View Poll Results: Engine vs Rotor Braking
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Engine vs Rotor Braking
09-14-2002, 10:27 PM
#21
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I can't think of a time I ever use the brakes when the car isn't engaged in gear, except maybe to hold it at a stop or in the last few mph when coming to a stop.
As far as I'm concerned this whole "would you rather wear out your brakes or your engine" is a bunch of nonsense - we're driving Hondas folks! Maybe I just don't like dust on my wheels, but I try to use the brakes as little as possilble. I'll use engine braking, sometimes with the aid of a downshift (a quick 6-5 works great when a lift isn't quite enough on the freeway) whenever I can. Of course I'm not suggesting rev-limiter (or even VTEC) inducing downshifts to slow you down every time. But rev-matching quick little downshifts through each gear via heel-toe while slowing with lighter brake pedal pressure than would otherwise be necessary is good practice.
The other reason I've heard to leave the car engaged in gear while decellerating, is that it's easier to maneuver if you can accelerate lickety-split - to fit into a gap, dodge something, whatever. It's like a third option - you can gas, brake, or turn to fit the situation, instead of being limited to brakes and steering.
Consider the "down the mountain" scenario, where you're stuck in a train of slow-moving cars at 45mph. If you left the car in neutral, it would want to coast at 75. So what do you do, ride (or stab at) the brakes the whole way down, or just jeave it in 3rd or 4th? I would hope the latter.
As far as I'm concerned this whole "would you rather wear out your brakes or your engine" is a bunch of nonsense - we're driving Hondas folks! Maybe I just don't like dust on my wheels, but I try to use the brakes as little as possilble. I'll use engine braking, sometimes with the aid of a downshift (a quick 6-5 works great when a lift isn't quite enough on the freeway) whenever I can. Of course I'm not suggesting rev-limiter (or even VTEC) inducing downshifts to slow you down every time. But rev-matching quick little downshifts through each gear via heel-toe while slowing with lighter brake pedal pressure than would otherwise be necessary is good practice.
The other reason I've heard to leave the car engaged in gear while decellerating, is that it's easier to maneuver if you can accelerate lickety-split - to fit into a gap, dodge something, whatever. It's like a third option - you can gas, brake, or turn to fit the situation, instead of being limited to brakes and steering.
Consider the "down the mountain" scenario, where you're stuck in a train of slow-moving cars at 45mph. If you left the car in neutral, it would want to coast at 75. So what do you do, ride (or stab at) the brakes the whole way down, or just jeave it in 3rd or 4th? I would hope the latter.
09-15-2002, 03:15 AM
#22
Originally posted by S2K2GO!!!
I can't believe many of these posts! The most fun I have with this car is artfully downshifting, which for me means that the clutch does not have to accellerate the engine. Matching the engine to the gears with throttle when downshifting in this car is like ballet. I almost never touch the brakes till I'm fairly slow in second gear. I don't think this harms the engine AT ALL when done correctly- you guys are missing half the fun! True, I rarely down-shift into first. I generally use 4500-6500RPM as the down-shift point in all other gears. This is a major part of what having a short-throw, close-ratio transmission is all about, and the S2K has the best I've ever driven. All brakes are emergency brakes.
I can't believe many of these posts! The most fun I have with this car is artfully downshifting, which for me means that the clutch does not have to accellerate the engine. Matching the engine to the gears with throttle when downshifting in this car is like ballet. I almost never touch the brakes till I'm fairly slow in second gear. I don't think this harms the engine AT ALL when done correctly- you guys are missing half the fun! True, I rarely down-shift into first. I generally use 4500-6500RPM as the down-shift point in all other gears. This is a major part of what having a short-throw, close-ratio transmission is all about, and the S2K has the best I've ever driven. All brakes are emergency brakes.
09-15-2002, 03:18 AM
#23
[QUOTE]Originally posted by jzr
[B]I can't think of a time I ever use the brakes when the car isn't engaged in gear, except maybe to hold it at a stop or in the last few mph when coming to a stop.
