoughts which are offered in good faith and are well meant … For the avoidance of doubt, I shamelessly state that I am a, ‘change down on approach’ person and always will be. It’s quite possible to become proficient at matching speed, gear ratio and engine speed, with a slight ‘blip’ on the accelerator prior to change-down (“rev match” as you state), it’s actually quite possible to mesh the gears at the right moment so the ‘additional clutch wear’ doesn’t really figure. In fact, given some practice, it’s quite possible to make a slick change down (as well as up) without even dipping the clutch (not that I’m recommending this of course, but you get the idea). That won’t be possible on day one of a lesson of course, I appreciate that. In well over 40+ years, I can honestly say that I have never worn a clutch out on any car, and on average, I suspect I’ve done something of the order of 100,000 miles in each car. Even if the ‘change down on approach’ technique did shave a few miles off a car’s life, so what? Safety is important and trumps any wear in my view. Feeding into a junction, roundabout etc, there’s no way on this earth that I would ever approach in a high gear with clutch down and brakes applied. I can feel myself panicking right now at the mere thought of it, and I’m just at home typing this! I would argue that this is an uncontrolled approach, puts all the stress on the brakes and also can put needless pressure on the driver at an inappropriate time when the appropriate gear is needed for the next part of the manoeuvre (and by the way, surely it’s more difficult to determine which gear is appropriate if you haven’t stepped down along the way). People should be fully aware of all their surroundings and traffic movement. I’d much rather be in a position to be able to pull away with minimum faff at all times to cover any eventuality. Years ago, driving like this, especially if the clutch is held down for an extended period, is coasting in my eyes and should be very much frowned upon. Perhaps this explains why I feel increasingly vulnerable these days from traffic approaching from the rear. Some people do seem to hurtle towards my tailgate with an alarming speed and obvious last minute heavy braking as their front end dips right down. Let us also think about what might happen if the engine happens to stall. You lose the hydraulics so no power steering or brakes! You are now hurtling towards traffic with nothing but severely compromised brakes with only (perhaps) the handbrake at your disposal. I say ‘perhaps’ becomes some ‘modern’ vehicles don’t always permit the application of the handbrake whilst moving forward! Would someone who has been taught this ‘easy way’ have the sense to let the clutch up (in an appropriate gear) to get the engine turning again to reinstate hydraulics? No, of course not. Also, surely, if someone leaves the gearbox meshed in a high gear and simply applies the brakes without lifting up the clutch in an appropriate time, the engine could well be labouring (or get stalled). I would argue that bad labouring causes stress on the main crank, its bearings, con rods and pistons. An engine re-build is rather expensive, so why on earth has this crazy fad caught on? ‘Making it easy’ in this case isn’t, in my view, commensurate with good practice and it limits people’s skill sets to the instructor’s lower expectations. It might get more people through their tests (which is weird in itself because the ‘no changing down gears’ approach should really be frowned upon in my view), but is that the correct driver (pardon the pun)? The problem is that when one instructor starts such a technique (and pass rates are perceived to increase), others will likely follow and the whole thing then perpetuates. So why not come down the gears properly in a controlled manner, and use the brakes as required. Why is it perceived that learners cannot grasp this? It’s just part of the skill set that is driving, surely. The problem is that people will stick to what they know. By the way, on motorcycles at least, the chances are that the gearbox will complain about the ‘easy approach’ and get a bit stuck when a change of gear is needed. I speak from experience. All of that problem goes away if you change down on the approach. I know we aren’t talking about motorcycles here, but if people apply the, ‘change down on approach solution’ it works for both vehicles and in my view makes the world a little safer. Assuring you of my best intentions.
When I started driving fifty or more years ago, when brakes wore out all you changed were the pads or linings. Since asbestos was banned modern brake materials are far more abrasive and the norm these days is to change both pads and discs, more often than not. Change gear correctly and the wear on a clutch is minimal as it is both quick and if the engine speed is matched to the vehicle speed there is little wear at all on the clutch. Using the throttle and gears is also more economic with regard to fuel consumption.
Going down each gear is not very economical nor environmentally friendly, which is something that is stressed a lot here in Sweden. The main method that is taught here is: let go of the gas pedal ahead of time and start motor braking. Use the brake pedal to get down further in speed if needed, shift down to the target gear before you reach the crossing or roundabout and slowly let go of the clutch to motor brake even more. That way you are ready to go when you reach the target and you reduce the risk of stopping your engine in the middle of a turn (which can be dangerous in some situations).
The biggest reason to change down is to be in the correct gear BEFORE you enter the corner, so that you can be on the power as early as possible and get the car in its most balanced state: power going through the diff. Coasting through the corner is slow, and shifting while in the corner can easily unsettle the car. For a passionate driver with a performance vehicle, there is really no other option. However, in town, keeping the car balanced is not a concern because we are rarely at the limits of the chassis or braking or power train systems. For the vast majority of drivers who are not car people, slowing for a red light will usually involve coming out of gear and shifting into first when it's time to go. Totally fine in my opinion. I heel toe even in town, because it makes me feel in control more, and because it's fun.
I've done this since day i got my license..it is common sense and reduces the risk of lockups and abs activation reduces using of brakes and discs and saves fuel if you are using it in a efficient way. Miracles can be done with a manual shift and only a real driver in heart thrives to drive one i had a chance to buy automatic didnt think one sec about it.
You did fail to mention the fact that it is a lot easier to lock your wheels when breaking outside of gear. Yeah it's fine to slow down with brakes only (unless it's slippery) at low speeds, but breaking from high speeds can cause a very bad accident. I personally know two people who locked their wheels and lost control because they didn't downshift but just pressed the clutch and brake. One had a bad accident. Good rev matching negates a lot of the clutch and gearbox wear and tear, so the overall wear an tear on the car is reduced. Breaking this way is a lot smoother and leaves you ready to slow down more or accelerate whenever needed. I think it's important not to forget the dangers of breaking out of gear...
Downshifting and rev matching is a must skill if you drive in mountainous areas. Dont want to be going or get stuck halfway down a 1000m serpentine descent with overheating brakes. Plus a a cool natural way of revving up the engine without putting any strain on it.
I was taught (many years ago) to always be in the correct gear and have always used the changing down method (although not to first of course for the reasons stated). As for the extra wear on the clutch and gearbox? Well, you can forget the latter as an issue as the loads when using engine braking do not put a lot of stress on a gearbox, and providing you change gears smoothly, then neither does that. What I can say is that my last three cars have all done well over 100,000 miles from new. The current one now has 110,000 miles on it, and the previous two around 130,000. All three never had their clutch changed (nor, for that matter, the gearbox). My current car (a Ford Focus 1.6TDi) is also only on it's second set of brake pads and I'm an assiduous user of engine braking. I consider it by far the best way to keep control of a car, and it also uses less fuel. When using engine braking the momentum in the car keeps the engine rotating and the ECU can cut off the fuel supply. The same is not true when coasting by putting your foot on the clutch pedal. The ECU has to provide enough fuel to keep the engine turning. Using engine braking saves fuel, even if it's not a huge amount. I should add that I try and use the brakes as little as possible, slow down smoothly and find that this is the most economical way to drive as well as putting a relatively light load on the car. An addition, whilst people get concerned about wearing out clutch plates, what can also fail is excessive use of the clutch release bearings. Unlike a gearbox, a clutch release bearing does not run in a bath of oil, but will use whatever grease it was packed with in the first place. Some clutch release bearings are relatively lightly made and do not take kindly to being used excessively. I've know clutches need replacing, not because of excessive wear on the plates, but because the release bearing has failed. Some French cars seem to be particularly prone to this (I have seen some where the plastic components have effectively melted). What wears out clutches is not changing under relatively light loads, but slipping it a lot, either due to aggressive acceleration, especially from a standing start or riding the clutch holding it against a hill. Also, don't keep the clutch pressed in for long periods as release bearings are only designed for intermittent use. There is also another issue and that is it is a requirement to keep full control of the car at all times. It is questionable whether coasting meets that requirement; I was always taught not to do that.
Depends upon the situation. If you are in a regular car and just want to stop at a light, coast to slow down if you have time (by looking ahead and knowing if the light will change and not following cars too close), then apply the brakes, then put it in neutral when the revs get low, and then just brake until stopped. Nice and perfectly smooth stop with no gear change effort, noise or wear. Always be ready to shift into the correct gear if necessary when in neutral though. If you want to slow down a bit to turn or whatever then sure, down shift. Never ride the clutch. I don't generally see a point in downshifting unless I foresee a need to be in gear to accelerate coming, or if you still find it fun. Brakes are cheaper than clutches. I'm at 220K on my original clutch and it's still OK.
