Topic: Do you shift down when you slow down to stop? shifting technique question.

[aquadorhj]

So, ladies and gentlemen.

Today's poll is about shifting technique.
The reason this came up is, even though my current car is auto, it went to the shop for body repair. 

Meanwhile, my rental is 05 Civic with manual.  Yay. 
Getting a while to get used to rowing  again.

I used to drive manual before, and never learned the proper way to approach stop.

My friend, who drives manual, always shifts down to 1st gear before going to neutral for complete stop.
I, on the other hand, go into neutral(say from fourth gear), and coast(so to speak) to stop.

I've never personally had any problems with this method, however, would looooove to know if there's any adverse affect this has on the car, mechanically or otherwise.

Your collective knowledge and opinion are appreciated in advance.

ps.  I did search.

[1TSX]

So, ladies and gentlemen.

Today's poll is about shifting technique.
The reason this came up is, even though my current car is auto, it went to the shop for body repair. 

Meanwhile, my rental is 05 Civic with manual.  Yay. 
Getting a while to get used to rowing  again.

I used to drive manual before, and never learned the proper way to approach stop.

My friend, who drives manual, always shifts down to 1st gear before going to neutral for complete stop.
I, on the other hand, go into neutral(say from fourth gear), and coast(so to speak) to stop.

I've never personally had any problems with this method, however, would looooove to know if there's any adverse affect this has on the car, mechanically or otherwise.

Your collective knowledge and opinion are appreciated in advance.

ps.  I did search.

I don't think your suppose to downshift to 1st... 2nd is best? Thats how my friend taught it to me.

You could coast in neutral and brake to stop, but thats hard on your brakes. But again, your saving clutch wear, yes?

[ovr50]

With a manny tranny I shift down to 2nd only (never 1st).

With auto tranny I don't shift it down at all.

Poll is hard to answer.  

[mdxtasy]

Depends.  Hard stops for me are straight on the brakes and clutch, no shifting.  If I'm coasting to a red light, I'll either leave it there or rev match and downshift for kicks.  I don't let the transmission/clutch do the braking for me. 

But seriously, do a search. 

[Craig]

Honestly, I coast.  My take is that brakes are cheaper than clutches.  I do down shift on occasion, but more for practice.

[tpl]

When I learnt to drive in the Uk, coasting in neutral would cause you to fail the driving test. Reason: You were not in control of the vehicle 'cos you could not accelerate. I never coast in gear with the clutch depressed... just don't.

Nowadays, 40 plus years later I change down or coast depending on my perception of what the cars ahead or  traffic light will be doing when I get there.

Brakes are cheaper than clutches but I have never managed to wear out a clutch or even get close to it

[mdxtasy]

When I learnt to drive in the Uk, coasting in neutral would cause you to fail the driving test. Reason: You were not in control of the vehicle 'cos you could not accelerate. I never coast in gear with the clutch depressed... just don't.

I don't do that either....I'll leave it in gear and just let off the gas, or downshift and blip...

[Arthur Dent]

In the city I coast with the clutch out. On the highway I might gear down to 4th then maybe 3rd but certainly not to 1st.

Brakes are cheap and easy to do (unless you own a Rover P6 or a Jag XJS) where as clutches are usually a PITA to do.

[AVToller]

Poorly designed poll. I did not shift down to 1st, but usually did downshift to 2nd.

[ovr50]

When I learnt to drive in the Uk, coasting in neutral would cause you to fail the driving test. Reason: You were not in control of the vehicle 'cos you could not accelerate. I never coast in gear with the clutch depressed... just don't.

I don't do that either....I'll leave it in gear and just let off the gas, or downshift and blip...

Agreed, NEVER coast in gear with clutch depressed, unless right at the stop point obviously.

[tortoise]

Same as AVT... With some cars it's tough to downshift the car to first.  I like to Heel & Toe through the gears to 2nd or 3rd for fun.

[mdxtasy]

I heel/toe only in corners, on/off ramps. 

[SeasideLass]

I used to shift down to 2nd, stop, then go into 1st to proceed.  I miss the manual transmission.

[dr_spock]

Same as SeasideLass. 

[aquadorhj]

Thanks for the input so far.

This may sound like an excuse for this post, but as post script in original post indicate, I did use search prior to posting this poll.

My search phrase was "manual shift technique" and it returned 3 or 4 result, all of which were not about downshifting when slowing down.

The key question in this poll, though, is if anyone has any input on whether coasting in neutral when slowing down has any adverse effect.

If it does, I should re-learn to shift.  If not I will continue as I have been doing.

Consensus so far, seems, most of you guys do what you feel like, some of you down-shifting down to second gear, or coast like I do.

I am not trying to be a nuisance to anyone, but just trying to learn the right way to slow down, if there's any consequence to my down-shifting technique.

Logic in me dictates that coasting should not cause any damage to the clutch as it's mechanically controlled, emission computer and engine wise, I am not so sure.

Anyhow, thanks for the input everyone.

I will try to make better poll next time.  Any advice?

[mdxtasy]

I recall partaking in a thread a while back asking the same question.  Not sure it stayed when the 'conversion' hit.

[initial_D]

Better poll? Add some dancing elements.  And cute and good looking dancers, but not exactly as illustrated below. 

[Snowman]

We had several discussions on rev matching/downshifting but the antiquated search is yielding no results. I always downshift so I am in the sweet spot of the rpm band regardless of gear.

The poll choices require some editing

[Leviathan]

Downshift through the gears but never in to first. Sometimes I'll coast with the clutch in but I'm always in the correct gear for the speed.

[articsteve]

The key question in this poll, though, is if anyone has any input on whether coasting in neutral when slowing down has any adverse effect.

It has no adverse effect mechanically. 

The only adverse effect is that you have no power/control.

I'm harder on my downshifts than my up shifts and my up shifts are always above 5000 rpm.  It really depends on the car and how much you drive it.  Most of the pleasure of driving a stick is in the downshifting I find.