Downshift vs neutral roll
 

Which should be done and why? Just trying to pick up the best habits. :cool:

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When neutral rolling, you are technically not in control of the car, because the engine is not able to power the drive wheels, because it is not connected to it. By downshifting and thus being in gear, the gas pedal still works.

Downshifting also has the benefit of allowing the ECU to turn off the injectors completely, since the wheels will drive the engine. When you put it in neutral instead, the engine has to be kept running by using fuel.

I still neutral roll when approaching a stop. If I'm in say 5th gear and I see that I must stop at a red light or stop sign, I don't bother rowing all the gears, I just pop it in neutral and press on the brakes.

Hopefully this isn't the beginning of a thread with lots of internets. I am fearful.

Which ever you feel like. I usually leave it in gear or downshift once the RPM's get low(say under 1500rpm). My logic is, in case I have to get out of the way in a hurry, I'm already in gear. If you do it correctly (rev-match), there should be little to no wear on the clutch. I could be wrong though.

@pushrod
Its the internet. No matter what you say or do, someone will tell you that you're wrong and that their way is better lol.

I think you're wrong on that point. :D

Downshift for sure, helps you stop quicker and adds just a little bit extra to the life of your brakes because you dont need to push as hard on the pedal. These cars are so light, in fact, it's possible to come almost to a complete stop just using your gears, but thats the truck driver coming out in me lol. Plus with a nice exhaust it sounds better too :party0030:

If I am moving even a little the car is always in gear. The clutch may be in but I am in the lowest gear possible for the speed I am traveling. This has saved my bacon at least 100 times over the years when events suddenly required me to accelerate and motor out of danger. If I had needed to shift into a gear and then accelerate in at least 10 of those cases I would probably have been dead.
Rolling around in neutral takes your nice light sports car and turns it into a big heavy soapbox racer.

Thanks peeps

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In a general sense, I would much rather wear out my brake pads a little faster than unnecessarily put wear on engine internals. However I still downshift more than an average person, or I wouldn't have just added a spracing gas pedal to make my heel toeing a little easier :-)


If you have actually been in 100 situations in which your bacon needed saving while in a car, then you are either a stunt car driver, or are trying to be ...just saying :-)

40 years of driving. Six of those years in military vehicles on busy airbases or heavy trucks on well travel highways. I have clocked way more miles than the "average" driver. At least 100 times I have had to power out of danger. Only 10 of those were serious though (as I said).
You have never had to accelerate to miss some ass hat changing lanes?
I don't think that my saying I have had to do it 2.5 times a year for my driving history is overstating nor placing me in the stunt driver realm.

Somehow I don't see @Tcoat as the street racing/stunt driving/drifting type lol

Not in the last 30 years at any rate. I could still surprise you though.

Scofflaw. How do you sleep at night?

Nothing quite like drifting in an MLVW though. Imagine the surprise on the face of the Sgt beside me when young Gnr Cole decided to put the pedal to the metal mid turn on an icy road with troops in the back:burnrubber:

Oh, I can ...... @Tcoat drifting ...... back in the day ..... :D


humfrz