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When I first started I didn’t really think about downshifting when slowing down. As I got more comfortable with the manual, I learned the right speeds to downshift smoothly and do it pretty much all the time now. It just makes driving more active and is more entertaining, specially when you throw in some rev matching.
I agree.
It was fun until you stuck in traffic.
Imagine doing it naturally @@ConquerDriving
Even more fun when you start doing it on the limit. Going down the gears is absolutely essential when you're on the edge and that little bit of engine braking is the difference between your car rotating nicely into the corner and understeering into a ditch lmao
@@TomoHawKzZ as long as the cars rwd
One thing I truly appreciate about driving manual transmission vehicles, is that there is a great deal of variety in technique, strategy, and discipline. No two people drive manual in precisely the same way.
To be honest, I find myself doing both methods. Just depends where I'm driving and the situation infront I'm in
and that is the correct way.
Mainly the advantage of shifting down the gears one at a time is actually safety and being actively following what is happening.
So you are ready to go in case you need to do avoiding action, near a roundabout or a intersection or animals.
Personally I brake and am ready to change gears in any second with one of my hand on gear stick.
Since otherwise I prefer for my clutch and engine to wear less as they are harder and more costly to replace.
@@KryssN1
I have been driving a stick over 50 years. I have never worn out a clutch. I don't downshift except around corners. Brakes are cheaper than clutches. My current car has 263,000 on the original clutch. Also take your foot off the clutch except to shift.
19 year old new Manuel driver here. I am watching these videos now as I am learning how not to stall and just drive around. I will eventually learn downshifting but start small and you will learn everything you needa know.
Don’t even worry about this for the first year in my opinion. Just go to neutral and go into gear when you need when slowing down a lot. After you are comfortable then you can get into more advanced driving techniques like downshifting properly.
As a 20 year old American about to buy their first manual car tomorrow, I found all your videos super helpful!! Definitely the best tutorials on RUclips. Thanks so much :)
How are you finding manual a month on? What car did you buy? 😁
3 months in now hows it going?
4 months in, how is it?
About to buy a manual on Monday, been watching videos. Eager to put my knowledge to the test.
@@allroundlad so which one did you buy
I do both, it really depends on the situation for me. Like if I am on 4th gear and a red light comes up I will just brake and stop, then put it on 1st for moving off. But if it's like roundabouts or junctions, I'll slow to 2nd gear (and then 1st if it's needed).
think thats the best way to do it
i like to gear down, if i know a red is coming up i ease off and gear down, some times you can get the light change from red to green, and you are in the proper gear. The same goes for Rounderabouts and Junctions.
@@procta2343 I was talking about if the red light just comes at that time then I will brake from 4th to 1st. But if the red's been on for a while or if it suddenly goes to amber and green, then I will select the appropriate gear :)
@@SyedaTasnia Hi Syeda that's the correct way of driving 👍, I am also a driving instructor and have been for 26yrs
@@barryk8435 Thank you :)
Hello! I’m in the army and we’re taught manual driving. I’ve had issues learning manual but your videos have helped me a lot! I studied using your videos even though I’m driving one of those massive army trucks but everything still applies to it. Just yesterday I did my test and I managed to pass so thanks very much for all the informative content that you put out 🙏🏼
Congratulations on your pass, my friend, and thank you for your service! 🤙
Nice one pal!
That's great news, congratulations on passing.
What mos are you
Congrats bud. Thanks you for your service
American here. I usually rev match down a gear at least once, maybe twice when approaching a stop. Sort of a compromise between using my brakes and using engine braking. I was told, on fuel injected cars, engine braking used little to no fuel, so if I find myself going down a steep enough hill, I'll downshift to gear that lets me maintain a steady speed down the hill without using gas or brake. Plus, downshifting like that is the perfect excuse to listen to my straight-piped exhaust.
Engine braking is specially important on hills indeed. like you said, if possible, not even using the brakes at all. Faded/burned brakes on a hill ain't pretty.
On city traffic I don't downshift because I frankly concentrate a lot more on everything around, which I find more important than any wear aspect, plus also the wear being on the brakes instead of the clutch and transmission is an extra bonus.
Yes, you’re right, fuel injected cars use no fuel when coasting/engine braking in gear and off throttle. it’s just the momentum keeping the engine spinning
The amount of people from the US telling me that driving this way would destroy my car and that I should just use brakes with the clutch pressed in constantly on a killer downhill is honestly embarrassing.
You're the only normal one. Good job.
@@onelyone6976 but if they use no fuel, do you know why the engine still make noise?
@@caralho5237 The sound of an engine is mostly produced by the movement of the cylinders. Even if you don't inject any fuel, the cylinders will still be moving and therefore produce sound.
I started driving in 2016 and I can say that my driving drastically improved just by watching your excellent videos. You always make driving a manual so fun and thrilling. If I ever come to the UK, I'll sign up for Conquer Driving to master reverse parking!
wow, I started driving in 1968.....I was 10 years old, how time flies.
@@papo1515 10 years old 💀
Downshifting through the gears as you slow is definitely pretty complicated for beginners, but I think it's important to do as soon as you learn it. I was taught, here in the states, that you should stay in gear as long as possible so that you have maximum control over the car in case something bad were to happen (brake failure coming to mind, as if you're in gear you can control and decelerate the car to a degree without brakes)
Passed my test this morning (2nd attempt). I learned with family, so your videos were immensely helpful. Thank you and keep up the amazing work!
That's so great to hear, congratulations on passing!
Congrats bro
Congrats man,be safe on road.
Ahh Yee 😎 congrats. Be safe!
My instructor has never gone into detail about this so I've always wondered! As a learner, simply applying the clutch and then selecting the appropriate gear after coming to a near stop is MUCH easier. Still, as I've gained more driving experience and began to appreciate the benefits of engine braking, I do sometimes go down each gear in turn when I'm coming up to a junction or when the traffic in front of me is having a hard idea deciding what it's doing...Just wanted to say your video on 'stopping in two stages' has helped me a lot here and made a marked difference to my driving!
I don’t know whether it’s true or not, what I hear from pleople is holding too much clutch isn’t good for vehicle
@@charankumarreddy5871 If you mean using the clutch for too long or "riding the clutch" then yes that is bad, reason why is it wears out the clutch faster leading to failure or need for replacement much sooner
@@charankumarreddy5871 Yeah, as little clutch time as possible. It can catch fire even. Segment the speeds in your head and speedo.and know when to shift to not stall, and to be in a gear ready to go, especially if you Have to go to avoid.
I am happy to say that I finally passed my driving test with 4 minors. Your videos are very insightful and have helped a lot so I have to say thank you. It still feels surreal that I can drive on my own.
That's great news, congratulations on passing!
a 32 year old American over here learning how to drive manual from Brits because despite the bravado of our car culture, the stats say we prefer automatics haha.
It’s refreshing to hear from such an understanding and encouraging instructor. As someone who has had his license for over 15 years I can safely say I use both methods dependent on situation. For smooth daily driving I don’t row down the gears but will jump to second for the last few seconds before coming to a complete stop. That’s just my habit to ensure I’m in a gear and ready to go if needed, like the lights are changing.
However if I go for a spirited drive or track day the engine brake method is 100% used and spend as much time with engine and gearbox engaged as possible because you will really feel the benefits of engine braking when at speed and higher up the rev range, but to avoid jerkiness and upsetting the car’s balance when you do I recommend practicing and using heel (side of your foot) and toe technique as well.
I like to use the engine braking technique when I'm slowing down because I'm a fan of massive stopping zones and also never actually coming to a stop when I can avoid it. Thing is that it's all intuitive for me as I've never actually looked into the actual theory of it
@@Fazer_600 I'd probably still do it on a diesel, but with a bit more braking involved. I fucking love changing gears
@@Fazer_600 engine braking on my 2,5TD feels like it's about ½ as strong as the power output of the engine. Sometimes have to apply the clutch in the winter so the back end doesn't let go when i let off the gas
@@Fazer_600 diesel engines have more engine breaking than petrol engines do.
