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How do you slow down?

Captain Planet said:
Disagree all you like but I'll take the word of my driving instructor over anything you have to say ta :)
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Why?

If everyone followed the word of my driving instructor then the right hand lane at every set of traffic lights with 2 lanes for going straight on would be empty.

He also wasn't aware that it was OK to sit in the middle a box junction if you were turning right and only prevented from doing so by oncoming traffic.

Then there's the conflicting advice given by instructors regarding the subject of this thread.

In summary just because someone is a driving instructor doesn't mean that everything they tell you to do behind the wheel is correct.
 
I do it gran turismo style and roller coast round on the barriers so I don't need to slow down.


More seriously I do it dependant on the situation, low speeds I tend to just coast and brake, higher speeds go down through the box avec brakes to stop a bit quicker.
 
Nozzer said:
If it's such bad practice, why do the semi-automatic gearboxes (F1, E-Gear, DSG etc) blip the throttle on the downshifts?
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Blipping the throttle has nothing to do with using engine breaking though. Blipping the throttle just raises the revs to match that of the lower gear you are changing into thus making it smooth. I think Jonny was just stating that with the amount of torque his car produces he couldnt use engine breaking to slow the car because it would cause the wheels to lock.

Like for example a V-twin motorbike will produce more engine breaking effect than an inline-4 so you have to be aware of this.

Back on topic though myself for everyday driving slow using the brakes and knock it out of gear as I stop. I have my hand by the lever as I slow just incase I do need to accelerate and can pretty much whack it in any gear I want fast if I had to as I know my car pretty well. When driving more spiritidly I am of course trying to keep within the cars power though if I am in 6th and approaching a corner I know is 3rd gear I will still slow on the brakes and then put it into 3rd before entering the corner and powering through.

It did in general used to be that people were taught to change down through the gears but these days it is indeed use the brakes. I passed my test Jan 17th 2005 and was taught this method. On my bike (been riding 9years) its totall different and I have to go down through the gears in a manner as it has a sequential box thus you cant just jump gears like in a car. Though I do let the speed drop and then go down the box quickly.

Its each to their own how they drive though. Myself I want to preserve my engine and gearbox. I don’t see the point of changing down and keeping the revs higher thus just wearing everything out quicker.
 
Gixer said:
Blipping the throttle has nothing to do with using engine breaking though. Blipping the throttle just raises the revs to match that of the lower gear you are changing into thus making it smooth. I think Jonny was just stating that with the amount of torque his car produces he couldnt use engine breaking to slow the car because it would cause the wheels to lock.
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I'm aware of that, but he implied that it's bad practice in all cars... 's all.
 
kaiowas said:
Why?

If everyone followed the word of my driving instructor then the right hand lane at every set of traffic lights with 2 lanes for going straight on would be empty.

He also wasn't aware that it was OK to sit in the middle a box junction if you were turning right and only prevented from doing so by oncoming traffic.

Then there's the conflicting advice given by instructors regarding the subject of this thread.

In summary just because someone is a driving instructor doesn't mean that everything they tell you to do behind the wheel is correct.
Click to expand...

I think that the use the brakes method to slow is pretty much taught to you on advanced driving courses if I am not mistaken too. Granted you will be taught to select the appropriate gear for the situation but you wont be using the gears to slow the car in either IAM or ROSPA. This is what I have been informed anyway though I could have possibly have been mis-informed, though it does make sense to me.

Another reason is it also keeps emissions down and burns less fuel etc etc etc using the brakes instead of the engine.
 
Changing down through the gears was the preferred method up until about 20 years ago, due to the fact that most cars had brakes that were lousy - if you've ever driven an unmodified classic you'll know what I mean. Since then engine braking just isn't required as modern brakes are more than up to the job.

