Sorry - reading my post again I can see I didn't make myself clear.
I use a combination of brakes *and* gears to slow down - not just the gears. As Robbie says - it's always handy to be in the correct gear.
Funny, my Herald never had that problem in all its 112,000 miles. The chassis rotted, but that was fixed.
I had a Triumph herald, yours was broken.
So does engine braking on my car. B-)
I tempted to say that is their problem but having nearly being caught by a car with no working brakes lights... They where stopping to fast to be on pure engine braking.
You've not managed to fade a set of ventilated disc brakes then? Your not trying hard enough. B-) I've done it and it's rather disconcerting, the really hard bit is then nursing them once some braking has come back so they don't fade on you again.
My occasion was towards the bottom of a "sprited" decent down from Hartside to Melmerby, about 1500' in 5 miles with fast straight sections and sharp bends.
But yes people these days do seem to use the brakes in preference to the engine. I guess this isn't too bad pootling aroud town but not so good on long down hills. I don't think I've ever seen a car go down Causey Hill in Hexham just on engine braking. It's a 30 limit and not all that long or steep but everyone goes down on their brakes. Me?
3rd gear no throttle and it just potters down without gaining or losing any speed or wearing the brakes out.charles :
I believe the same is true of disc brakes, though perhaps it's a bit more difficult to get them "too hot".
If you can do it properly, it's faster using the brakes to slow, then change into the right gear to go again. And it's not hard to do it properly, though quite a few people don't understand that it's a good idea.
I am told that, these days, you would fail the advanced motorist test if you slowed down through the gears. Apparently, many drivers are not that good at judging when the car in front is slowing or stopped if there are no brake lights to tell them.
Colin Bignell
Seems like the test is penalising the wrong party. I find it hard to believe people cannot see a car slowing down. More likely they are too busy fiddling with their phone or radio...
The clutch only wears when it's slipping. Unless you are riding the clutch it won't be slipping... Fully pressed doesn't wear it either.
Makes autos very unsafe, then. ;-)
Seems the modern driving technique only allows you to do one thing at a time, I use the brakes and gears to slow down. On snow it'll be far more engine braking, no chance of locking the wheels, still might slide but you are in gear with still driven (aka revolving) wheels so you have a much better chance of regaining control or have some control.
No, it just screws the release bearing :D
That's not using the gears to slow, it's maintaining speed using throttle in the appropriate gear, and is sensible. I agree people probably don't engine brake enough in such situations.
The bit I think is silly is when eg people approach a roundabout where they can see they're going to have to stop, but still go
5th->4th->3rd->2nd->1st, rather than 5th, brake, clutch in, 1st before it's time to go again. Substitute the appropriate gear for the speed required after the slowing down part for different situations.
Same as the modern way - the car is still in gear. You spend less time with the wheels not connected to the engine than you do if you're changing through the box.
I had one in front tonight in a new BMW, with four rows of superbright leds as brake lights. It definitely dazzled me on at least two occasions. Are there not rules on maximum brightness, and not dazzling other drivers? If not there needs to be, if so they need to be enforced.
And the signal to leave a roundabout is the right indicator.
For slowing I just take my foot of the accelerator (or release cruise control). Brakes are a last resort if you are going too fast!
I had an A35 van which had mixed rod and cable brakes. The floor rotted through around the rear mountings of the back springs, so I had the floor welded up involving dismounting and re-mounting the rear axle.
From that moment on, try as I might, it became impossible to adjust the slack out of the rear brake cables. The workshop eventually had to bodge it by fabricating a load of new`parts with completely different dimensions.
45 years later it came to me in a flash of inspiration that the metalworks must have re-mounted the rear axle 2-3cms forward of its proper position, in effect shortening the length of the vehicle by that amount.Derek G
If your engine braking involves using the clutch as a brake pad, then you're doing it wrong.
Having recently got an automatic, I guess it must look like I am using the brakes when I would previously have judged it unnecessary.
Additionally, with a manual, you feather the brakes as you come to a halt, to avoid the final jerk, but this seems much harder to judge on an auto,
Chris
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.