If, when shifting down you are "rev matching" you will likely find you have much less wear on your clutch compared to without rev matching. I tend to slow with the brakes, downshift with rev match and repeat until I'm going slow enough for the situation, I rarely rev match if I'm going into 1st and similarly to this video will only go into 1st if I'm going to be stopping. In the right gear for any situation, minimal wear on synchros, clutch & brakes and not too hard to do if you've been driving for a few years and give it a go. Rev matching properly, there is 0 jerking motion or clutch spinning and it's extremely smooth. The "work" involved is irrelevant once it becomes muscle memory, but I didn't start rev matching for about 2 years of driving experience. When I first started driving, I would still change down the gears when braking as I was taught this way by my instructor and regardless of your rev matching abilities, it will save you a lot of hassle once you get used to the clutch in your car! In my opinion, braking and shifting down with rev matching is the best possible way for slowing down with very little to no disadvantages. In terms of making something "easier", definitely for starting, but the best method should always be the end goal and doing something the "easy" way shouldn't be the end game.
Yeah the problem is *rev matching* is for slowing without brakes because you can only have two feet , you’re trying to explain heel and toe which is not something someone should be trying to learn for there driving test
A- if you get it wrong you end up hammering on the brakes
B- the instructor dosnt care if you go all keichi tsuchiya or not, safe driving is all they want
Hey. I let the engine break when coming to a stop while downshifting. Does this wear the clutch a lot and should I rather rev match?
Rev matching with a Diesel is harder for me, because the you have to hold on to the gas more to rev up, compared to petrol cars. So rev matching alone feels easy for me, but rev matching and coming to a stop takes too long
Wow! You expect
Agreed. Learned when I was 13.
@@GregoryCavill most people who can use advanced driving fundamentals or have track experience can react to and perform better in extreme conditions than those who don't. Marks on a driving test mean nothing when your cars at a 60 degree angle on the highway sliding through ice. If you dont know how to get out of those situations then "safety during a driving test" is useless. My driving test here was an absolute joke. Even my motorcycle test was far less than I expected. If people go off the basics they learn in drivers Ed and the test to get their license then it's no wonder I see so many people wrecked in bad weather. Me personally, I think common sense helps but if you have experience driving in extreme conditions you'll be much better off and understand how your vehicle behaves in each situation. Like how to correct a slide.
Thanks so much for this video! I'm about to go for a drive with my dad and was just wandering about when to change gears. You're easily one of the best driving channels on youtube!
One thing id like to add is that there might be more advantages to downshifting when in older cars, especially when they don't have ABS as using the engine braking makes it less likely you'll lock up the brakes when wanting to slow down. This of course only being exaggerated during rain or icy weather.
I never thought that was a question. Always better, more controlled, easier on brakes, and faster to down shift. When first learning you can totally just use the brakes though. But definitely learn downshifting and get good at it.
Once again, a cracking pair of socks!
Haven’t seen that shirt either.
😂
You always cover the topics which no driver instructor ever talks about.
You're a gem❤
Keep it going buddy....
Love from India
@Drey My views are limited to the driving instructors which I have met till now. Things are not the same everywhere when you talk about such a big country.
Cheers😉
You taught me so much from your videos. I bought my first manual car yesterday and it's thanks to your videos that I had the courage to take it out on the road and thanks to the knowledge you shared that I had zero stalls, though it would have been okay even if I did. Thanks so much for sharing such informative videos. I ran into the first gear issue today when I repeatedly tried to engine brake with first gear but it wouldn't engage. I thought something was wrong with the car so when I got back, first thing was look for a video on downshifting/engine braking and in the first 90 seconds you've already talked about why I was experiencing that 'issue'
Thank you for watching, I'm happy to hear the videos are helping.
I feel like there’s implications for both. When you are comfortable enough with the manual transmission: change down gears to put less wear on brakes, especially when going downhill. If you are still a beginner, focus only on foot braking to reduce confusion . And if you have to come to an emergency stop (children or animal randomly dashes across the road, etc) definitely focus on just braking.
I have been driving a stick over 50 years. I have never worn out a clutch. I don't downshift except around corners. Brakes are cheaper than clutches. My current car has 263,000 on the original clutch. Also take your foot off the clutch except to shift.
But if you want to stop your car faster using both engine and brakes is better. Just using brakes not good enough
I don’t currently drive a car but I’m just so in love with the manual transmission that I can’t stop watching these videos. Will be taking my driver’s test soon, I hope the experience is just as good as I imagined. Thank you for the videos you do!
I feel the same about my sex life if that helps you any. 🤣
@@J_S209 🤣
I’m currently playing American Truck Simulator and it’s amazing how much I’ve learned about driving and changing gears. I’ve never driven manual before but I knew, understood and practiced what this gentlemen is showing in that game!
I highly recommend it as a learning tool for ALL drivers.
Hi! Do you play it with keyboard and mouse or some other way? I'm struggling with changing gears and your advice really resonated with me.
Thanks in advance!
Best thing to do is when you have more experience behind the wheel you can start rev match downshifting by blipping throttle mid downshift - Always ready to go, less wear on brakes, less to none wear on clutch and less fuel consumption
The less fuel consumption part is not true. Downshifting with revmatching is usefull when you need to shift down without losing speed. It is useless during braking for a stoplight that is red.
@@dutchdrifter8740 I didn't understand what you meant by "shift down without losing speed", also you use less fuel staying in gear because wheels are used to power your engine at which point it uses 0 fuel as opposed to shifting in neutral and letting your engine idle which uses little bit of fuel.
@@milendur7398 what he meant is that youre not losing speed with your engine. If you let go of the clutch without revmatching the cars slows down while the engine gets up to speed. Also, you use fuel when you accelerate to match the revs and puts more strain on the gearbox and syncros when flipping gears unnecessarily. You don't really coast as was said in the video because you only let go of the clutch when you're about 1k rpm
rev matching does not really reduce or remove wear from the clutch or synchros. this is a common myth. you would have to double-clutch to remove the wear from sychros... rev matching enables you to lift your fooz form the clutch quickly.
There's one other major advantage of changing down gears sequentially as opposed to block changing and that's when driving in the snow. If you brake and block change in the snow or ice you'll lock up and slide far more than just letting the gearbox do the work. This is why older automatics without manual shift option slide such a lot when slowing up. Infact, it's possible to drive in the snow without using the brakes at all if you drive at the correct speed with a manual gearbox. I've now had to show my kids this as they were taught to block change. This may well be a major contributor to the amount of accidents we see in this county as soon as we have a bit of snow on the ground. Great video though 👍
I agree 95% of the time - I was a goof as a youth and downshifted fairly aggressively to slow in the snow in my father's Nissan but it provided so much compression braking and the road was so slick that I still ended up sliding the front wheels. But completely agree with the general driving in the snow comment - we just got 5-6 inches yesterday and there were morons crashed into curbs all over who were going too fast down minor little hills...
The disadvantage of changing down gears in slippery conditions is that you're only using two wheels to slow the car down as most cars are two wheel drive. In a rear wheel drive car it's the wrong wheels for braking. The brakes use all four tyres.
@@ConquerDriving Brakes are biased more heavily towards the front so they will lock first or at least the ABS wil activate. If you drive at a sensible speed in the snow then it works far better than applying the brakes. I've driven front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and AWD and it's never let me down in 32 years of driving in some pretty bad conditions and living in the Chilterns we've got some pretty bad hills to negotiate.
@@wafflesnfalafel1 Yes I learnt that the hard way too in my first car, a rear wheel drive Sierra. Gently is it the key as we both discovered 🙂
i agree. In fact, you brought up a very key reason for slowing down in gear, as opposed to in neutral : Grip.
I have learnt both from racing instructors, and the internet, that no matter FWD, RWD or 4/AWD, when you slow down in gear, there is some pressure on the differentials, which gives a slight locking effect.
In poor grip condtions, if you just use the brakes without being in gear, there is a higher chance that a wheel will lock up if that wheel hit an extra slippery patch.
But if you brake in gear, the slight locking effect means that, if one wheel skids and wants to lock up, it will have to lock by overcoming the power of the whole axle, gearbox, engine, and the other wheel as well, which is not possible.
That wheel will skid, no doubt, but it will not lock up, and so you will not need to get off the brakes in order for that wheel to spinning again, and regain traction
This principle, is also the principle of why rock crawlers lock their differentials, so that you don't have individual wheels spinning away, taking power away from the other wheels.
