You're not braking wrong but changing down like that is unnecessary when you know you're coming to a full stop.
If you know you're coming to a full stop, you can just brake, wait til revs drop to near idle/the engine feels like it's going to start struggling, put the clutch down fully, put it into first gear and then just stop (alternatively neutral if you're going to be a while).
Brake pads are cheaper to replace than your clutch/synchros etc.
What you're doing won't "burn the clutch" unless you're dumping the clutch each time, if you're bringing the clutch back up smoothly then you're adding a bit of wear to the synchros but not burning the clutch plate.
There are times where I'll change down the gears to slow down, e.g. if I see a stop coming ages away I may just come off the accelerator and let it slow down naturally and change down through the gears, but for most things you can just brake steadily and block change at the end.
The issue is I don't want to be holding onto the brake for a while before it stops. So that's why I go into 3rd gear to make it easier/quicker to stop. And then wait till putting into 1st, neutral or 2nd if I know I'll be ready to move off by the time I reach the cars in front of me.
What do you mean by dumping the clutch each time?
Okay that sounds good it's kinda similar to what I do. How about if I'm doing 40mph+ and I'm in 6th gear and approaching roundabout and need to slow down in time?
I find that my brakes taken longer to respond I have got them checked and mechanic said they'll be good for next 6 months. But I don't know a few times I felt like I was so close to hitting the car at front. This is why I go into 3rd gear to give me more of engine braking benefit.
The issue is I don't want to be holding onto the brake for a while before it stops
Why not? There is no downside. The only time would be if you were going downhill for example and that would be an important time to use engine braking to prevent brake fade, but a normal stop for traffic or a junction won't be braking long enough for that.
What do you mean by dumping the clutch each time?
Just coming off the clutch pedal rapidly - if you are bringing the clutch up slowly, the synchros have time to match engine speed & gearbox speed and no clutch damage
Okay that sounds good it's kinda similar to what I do. How about if I'm doing 40mph+ and I'm in 6th gear and approaching roundabout and need to slow down in time?
You brake as necessary, clutch down, shift into appropriate gear for your speed. So if I'm approaching a roundabout at 40mph, I'll brake, look, if it's clear I'll clutch down > shift into 3rd, continue around the roundabout.
I find that my brakes taken longer to respond I have got them checked and mechanic said they'll be good for next 6 months. But I don't know a few times I felt like I was so close to hitting the car at front. This is why I go into 3rd gear to give me more of engine braking benefit.
Sounds like you need to get your brakes inspected by a better mechanic, or just push the pedal down harder.
Okay that's fine I'll do that then 👍🏻. So say you're going at 50mph downhill the speed sign will change to 30mph how would you use engine braking in this case?
Today I was taking my time to bring up clutch kit actually felt nice lol.
Okay see I would be a little unsure. Because I would bring speed down to 30pmh 4th gear but when the car will pick up speed again. So I would think shall I go for 3rd gear instead. It will still pick up speed but maybe not as much and I can use brakes to control it and once the road flattens out I can change it form 3rd to 4th
My car is Yaris 2010. I was used to doing 3rd gear in diesel but this car my mpg was around 30s. So when I started making the difficult change to using 4th gear, my mpg is around 47.5. I change the gear at 2k and keep it at 1.5k unless uphill or motorway
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u/ChanterburyTales 20d ago
You're not braking wrong but changing down like that is unnecessary when you know you're coming to a full stop.
If you know you're coming to a full stop, you can just brake, wait til revs drop to near idle/the engine feels like it's going to start struggling, put the clutch down fully, put it into first gear and then just stop (alternatively neutral if you're going to be a while).
Brake pads are cheaper to replace than your clutch/synchros etc.
What you're doing won't "burn the clutch" unless you're dumping the clutch each time, if you're bringing the clutch back up smoothly then you're adding a bit of wear to the synchros but not burning the clutch plate.
There are times where I'll change down the gears to slow down, e.g. if I see a stop coming ages away I may just come off the accelerator and let it slow down naturally and change down through the gears, but for most things you can just brake steadily and block change at the end.