As far as I'm concerned this whole "would you rather wear out your brakes or your engine" is a bunch of nonsense - we're driving Hondas folks!
[B]I can't think of a time I ever use the brakes when the car isn't engaged in gear, except maybe to hold it at a stop or in the last few mph when coming to a stop.
As far as I'm concerned this whole "would you rather wear out your brakes or your engine" is a bunch of nonsense - we're driving Hondas folks!
09-15-2002, 12:07 PM
#26
"MG had marginal drum brakes....Broadway was a prairie....some of you must have trouble with reading comprehension."
I don't so much mind it when a participant in a discussion is so pig-headed as to insist on having the last word, what I don't like is when the discussion degenerates into nonsensical name calling. I had thought that this forum was a more sophisticated place to share thoughts and ideas. I'm beginning to wonder.
I don't so much mind it when a participant in a discussion is so pig-headed as to insist on having the last word, what I don't like is when the discussion degenerates into nonsensical name calling. I had thought that this forum was a more sophisticated place to share thoughts and ideas. I'm beginning to wonder.
09-15-2002, 12:39 PM
#27
Registered User
Originally posted by BlueIrishS2k
I have always been one to engine brake, by downshifting, when I have the time/space to do it and use the regular brakes when I don't.
I have always been one to engine brake, by downshifting, when I have the time/space to do it and use the regular brakes when I don't.
If you mean that you push in the clutch, down shift, then without giving it any gas you let off the clutch? This is very bad. You'll probably need a new clutch every 10k miles - which is a $400 or $500 job, not including the parts. The extra heat this generates might possibly damage your transmission, too. (As opposed to replacing brake pads, which you can do yourself for free.)
09-15-2002, 01:34 PM
#28
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Certainly a dab of brake here and there to slow down more quickly, adjust speed for turn-entry, or put the engine into a more comfortable down-shift range is always an intelligent option, but one set of brake pads should last through several sets of tires on this car. This little engine can absorb a load of energy if downshifted into the 6-8K zone, and it sounds SO GOOD when you do!
09-16-2002, 11:17 AM
#29
Originally posted by S2K2GO!!!
Certainly a dab of brake here and there to slow down more quickly, adjust speed for turn-entry, or put the engine into a more comfortable down-shift range is always an intelligent option, but one set of brake pads should last through several sets of tires on this car. This little engine can absorb a load of energy if downshifted into the 6-8K zone, and it sounds SO GOOD when you do!
Certainly a dab of brake here and there to slow down more quickly, adjust speed for turn-entry, or put the engine into a more comfortable down-shift range is always an intelligent option, but one set of brake pads should last through several sets of tires on this car. This little engine can absorb a load of energy if downshifted into the 6-8K zone, and it sounds SO GOOD when you do!
Use the brakes. Pads are cheap. Antilock system works great. That's what they are for. Otherwise remove them and save the extra weight.
As a point of reference. Some here refer to coasting while still in gear as braking. I don't. I see "engine braking" as something more agressive. Such as rapid deceleration using the engine. This should be avioded. Unless it's a video game.
09-16-2002, 11:25 AM
#30
Surely you engine brake advocates realize that even in the most extreme situation, the engine can't provide even HALF the stopping force that the brakes can, since it only works at the rear wheels (when weight is shifting to the front).
I agree that there is no need to go to neutral or push in the clutch while slowing down, and downshifting before a turn, so that you can promptly accelerate out of it, is a good practice. However, it is foolish for someone to shift from higher goes DOWN through lower gears to slow down, instead of just using the freakin' brakes!
I agree that there is no need to go to neutral or push in the clutch while slowing down, and downshifting before a turn, so that you can promptly accelerate out of it, is a good practice. However, it is foolish for someone to shift from higher goes DOWN through lower gears to slow down, instead of just using the freakin' brakes!