Of course, there is little need to do this, on a dry, good condition road...but on wet, snow and washed out road conditions, this helps tremendously.
24 y/o and just bought a manual 2003 Chevy s10. Been learning how to drive it based off your videos and I’m already doing so much better! Right now I’m working on hill starts and clutch control. I’m starting getting comfortable controlling both legs after years of driving automatic.
I haven't had lessons for a while because I got overwhelmed and felt I just couldn't do it
down shifting was one of my problem areas it stressed me out I had to down shift each gear matching them with the revs
Your videos are giving me the confidence to try again you explain everything so clearly thank you for your content
Engine braking can be pretty important when towing a large trailer. In my 5 speed pickup truck I would typically downshift from 5th, 4th, then 3rd... after that I would simply shift into neutral and use the brake.
Why would engine breaking be important? Saves wear on the brakes sure but in what instance would your brakes be in danger of overheating when towing?
It isn’t the brake wear that matters it’s the control of the vehicle. For example if you’re going downhill at a high speed stopping too quickly will cause your trailer to lose control. You have to remember it takes considerably more force to stop a trucks momentum than a car. This also applies to poor road condition like when it’s raining or icy out.
I agree with you on most of your points. It's much simpler for new drivers to not have to think about changing the gears. However, once they get used to it, they should practice rowing through each gears because it helps you get comfortable with shifting through the gears and modulating the clutch. You also learn the connections among current speed, revs and gears by shifting through all the gears as well. The once you are completely comfortable with that, it's easier to just skip gears or clutch in and come to a complete stop, then switch into 1st.
I 1st learned how to drive clutch on a motorcycle in the 1980's .
But never drove clutch cars untill the 1990's how I learned was by watching other people do it.
while I sat in the back seat between the 2 front seats I did till I figured it out one day a female friend had a Honda car and I asked if I could try driving it.
She said yeah so I did and I did well for my 1st time I thinking knowing motorcycle clutch.
Helped too I have learned alot about clutch vehicles by being a passenger in them and how most people or the average person drives them.
Here's what I learned there are 3 different styles of how we all can drive a clutch car or bike.
#1 average style driving
Most drivers is where most drivers shit up through all the gears.
And shift down through all the gears and are herky jerky through the gears accelerating and slowing down.
The average also holds the clutch pedal all of time when they really don't need to even at stop lights and sitting in backed up traffic they also over rev the engine from 1st gear to the final gear.
#2 Economy efficient clutch driving style
Using just the right amount of RPMS to start the car driving without overeving the engine.
Getting the car to the next appropriate speed before going into the 2nd gear.
This requires no throttle usage what so ever when done right you just simply put the car in the next gear.
When in gear while car is rolling just moderately let the clutch out and resume with the throttle.
Till you get to your final gear
Next slowing down and stopping
The best thing to do is.
take the car out of gear and put in neutral this won't wear your brakes out any faster because.
If you keep reasonable distance between your and the vehicle in front of you it will give you.
the ability to break earlier then most drivers do weather you drive clutch or automatic. brakes wear out faster because drivers do the practice of late breaking.
To save fuel and clutch wear when slowing down put the transmission in neutral. because going down through the uses more fuel and puts unnecessary wear and tear on the engine as well.
Sitting in backed up traffic or city driving bring your car to a stop as needed.
And there's never no need to do that with the clutch pedal to the floor Save your energy.
to Drive the car when in traffic put in neutral till you know when it's time to drive again.
#3 Racing style shifting
Is the most aggressive style of to squeeze the most.
Performance out of you car or motorcycle but there's a fine line between success and failure.
And mistakes can be made that can lead to crashing due to losing control of the vehicle.
Or mechanical failure
Let's go with the basics starting off fast is knowing what RPMS to launch the car or bike at.
Going through the gears you're goal would be to shit to the next gear near the redline. during this process if your in 1st gear is and your torque curve drops off.
before reaching the redline that's a indication that you need to go to the next gear. Stretching out all your gear shifts near the redline like on straight aways will get you going faster in less time.
Going into turns at race speed with a clutch vehicles this is all determined by your speed. before the turn and knowing when to start you're breaking and downshifting points.
this key to successfully going through a turn at the highest rate speed.
without losing control and selecting the right gear to negotiate to turn.
so you can exist the turn as fast as possible matching the right gear to speed.
will keep you near the redline through the turn so when existing you can winde that out gear.
for maximum speed before the gear change however this type of shifting and driving.
is hard on fuel and puts added wear and tare on the clutch plates and more breaking.
is needed for this style of driving
Of all these 3 different clutch driving styles I mainly use #2 90% of time.
The other 10% of the time I use #3 and I never use #1
One thing that I forgot to mention.
About driving style #2 is when you vehicle is rolling in motion at the right speed you can.
Shift at lower RPMS to save on fuel about 1,000 to 1,150 RPMS this will save you money. because over revving the engine in between shifts is only wasting gasoline.
I hope that this helps people understand more about clutch vehicles
Honestly, i think both are good. sometimes, i need to slow down quickly, and don't have time to fiddle with the gears one at a time. just select whatever gear i expect to need and slowly lift the clutch while braking. other times, i do it because it's fun and i enjoy being in gear and letting the inertia run the engine (for fuel efficiency).
Your videos helped me a lot when I learned how to drive my manual car. One of the things that clicked for me was when you would brake & let off the clutch to go into gear.
I used to think you could only downshift if you rev matched. Everything changed when I realized I didn’t need to blip the gas, I could just ease off the clutch while braking.
Very simple & makes sense for any experienced manual driver, but it was the “click” moment for me.
I learned how to drive manual from RUclips tips and suggestions. I’m so glad I found this channel. I learned how to downshift the hard way 1st. Later I learned how to downshift with less wear on my clutch, which I’m sure already has some wear due to me stalling so many times. I coast so much more often when coming to a complete stop now, after watching many helpful tips from this channel. I would always prefer more wear on my brakes than my clutch. Good luck to those who are learning to drive manual for the first time. It’s a great skill to have that many don’t have. Also, you worry less about someone stealing your car.
The main atvantage of engine breaking is in a catastrophic scenarios. A truck driver cut me off once and for me to not hit the rear of the truck I switched from 5- the to 3-rd with my foot slamming the break pedal. To have the engine slowing down the rotation of the wheels as a second instrument lowers the stopping distance of the car in high speed situations
Exactly!
I've been in that situation where the traffic suddenly came to a stop on the motorway and I had to stop fast (I was driving an old car, with a lot less braking power than modern ones). Having some experience in shifting down gears while braking helped immensely!
This is only relevant in really old cars without power brakes. Modern cars will lock up their wheels at really high speeds. In my learner car I will lock them up at 150kmph on a dry road with proper tyres. Shifting down will not help the car reduce speed faster due to the tyres already losing their grip. It doesn't add anything.
@@dutchdrifter8740 my peugeot 207 from 2011 never locked a wheel even when full-strength braking from above 170 km/h. Are you sure you've got a decent ABS system?😂
Having a second instrument makes no difference to the stopping distance of a car. Both engine braking and traditional braking provide resistance to the wheels in the same way. Once that resistance has reached the limit of the grip of the tires, there is no way to slow down faster. In a modern car, the regular brakes are able to provide enough resistance to reach that point, meaning engine braking is unnecessary in said catastrophic scenario.
If you're in a car where the brakes are unable to reach that point, I'd argue that you shouldn't be driving it.
@@g_webb21 I am really sure it has a decent ABS system. And it has a proper braking system.
I wish my driving instructor had the same mentality as you. He made it seem mandatory that I'd change down the gears when braking and that it'd be dangerous not to, as I'd be "essentially skipping gears". Needless to say it was a difficult technique to learn for a complete beginner and it made me put my whole focus on that one thing instead of other important aspects of driving
Same lol. Wasted a lot of time and £
When I started driving manual, I thought skipping gears was bad too. Turns out it's only "bad" because it makes it easier to screw things up. Eg overrev the engine or burn the synchros or mess up rev matching. If you can learn to double clutch, you can go from any gear to any gear.
Also, if your instructor thought stopping in 4th then shifting to 1st was the same as "skipping gears", they had no idea what they were saying.
This is actually how it used to be, but now coasting is considered fine and you don't need to have engine matched to speed and gear all the time. When I took my test, a long time ago, you would fail for not using the gears when slowing down in all but emergency situations.