The Roadcraft (and hence IAM) preferred method is "brakes to slow, gears to go" for numerous reasons most of which have been mentioned previously. You should never have to suddenly accelerate as your observation and awareness of other road users means that if you do need to accelerate you will have come off the brakes and selected the correct gear before there is anything "sudden" about the situation. Similarly, when approaching a corner use your brakes to get to an appropriate speed and then select the correct gear before you turn in, gently feeding power in through the corner to keep an constant speed where required and then accelerate out. Most people brake far too late for this, and end up trying to select a gear mid corner which is bad, mmmmkay?
 
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Gixer said:
Like for example a V-twin motorbike will produce more engine breaking effect than an inline-4 so you have to be aware of this.
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The engine braking on my firestorm is so good that i can sometimes do whole journeys without having to touch the brakes other than if i get it wrong at a junction.
In 6th i can roll of the throttle and it will drop from a ton down to about 70 in a very short amount of time.

As for how i slow down, im down through the gears all day every day, in any situation, even in an emergency stop i've been know to cog it down the box as i go.

And as for what it does for the vehicle and the drive train, in my time at ANC i was easily the quickest driver there in a Van, yet i got a ten thousand odd more miles out a set of pads and 10 to 20 thousand more out of my clutches.
People just dont look far enough ahead, im slowing down for things half the time before cars mabye 4 or 5 places ahead of me in a que.
Oh and corners are trailing throttle in the gear you want to exit in and then power after the apex, no brakes when the steering wheel is turned all that is done before you steer.
 
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Nozzer said:
You said you disagreed with his statement that you should power a car round a corner...
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In a MR on a wet roundabout thats when you need to tippy toe around, keep the cars poise and balance and let the car find its way around. So yes I do disagree.

If freewheelin means in appropiate gear, clutch engaged then I would argue that is going to maintain grip better than applying power. Coasting it through the corner with the clutch disengaged, will prematurely aged the release bearing and alter the balance of the driven wheels and I do not advise that. Its gone off topic now.
 
When i first started driving i kept it in the same gear to slow down. When i got a mondeo tdci i had to do down through the gears when going from a 60 to a 30 as 30 in 5th was blow idle so usually went 5 > 4 > 3.

With the celica now i still find myself doing this to an extent. So if coming to a stop off a motorway sliproad i'd go down each gear from 6th to 3rd as i don't have to keep the clutch down until going about walking speed. Also it's handy being in the right gear if traffic clears infront as there's not much low down torque.
 
The police teach to not do a break gear overlap, you use your breaks to slow you to the desired speed, release the break select the apropriate gear and then go. the only time when you would not do this is when on a steep slope when it would be unsafe to release the break then select a gear.
 
Captain Planet said:
Disagree all you like but I'll take the word of my driving instructor over anything you have to say ta :)
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He's a driving instructor, he teaches kids how to drive Micras. I wouldnt expect him to have the first clue about proper car control.
 
ca9phoenix said:
The police teach to not do a break gear overlap, you use your breaks to slow you to the desired speed, release the break select the apropriate gear and then go. the only time when you would not do this is when on a steep slope when it would be unsafe to release the break then select a gear.
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IPSGA

Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration.

That is the system the police use, be it a standard 3 week course which is over and above what the IAM teach or the 4 week advanced. They are both on the IPSGA system.
 
Hang on I think folk are getting wires crossed here.

From what I can see:

Captain Planet said he would brake and change down to the appropriate gear for the corner and power round, rather than rolling round with the clutch pressed down and fishing for a gear on the exit.

Which is entirely correct.
Are you telling me people raz up to a bend, brake and press down the clutch and then coast around the corner before finding another gear at the exit? Lolololol!
 
Von Smallhausen said:
IPSGA

Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration.

That is the system the police use, be it a standard 3 week course which is over and above what the IAM teach or the 4 week advanced. They are both on the IPSGA system.
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Spot on, i wasn't going to go that deep into it because i could see me answering a load of questions lol :D i still find it easier to break gear (speed gear) overlap
 
[TW]Fox said:
He's a driving instructor, he teaches kids how to drive Micras. I wouldnt expect him to have the first clue about proper car control.
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Other than he's actually teaching him the right way to go around corners dude.
He cant be that bad.
 
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