Engine braking - good idea or pointless ?

Stolly

Stolly

Stolly

Soldato
Joined
11 Mar 2004
Posts
5,000
After spending my 20's ragging the arse off company cars i've now got to pay for my own fuel.

So i've changed my driving style a LOT (having a nipper and nine points helped too)

So now i leave a good gap between me and the car in front, and when they break i try not to, just use engine breaking instead. I think that using the breaks a lot and driving in a stop - go style just wastes a lot of energy, and just taking the foot off the gas and using the gears minimises this.

Anyone else do this ?
 
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+how will breaking the engine help with your fuel economy?


now engine BRAKING theres a possibility,


dont help your children with their homework for the love of god dont
 
sormicoft said:
+how will breaking the engine help with your fuel economy?


now engine BRAKING theres a possibility,


dont help your children with their homework for the love of god dont
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Thats gonna leave a mark ;)
 
Yep I did this all the time when I was just cruising. Just by anticipating the traffic flow and traffic lights I could do an extra 5-8mpg on a 20 mile trip in my TDCi mondeo.
 
Engine braking is all well and good until the idiot behind you runs straight up your backend due to not having had any warning from youy brake lights.
 
--Mike-- said:
Engine braking isn't that severe that someone will slam into the back of you!!
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depends, he may go crazy and down shift into first! thus watching the contents of his gearbox and engine spray out over the road behind him...
 
--Mike-- said:
Engine braking isn't that severe that someone will slam into the back of you!!
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Walls, parked cars, cars at junctions etc etc... don't generally brake very hard either yet I see people hit them.
 
I guess it saves you having to rev the engine up to the right revs for the gear if you decide to abandon the synchro..

Otherwise, using brakes doesn't impede on MPG. Driving with less Accel/decel/accel/decel strategies will though, keeping the pace more consistent.
 
Most cars above 1700 rpm and no throttle will cut the fuel totally as theres no need to burn fuel and its good for emissions.

Seems my Focus 1.8 zetec doesnt as that thing simply doesnt have engine braking, very easy for the car to just keep rolling and can be quite annoying when joining slip roads.
 
My 205 does 60 in 2nd...which suprised me...and it also means I have to be careful when engine braking from high speeds, as dropping from 5th to 4th at 60-70mph doesn't do much engine braking, even so I still use it, along with the brake pedal, to use the brakes less mostly, so they don't get really hot (yes I know they can't get that hot).

In towns I usually use engine braking, in 1st or 2nd, as well as tic-over, to keep me back from other cars, and moving, then if I accelerate, for whatever reason, I just ease off the power and use the engine to slow me down...unless a quick slow is needed obviously.

InvG
 
georges said:
Otherwise, using brakes doesn't impede on MPG.
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If you're saying that using the brakes don't decrease MPG when compared to not using them, ofcourse they do.
All the energy your engine has generated (by using fuel) getting the car moving and up to speed (hence carrying momentum) is expelled through heat via your brake pads. If you don't use them then you just incur the standard frictional and air resistance forces to slow you down slower than you would with brakes hence you'd go further on the same fuel.
 
You can still brake normally but leave the car in gear and don't depress the clutch till you have too.

This is reasonably economical as you come to a reasonably swift stop and don't overkill your brakes.
 
thefullcollapse said:
slight engine breaking is good but when u get into big engine breaking i.e whacking it in 2nd at 40-50 mph its pointless unless your a racing driver using heel toe :P and thats worse on the fuel eco
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Are you sure? I always thought it was the momentum of the car turning the wheels that gets it revving when you do heavy engine braking and that even if you end up at 4000 rpm there's no significant amount of fuel being injected? Providing you're off the gas of course.
 
you don't have to drop gears to use engine braking, engine braking is just simply coming of the gas, and allowing the car to slow itself so slamming into first should not even be an option needed to take
good anticipation only means you come of the gas at the right moment to minimize the need to use your brakes all the time to slow down, so in turn saving fuel and the need to replace your brake component earlier than necessary
 
when I feel lazy I have just put my foot on the clutch and and brake, and my MPG shoots up faster than if I brake and engine brake.
 
megakid said:
If you're saying that using the brakes don't decrease MPG when compared to not using them, ofcourse they do.
All the energy your engine has generated (by using fuel) getting the car moving and up to speed (hence carrying momentum) is expelled through heat via your brake pads. If you don't use them then you just incur the standard frictional and air resistance forces to slow you down slower than you would with brakes hence you'd go further on the same fuel.
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What I meant, was that if you need to stop, like if a car pulls out, car in front slows down significantly, then using the brakes isn't going to affect mpg more than engine braking, so you may as well brake.
 
Dano said:
Engine braking is all well and good until the idiot behind you runs straight up your backend due to not having had any warning from youy brake lights.
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i always accompany any serious engine breaking with a brush of the brake pedal, just to make my intent clear.
 
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