As a truck driver that drives a 10 speed manual it's always a good thing to downshift. Because that light might turn green as soon as you get to it & you'll be in the right gear or at least near the right gear when it's time to move but cars are different not so many gears & not as heavy
Yes, thats also more fuel efficient
My instructor was adamant about shifting down which I couldn't do very well at all and I got scolded for damaging his gearbox. Once I passed my test I just went driving on an empty road to learn this at my place, wanting to know all there's to know about driving. Nice and helpful, thanks
The main advantage of engine breaking is that you use a lot less fuel.
0mph while the engine is breaking while you use maybe 1l/h ideling
This
Mechanically it's way better to just hold down the clutch (or even switch into neutral if you know you'll be coming to a stop or slowly breaking for long time like when approaching red light and slowly reducing speed while waiting for possible green) because pointlessly switching the gears will wear the brass synchros inside the transmission (they are between each gear and are friction-"rammed" onto a tapered surface to match the gear-cog speed with the engine speed) . The amount of friction on the synchros is small but it adds up over time especially if you live in the city. Keep in mind that downshifting with high rev (as done with engine braking) puts MUCH higher wear on the synchros than upshifting (i can explain more about it if anyone is interested). If you NEED to downshift on a downslope , it's always better to switch into neutral , push the gas down to rev the engine slightly higher than you expect the revs to be with your intended gear , then press the clutch again and switch to the gear
My car has done 200k 99% of which in city and the first 3 gears synchros are pretty worn (especially first) so i'm at a point where i have to double clutch (even better to learn double clutch before the synchros die if you're experienced and know how to rev-match)
Replacing brake pads more often is way cheaper they cost 50$ or less and even the disks are cheap . If you synchros die you can't really replace them as you have to take apart the entire transmission , better off buying another used car as replacing a whole transmission is likely to cost more than a decent used car.
Another thing is that in order to get appreciable engine braking , the engine has to rev high 4k+ and that's additional wear on all engine components as it's running 4+ times the speed it (read miles) would if it was idling over the life of the car that can add up to extra thousands or even tens of thousands of effective engine mileage depending how you drive and where you live.
Exclusion is when you're going down a long downslope or towing as this will eventually overheat the breakes
I was watching this and reading comments waiting for someone to mention just switching to neutral. That’s what I used to do - if I knew I was coming to a complete stop at least. Downshift if I was just slowing down within traffic.
Same. I see one other person here was also looking in the comments for some confirmation too, lol. This was the way I was taught as well. There's always exceptions in different scenarios like you pointed out, but generally speaking if I'm still in 3rd and I see there's a stop up ahead, I'll just pop it in neutral and coast in using my brakes. Less downshifting = less wear and tear, is the way I see it.
Great information as always! Personally I downshift as I slow down because of the advantages you stated as well as to save a little fuel since it keeps the engine in decel fuel cutoff a little longer. Less brake wear means less dust on the wheels too which I like. I just like shifting too. I don't feel that downshifting causes any appreciable wear on the clutch as long as the revs are matched reasonably well, which I have gotten pretty good at lately. And a clutch kit for my car is about $120 and a few hours of my time to change it, so while I certainly don't abuse it if I need to change it a couple weeks sooner that's not the end of the world to me.
If I may play Devil's Advocate for a second, which would you rather wear out: a £100 set of brake pads, or a £2,000 gearbox? There are few hard and fast rules about driving, but the old saying "Brakes are for slowing, gears are for going" still has merit. In practice, however, I suspect everybody does both.
@@MSM4U2POM The way engine braking and friction braking slows the vehicle is fundamentally very different since the former basically slows the vehicle by pumping and compressing air while the latter slows the vehicle by forcing brake pads against spinning rotors, so the assumption that there is meaningful wear on the very well lubricated and understressed hardened steel gears like there is on comparatively very soft, unlubricated, and poorly cooled brake pads is completely incorrect.
Think about going down a long, steep hill as an extreme example. The engine will happily act as a brake all day with no overheating or appreciable wear to it or the trans, but the brakes will burn out and fail if overused.
Also, you are right that we are often forced to downshift when slowing down such as when turning corners. going over railroad tracks, slowing down for traffic, etc. In that case, if possible, you may as well gradually downshift to the gear you will ultimately need as the car naturally slows down and not use the brakes at all. Then you put the same absolutely negligible amount of wear on the drivetrain that you would anyways while not wearing the brakes at all instead of wearing both to some extent.
@@averyalexander2303 I think you missed the point. Every gearchange causes wear on the box, and the more times you do it, the greater the wear. That simply _must_ be true. It is not engine braking itself that is the problem, but unnecessary use of the gearbox. How many times have you seen drivers use sequential downshifts instead of simply using the brakes? Probably quite a few, because that is the way they were taught back in the 1970's and earlier. That is regarded as an antiquated method today, and if you do it all the time in the UK "L" test it could potentially result in a fail.
That's funny, as in my experience I got better mpg when _not_ shifting down. Perhaps if you downshift very quick it won't make a difference. But I really prefer doing it smoothly, due to many people downshifting quite rough. Not so nice for the passengers. During the time of the downshift, the engine may need a bit of fuel to run in idle. Also, when you do rev matching, that obviously uses fuel too.
@@tehedx Interesting. I wonder if the fuel used when rev matching offset the fuel saved from staying in decel fuel cut using no fuel at all longer rather than idling in neutral or with the clutch in. Just like with everything else, there are a lot of variables like the ECU's programming, your driving style, traffic conditions, how you downshift, the weight of the flywheel and the rest of the rotating assembly, how much fuel your engine uses while idling, etc.
Like just about everything else in life, it depends on the circumstances. Making it easy for a new driver is always a good idea. Once they become familiar with shifting they can learn downshifting. As someone who has been driving manual gearboxes for some 50 years, I usually downshift as I'm slowing, using both the brakes and the transmission to slow the vehicle. There are times where you need to focus on the road and what is happening ahead of you, in those circumstances I rely more heavily on the brakes and downshift when appropriate. I will also say I have only bought one clutch in my life, that was when I swapped a 440 in place of a 383 in my '68 Roadrunner. It just made sense to install a new clutch while I had the engine on the hoist.
I just started driving standard around 2 months ago. I've had experiences with it because of my time working around dealerships, but I have been used to auto all my life. Watching these videos has made me feel like I am actually learning how to drive standard better. I'd say I have gotten good with rev matching and everything I need too and even traffic isnt intimidating, and hill starts are easier. I just want to say I really appreciate your videos because of the fact they explain things better than how I was taught originally and its much clearer to understand.
Let me just say it this probably one of if not the best channels of driving in the whole of RUclips!!
Richard, my daughter passed her test in Norwich on Thursday (first time). Your videos were invaluable. Thank you!
That's great to hear, congratulations to your daughter.
Advanced Driving recommended technique is your second one. Use brakes to slow and then choose the correct gear that matches your speed.
I think either is fine as part of safer and considerate driving. I think for long or steep descents, or driving older cars with drums all round or when heavily laden/towing a trailer changing down is an essential technique to save braking efficiency.
Thanks buddy, I just changed my mitsubishi L200 D. Cab truck from Auto to Manual transmission....Your videos have helped me a lot to adjust.... Manual Rocks.......Kenya
As someone who own's and loves classic cars, and I mean non-servo assisted drum brakes. Yes, use the gearbox- those brakes aren't doing anything lol. My children (Late teens) were terrified when I let them have a go in my old Humber after having this debate! This is a good video that clears up the argument.
Logic would tell me that it's far easier to change the brakes than the gearbox and/or clutch, so I do prefer the second method, but I can understand why it will make people feel like braking early is less important. Ultimately, I think that is just an adjustment one needs to make to the way they drive, though.
It's really important to downshift when driving semi trucks. Helps a lot more when you're pulling weight
But in my compact car, I occasionally just drop into neutral and use brakes
It is so relieving to watch your videos.
I had a driving instructor that never let me apply gas to move off because it was a diesel, he also would go on about dry steering and all this random nonsense to complicate things. Once I got us stuck on a hill and I had to use gas to move off, he started trying to guilt trip me about eating his clutch the one time I used it, like come on man. xD
If it's a diesel, the clutch is more durable to handle the torque 😅
You probably did not *have* to use the gas. If in an incline, it must be veeeeeeery steep ( i mean very steep) to really need gas. If stalling occurs, guess what you raised the clutch pedal too fast through the bite point.
@@HeyAddieImTojo Trust me, it was a very very steep incline, to the point where if I didn't have the handbrake firmly in place at the maximum point, the car would start rolling back instantly xD
@@Mike-co1fd wow okay, yea then the car would need a little shove 😉
Your ball joints and tie rod ends hate dry steering … your power steering pump scream when you do a dry steer. (You know when you are doing a three point turn and yanking on the wheel while stationery that’s a dry steer … tip is to counter steer before you come to a complete halt so at least the wheels are pointed in the right direction for the second part of the manoeuvre which takes a heap,of load off the steering parts of your car.)
Engine braking=slower braking, but gives you precise and stable control of the whole car just by using the throttle.
Normal braking=faster braking at the expense of control, stability, and smoothness between braking and accelerating. Heat fade is also a problem after intense braking.
Learn to match revs and you won't burn your clutch up nearly as fast from engine braking. Double clutch too if you're worried about your synchros.
That is a very useful technique if go to fast and need to slow down or stop in a very short distance, Fact is brake pads are cheaper than a clutch replacement!
Best option, anticipation, try to drive without using the brake pedals.
I really love your videos. Helped me learn a lot. My current instructor is a nice fellow but didnt teach me a lot of stuffs like engine braking and rev matching. Thanks to you I have learnt a few extra concepts :)
Personally in my car that has a slipping clutch at full torque, I slow down in the gear I was In and if then I can keep going, I just select the right gear for that speed, but that does take a little practice to figure out which gear for what speed.
Its a 1.9 diesel with a dmf so rev matching is imo quite a bit harder, since the lower the rpm, the longer you have blip the throttle for and with the turbo kicking in somewhere in between, i still haven't quite managed to figure it out. I do however almost always hit the 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th in the perfect time and it feels soo smooth and satisfying. Hopefully I figure out the downshift revmatch someday too, because the one in 10 times I hit it perfect its godlike and I completely understand, why you like to shift down gears using rev matching
Definitely harder to rev match in a diesel.
If you want, you can brake only with your brakes, but knowing how to brake while changing down the gears is sometimes very important and lifesaving. Mostly when you have rear wheel drive and it's winter and roads are frozen. You definitely won't by able to slow down with brakes only. In this situations is almost necessary to know how to brake with engine. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
Wouldn't this increase breaking to the rear therefore making a spin more likely?
I prefer downshifting because I feel there's more control in all situations and it helps to get familiar with the car. I agree that it's not important for coming to a stop, but it can be helpful when reducing speed to take a turn that could be handled in second gear. Being in second before taking the turn makes the exit and acceleration easier and doesn't require finding the gear and engaging/disengaging the clutch. Another benefit to this, once experienced, is managing speed on a freeway/highway/motorway/carriageway. If you're in the high gear traveling at 75 MPH, then you have to slow down to 55 MPH due to something being in the way, then you have two options: One is to leave in the high gear and bog down the engine to get back up to speed [probably wasting fuel and fouling the spark plugs] and the other is to quickly move down a gear, accelerate to the previous speed, then shift back up and cruise. If you're familiar with the car, then you'll be able to grab the right gear in that situation and have an easier drive. Another example could be more of a slow-down. 75 MPH to 35 MPH, then the lane clears up. Which gear do you need? I wouldn't downshift when doing emergency braking like that, but being accustomed to downshifting in normal traffic would help me select the right gear. If I have a 5-speed, then I slow down to deal with the traffic bottleneck, then know to grab third to get back up to speed. I'd encourage anyone who drives a manual to get familiar with all of it and spend less time on the clutch between shifts. Learn to rev match and make smooth, quick shifts both up and down (once experienced).
I've been driving manual transmission cars now for about 61 years. I can count on one hand the number of times I've not downshifted when slowing EXCEPT in the case of an emergency stop. I like being in the appropriate gear for the speed the car is travelling, as you never know when you might need to react to some road event. YMMV.
Interesting. I used to downshift while braking because it made driving more interesting and 'sporty'. But, it occurred to me the last time I had a clutch fail on the road (i'm 74 and have had four that I remember in the last 50+ years), that 1) clutch breakdowns are always inconvenient and possibly even dangerous, and 2) brakes are cheaper than clutches, and depending on the vehicle, sometimes a LOT cheaper. So now I don't downshift when braking.
Interesting video. I've been downshifting while breaking since the first day I got in a drivers seat, the only time I didn't change gear while breaking was on an emergency stop and that's because there isn't time. Most modern cars don't have a gearbox with a syncromesh 1st gear so getting 1st is REALLY hard to do (you can get into 1st while moving if you're going slow enough and use double clutching but that's something which most people don't get taught to do).
I change down gears, there's been countless times that the situation has changed where being in the right gear ready to go have been advantageous. Approaching a red light when it changes to green and I can accelerate away without having the sudden panic of "which gear for this speed"?! It's more work definitely, but it gets me thinking of the road ahead far more than simply braking with clutch down - plus I thought that coasting was an unsafe practice?
Coasting is unsafe when done at high speeds unnecesserily. When you are stopping, say, from 50 miles an hour at 5th gear, and the revvs drop to idle (about 1000), you have used all of this gears braking potential. Clutching down from this point and coming to a stop with a brake is perfectly safe and good practice. Here is an example of bad coasting. I have had many experienced drivers tell me this. Driving at 50 mph and selecting neutral. At this point you are riding a massive scateboard and you can't slow down with the engine or accelrate if needed. People say it saves fuel, but it doesn't. The engine has to use petrol to run at idle speed. But when you let off the gas in a gear the engine stops injecting fuel and this way you can actually save fuel. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
The sudden panic you are talking about should be eliminated by anticipation of the traffic lights and scanning of the junction, which is something that changing down gears moves your attention away from.
It's right that the less you coast the more ready you are. Personally I wouldn't call coasting unsafe only very slightly less safe. However on hills it can be even less safe.
@@ConquerDriving less safe than what? :-(
Even on the theory test it says you are not in control of the car. Was never sure what that meant since if I can steer, brake and accelerate I'd assume I have control.
@@ConquerDriving Also when to put the clutch down. Is it just before I stop or as I'm breaking up to the car.
You are a legend mate, wish my old instructor was good as you. My old one fell asleep during my lesson, had to emergency brake to wake him up 😂
You make such a difference/positive impact to me learning manual, thank you for making it easier to learn.
You could probably add as an advantage to engine braking, that fuel consumption should be better, because the engine won't need fuel while engine braking, but needs fuel when idling / clutch is pressed.
But that's also an aspect for when you're comfortable with your car and already have good control.
In my experience you get better fuel consumption with leaving it in the higher gears as long as possible. The engine uses more fuel when syncing to a higer rpm. Also I feel like I'm longer off the clutch when downshifting (combining the downshifts) then when leaving it in the higher gear. If I expect to continue, surely I will change to the gear I need.
I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but I've always started braking with the clutch down, rapidly changing to neutral, then braking as much as needed, and then changing back to the gear I need. Any pros and cons on this approach?
This same instructor explained that the right way is to brake first and to push the clutch down when the rpm reaches around 1000.@6:40
At speed you will be coasting more and will put more strain on the brakes downhill. At very low speeds it doesn't matter.
@@Tideman11 he meant that when he see that he needs to brake let's say red light he just throws in neutral and brakes slowly. And if he needs to go forward he then shifts to w/e gear is ok for that speed/RPM. I do the same thing.
@@TooEasyL2P I also often put the gear to neutral but only at quite low speeds of below 30km/h or 20mph, but I only press the clutch when the rpm reaches around 1000.
@@Tideman11 I do it always. even on highway when you're going >100 and you see that there's a traffic jam or w/e I just instantly kick in neutral and brake slowly.
You should downshift, as it ensures the engine always matches the road speed and therefore you have better control of the car. Double-declutching helps keep revs and speed matched, as we as protecting the gearbox…
I’m amazed that anyone who considers themselves a car enthusiast wouldn’t know this stuff.
Wdym with double declutching?
@@clubstep8244 there is a film about it on this channel, look for it
@@clubstep8244 depress clutch, put car in neutral, lift clutch, rev engine to spin the lay shaft, depress clutch, engage lower gear, raise clutch. Stops drivetrain shunt and clutch wear and also keeps the revs matched and stops the engine bogging as you let the clutch up on the downshift as the transmission hasn’t slowed down.
I passed my test last week but being young can't afford a car yet so these videos keep me topped up on knowledge
Congratulations on passing last week!
Phenomenal video as always! Some of the topics you cover provide answers to the things that took me 15 years to find out on my own.
Who goes 4 - 3 - 2 lol. I've always gone 4 - 2.
What's your take on skipping gears. Like you did at the start of the video. Such as going from 2nd to 6th. Would it be better/more economical to do that instead of going up in sequence?
If you went from 2nd to 6th. The car will juddah or drive very sluggish. 2nd to 4th is more appropriate
Block changing gears is encouraged for various reasons, but only when done sensibly. You shouldn't be travelling anywhere near fast enough in 2nd gear for 6th gear to be appropriate.
@@GThenameisleo yeah maybe it's a far fetched example but 2nd to say 4th is very feasible or 3rd to 6th say.
Just passed my test today ..just wanted to thank you for the videos which really helped me improve my driving 🙏🏾
If Richard had changed from 2nd to 6th instead of 2nd to 3rd to 6th (0:41), that would've been fine anyway. He accelerated to 47mph in 2nd, so changing to 6th is not an issue. Richard has also mentioned in previous videos that his Leon drives very comfortably at 40mph in 6th, so 47mph is definitely fine.
Let's be honest, you downshift sequentially, because the feeling of Formula 1 🤣
I was always taught that in modern cars you don't have to downshift while breaking, just break n then clutch in at the last second before the car stalls. Downshifting through gears is a sure fire way to tear up your clutch n gear box. Especially if your still new at driving n don't have a very smooth gear change. It may cause more wear on your breaks to just break rather than downshifting but it's alot cheaper and easier to replace the break pads than it is to rebuild your gearbox n replace your clutch
I used to go down every gear but now i go down every two gears. It's a good compromise - it's still very efficent engine braking and it keeps my focus more on what's around me rather than on what's happening with the car. I think you should use each of those methods depending on the situation. You probably don't need to go down every gear when driving in the city, just put it in 3rd until you stop or go 4th to 2nd until you stop and focus more on your surroundings. In some cases going down every gear is a must like for example driving in more mountainous areas when going down steep hills.
The best method is heel & toe
-low clutch wear (if done correctly)
-low breaks wear
-you're always on the optimal RPM, so you can always accelerate quickly if needed
-it's fun and sounds cool
I have a video all about that here: ruclips.net/video/-RnPUq2yut4/видео.html
To expand upon the advantage of already being in gear, I've seen people who hesitate if they need to accelerate suddenly, because they need to think for a moment about which gear to go into, depending on how much they've already slowed down. That moment of indecision really delays how quickly you can get on the gas if there's some unexpected need to accelerate while you're in a breaking zone. If you change down through the gears, there's no hesitation as you search for the appropriate gear for your speed before you can apply the gas. Even if you don't want to use engine breaking, I still recommend people shift through the gears as they slow down (even if they just keep the clutch in the whole time) so they're ready to give it gas immediately if there's an emergency.
It's rare to see people that really enjoy driving being driving instructors, at least here in Germany.
And as a car guy, I really like that.
This is the third video so far, as even though I have my license for 14 years now, I figured that you are never done learning, and can always use a reminder. Other than that, I enjoy watching car enthusiasts being enthusiastic about driving.
Thank you. It is true that most instructors don't seem enthusiastic about cars. It was a surprise to me when I started the job.
Your videos are a great help, 3 weeks ago i was just learning standard, scared to even be in traffic, now 3 weeks in i'm 100% confident, rev matching and downshifting now getting into an automatic is weird
Im teaching myself how to drive manual right now, and you just solved one of my biggest confusions of it.
I always thought to slow down, you'd need to downshift to from the origanl gear you were at to 1st gear to properly slow down but actually you can do it at any gear by pressing in clutch and brake, and then starting at the appropriate gear when regaining speed!
Thank you for doing this video! Got in a whole argument with an acquaintance about me down shifting through the gears to come to a stop. The argument didn't feel right and this simply reconfirms how I feel about it, which is, it comes down to the driver's preference
As a driving instructor, one of the issues I find with my pupils when skipping out gears is their eagerness to jump off of that clutch before matching the appropriate speed. In particularly when coming to down to such speeds that 1st gear would be appropriate. I'm sure you've experienced the jolt of an early clutch release ha! This is almost always a confidence issue as they feel that they are being a pest to traffic behind so want to get going again. For this reason I start off with gear by gear reduction. I find it helps them get a feel for what each gear can do as well. I always tell them that there are essentially 3 eays a car will move. Pushed. Pulled. Or rolled! Great videos!
A couple of additional observations i'd make.... First - teaching a simple technique. One thing we're doing is imbuing people with habits and practices that are not necessarily just steps on a journey. The habits they develop in the beginning may never be re-examined and that may just be the way they do it for life. Simple is great, but simple is only great if it's truly fit for purpose - ideally, best practice, or something that necessarily provides the foundation for best practice. Second - having power on demand. When you downshift while decelerating, ensuring that engine speed always matches road speed, then you always maintain all the options for getting out of harm's way - be it slower, faster, and / or steer. We can make an assumption that the situation we are entering - say the oblique Give Way in the video - is complete to our senses and analysis and that a particular method for whatever will serve. The problem with this is that the assumption also includes the implicit 'i know everything that is or could possibly be'.... The idea that braking is mainly about what is directly in front of you is also flawed, and i've been saved twice in the last few decades by, in the first instance, being able to accelerate into a convenient driveway (before a line of stopped vehicles) to avoid a SUV locked up on ice that was hurtling up my rear and, in the second instance, by being able to accelerate off the road and down a convenient embankment to avoid a vehicle coming in the opposite direction and crossing the centre-line. Finally, if people want or need 'simple', then they should be driving automatic - the vast majority of people are, anyway - as they always, especially if they left-foot brake, have power on demand. Driving a manual, if they're 'up for the challenge' involves learning techniques that are more involved but, we need also to remember, were perfectly commonplace until relatively recently and were inevitably taught to learner drivers - from matching engine and road speed on downshifts without straining the components to relative obscurities like clutch-less changes up and down.
You guys are so funny with those videos :D Down shifting on a manual is what you learn at the driving school in day 1 in europe :D
I had questions in my mind and couldn't find the answers anywhere on the internet, yet they've all been cleared up in just one video! Thanks for being so informative and concise!
I downshift when approaching a turn or bend in the road, the engine helps to slow down and stabilize the car, and I can accelerate out of the turn because I'm already in a lower gear.
As a driving instructor living in sweden, we teach this to EVERYONE who wants to take manual license. It is the third ”chapter” so to speak, coming after controlling clutch and breaks and gas at low speeds (like in a parking lot). I am so surprised so many people in other countries (maybe in my own as well) do not know this
I feel like it varies by country. In Poland we learn downshifting as “economical driving” (one of the exam criteria), but to me it should be taught everywhere for safety reasons - clutch-loving drivers may overheat brakes once they visit mountainous areas.
I will never forget following WV golf with smoking brakes in Norway.
@@BlueScreenOfDeathPL downshifting is different from downshifting while slowing down. It's easier to downshift when you don't have to juggle between the gas and brake
Slow down using only the breaks. Engine breaking is great when you're racing, not so much when commuting. Pick the gear for the appropriate speed and the life of your transmission will last longer. I have a 2013 FRS and I'm the original owner with 46k miles. Still using the stock clutch that came with the car. How you drive will determine the life of the transmission.
I really enjoy your RUclips postings, so please keep them coming. It’s very rare for me to ever send in any comments, but I just couldn’t resist in this case.
Sorry it’s a long one …
Just sharing my thoughts which are offered in good faith and are well meant …
For the avoidance of doubt, I shamelessly state that I am a, ‘change down on approach’ person and always will be.
It’s quite possible to become proficient at matching speed, gear ratio and engine speed, with a slight ‘blip’ on the accelerator prior to change-down (“rev match” as you state), it’s actually quite possible to mesh the gears at the right moment so the ‘additional clutch wear’ doesn’t really figure. In fact, given some practice, it’s quite possible to make a slick change down (as well as up) without even dipping the clutch (not that I’m recommending this of course, but you get the idea). That won’t be possible on day one of a lesson of course, I appreciate that.
In well over 40+ years, I can honestly say that I have never worn a clutch out on any car, and on average, I suspect I’ve done something of the order of 100,000 miles in each car.
Even if the ‘change down on approach’ technique did shave a few miles off a car’s life, so what? Safety is important and trumps any wear in my view.
Feeding into a junction, roundabout etc, there’s no way on this earth that I would ever approach in a high gear with clutch down and brakes applied. I can feel myself panicking right now at the mere thought of it, and I’m just at home typing this! I would argue that this is an uncontrolled approach, puts all the stress on the brakes and also can put needless pressure on the driver at an inappropriate time when the appropriate gear is needed for the next part of the manoeuvre (and by the way, surely it’s more difficult to determine which gear is appropriate if you haven’t stepped down along the way).
People should be fully aware of all their surroundings and traffic movement. I’d much rather be in a position to be able to pull away with minimum faff at all times to cover any eventuality. Years ago, driving like this, especially if the clutch is held down for an extended period, is coasting in my eyes and should be very much frowned upon. Perhaps this explains why I feel increasingly vulnerable these days from traffic approaching from the rear. Some people do seem to hurtle towards my tailgate with an alarming speed and obvious last minute heavy braking as their front end dips right down.
Let us also think about what might happen if the engine happens to stall. You lose the hydraulics so no power steering or brakes! You are now hurtling towards traffic with nothing but severely compromised brakes with only (perhaps) the handbrake at your disposal. I say ‘perhaps’ becomes some ‘modern’ vehicles don’t always permit the application of the handbrake whilst moving forward! Would someone who has been taught this ‘easy way’ have the sense to let the clutch up (in an appropriate gear) to get the engine turning again to reinstate hydraulics? No, of course not.
Also, surely, if someone leaves the gearbox meshed in a high gear and simply applies the brakes without lifting up the clutch in an appropriate time, the engine could well be labouring (or get stalled). I would argue that bad labouring causes stress on the main crank, its bearings, con rods and pistons. An engine re-build is rather expensive, so why on earth has this crazy fad caught on?
‘Making it easy’ in this case isn’t, in my view, commensurate with good practice and it limits people’s skill sets to the instructor’s lower expectations. It might get more people through their tests (which is weird in itself because the ‘no changing down gears’ approach should really be frowned upon in my view), but is that the correct driver (pardon the pun)? The problem is that when one instructor starts such a technique (and pass rates are perceived to increase), others will likely follow and the whole thing then perpetuates.
So why not come down the gears properly in a controlled manner, and use the brakes as required. Why is it perceived that learners cannot grasp this? It’s just part of the skill set that is driving, surely. The problem is that people will stick to what they know.
By the way, on motorcycles at least, the chances are that the gearbox will complain about the ‘easy approach’ and get a bit stuck when a change of gear is needed. I speak from experience. All of that problem goes away if you change down on the approach. I know we aren’t talking about motorcycles here, but if people apply the, ‘change down on approach solution’ it works for both vehicles and in my view makes the world a little safer.
Assuring you of my best intentions.
When I started driving fifty or more years ago, when brakes wore out all you changed were the pads or linings. Since asbestos was banned modern brake materials are far more abrasive and the norm these days is to change both pads and discs, more often than not.
Change gear correctly and the wear on a clutch is minimal as it is both quick and if the engine speed is matched to the vehicle speed there is little wear at all on the clutch. Using the throttle and gears is also more economic with regard to fuel consumption.
Going down each gear is not very economical nor environmentally friendly, which is something that is stressed a lot here in Sweden. The main method that is taught here is: let go of the gas pedal ahead of time and start motor braking. Use the brake pedal to get down further in speed if needed, shift down to the target gear before you reach the crossing or roundabout and slowly let go of the clutch to motor brake even more. That way you are ready to go when you reach the target and you reduce the risk of stopping your engine in the middle of a turn (which can be dangerous in some situations).
The biggest reason to change down is to be in the correct gear BEFORE you enter the corner, so that you can be on the power as early as possible and get the car in its most balanced state: power going through the diff. Coasting through the corner is slow, and shifting while in the corner can easily unsettle the car.
For a passionate driver with a performance vehicle, there is really no other option. However, in town, keeping the car balanced is not a concern because we are rarely at the limits of the chassis or braking or power train systems. For the vast majority of drivers who are not car people, slowing for a red light will usually involve coming out of gear and shifting into first when it's time to go. Totally fine in my opinion.
I heel toe even in town, because it makes me feel in control more, and because it's fun.
I've done this since day i got my license..it is common sense and reduces the risk of lockups and abs activation reduces using of brakes and discs and saves fuel if you are using it in a efficient way. Miracles can be done with a manual shift and only a real driver in heart thrives to drive one i had a chance to buy automatic didnt think one sec about it.
You are an incredible instructor! Thank you so so much for making such great videos and sharing them for free
I’ve been looking for an answer/video for this for such a long time! Thank you for making this video!!!
You did fail to mention the fact that it is a lot easier to lock your wheels when breaking outside of gear. Yeah it's fine to slow down with brakes only (unless it's slippery) at low speeds, but breaking from high speeds can cause a very bad accident. I personally know two people who locked their wheels and lost control because they didn't downshift but just pressed the clutch and brake. One had a bad accident. Good rev matching negates a lot of the clutch and gearbox wear and tear, so the overall wear an tear on the car is reduced. Breaking this way is a lot smoother and leaves you ready to slow down more or accelerate whenever needed. I think it's important not to forget the dangers of breaking out of gear...
Downshifting and rev matching is a must skill if you drive in mountainous areas. Dont want to be going or get stuck halfway down a 1000m serpentine descent with overheating brakes. Plus a a cool natural way of revving up the engine without putting any strain on it.
This is something many drivers doesn't know or doesn't can do or are too lazy. It's such a good thing 👍
I was taught (many years ago) to always be in the correct gear and have always used the changing down method (although not to first of course for the reasons stated). As for the extra wear on the clutch and gearbox? Well, you can forget the latter as an issue as the loads when using engine braking do not put a lot of stress on a gearbox, and providing you change gears smoothly, then neither does that.
What I can say is that my last three cars have all done well over 100,000 miles from new. The current one now has 110,000 miles on it, and the previous two around 130,000. All three never had their clutch changed (nor, for that matter, the gearbox). My current car (a Ford Focus 1.6TDi) is also only on it's second set of brake pads and I'm an assiduous user of engine braking. I consider it by far the best way to keep control of a car, and it also uses less fuel. When using engine braking the momentum in the car keeps the engine rotating and the ECU can cut off the fuel supply. The same is not true when coasting by putting your foot on the clutch pedal. The ECU has to provide enough fuel to keep the engine turning. Using engine braking saves fuel, even if it's not a huge amount. I should add that I try and use the brakes as little as possible, slow down smoothly and find that this is the most economical way to drive as well as putting a relatively light load on the car.
An addition, whilst people get concerned about wearing out clutch plates, what can also fail is excessive use of the clutch release bearings. Unlike a gearbox, a clutch release bearing does not run in a bath of oil, but will use whatever grease it was packed with in the first place. Some clutch release bearings are relatively lightly made and do not take kindly to being used excessively. I've know clutches need replacing, not because of excessive wear on the plates, but because the release bearing has failed. Some French cars seem to be particularly prone to this (I have seen some where the plastic components have effectively melted).
What wears out clutches is not changing under relatively light loads, but slipping it a lot, either due to aggressive acceleration, especially from a standing start or riding the clutch holding it against a hill. Also, don't keep the clutch pressed in for long periods as release bearings are only designed for intermittent use.
There is also another issue and that is it is a requirement to keep full control of the car at all times. It is questionable whether coasting meets that requirement; I was always taught not to do that.
This video may be of interest to you: ruclips.net/video/0ZjSImbwo34/видео.html
Depends upon the situation. If you are in a regular car and just want to stop at a light, coast to slow down if you have time (by looking ahead and knowing if the light will change and not following cars too close), then apply the brakes, then put it in neutral when the revs get low, and then just brake until stopped. Nice and perfectly smooth stop with no gear change effort, noise or wear. Always be ready to shift into the correct gear if necessary when in neutral though. If you want to slow down a bit to turn or whatever then sure, down shift. Never ride the clutch.
I don't generally see a point in downshifting unless I foresee a need to be in gear to accelerate coming, or if you still find it fun. Brakes are cheaper than clutches. I'm at 220K on my original clutch and it's still OK.