Engine Braking

[JusFlyinBy]

Who does it? I posted this here because it is more of a technique rather then specific to this type of car or drivetrain.

Im curious to hear each side of people's arguments. I do it all the time in the GTO (My bird is auto), rev matching of course, and just this morning I got to thinking, hmm, is this more wear on the engine?

I googled and found this from Wikipedia:

Some feel that you abuse your manual transmission and engine by "engine braking". They feel that you should downshift only when you anticipate that the car will be in a lower speed for some time, not when coming to a full stop. In this case, downshift late, allowing the car to coast to pretty low engine RPM's before shifting down. When coming to a full stop, just allow the engine RPM's to drop somewhere near idling range, then put the car into neutral and coast to a stop using the brakes. The other side of the coin, some feel that engine breaking is relatively harmless on the engine and especially the transmission. The idea is that during decceleration the engine creates a vacuum in the cylinders which pull a very small amount of oil past the rings, increasing protection. This, combined with the fact that the forces involved are typically less than those normally seen during acceleration lead some to conclude that it will make no real difference in the lifetime of the engine and transmission.

This is all opposed to throwing it in Nuetral and stopping solely on the brakes alone.

BTW, You don't waste any more gas decelerating and letting the RPM's fall because your vehicle will cut the fuel being fed.

I started messing with double clutching too for the hell of it. Comments?


P.S. ATTN L32Projekt... I'd appreciate if you don't post in here, lol. Your damn avatar or something locks my work computer up for every damn thread you post in!!! Maybe you'll change it buddy, pal? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ September 28, 2005, 11:44 AM: Message edited by: JusFlyinBy ]

[96RS Alex]

I tried this technique and it seems I wastes more gas decelerating on a highway going downhill for example.
Large commercial diesel trucks I've driven before have that engine brake feature to save the braking system. These trucks carry a measured gross vehicle rating so the brakes can handle a huge payload and brake safely. The engine brake feature helps maintenance costs.
While my Camaro is purely for my speed addiction, I wont use it to engine brake the motor. Thats what the brakes are for and worth the effort cleaning up brake dust on the wheels after a hard days driving.

[JusFlyinBy]

Originally posted by 96RS Alex:
I tried this technique and it seems I wastes more gas decelerating on a highway going downhill for example.

I see I see. But in good practice, you should be engine braking down the hill reguardless. Hell, you are even supposed to knock the gears down on an automatic heading down a long steep slope. Don't want to put all the work on the brakes, heating them up and making them less effective.

Im basically saying under normal driving circumstances, do you feel it is harming the engine, and is the deceleration worth the cool sound and the lack of flopping between gas and the brake?

[camaro_speedemon]

Originally posted by JusFlyinBy:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by 96RS Alex:
I tried this technique and it seems I wastes more gas decelerating on a highway going downhill for example.

I see I see. But in good practice, you should be engine braking down the hill reguardless. Hell, you are even supposed to knock the gears down on an automatic heading down a long steep slope. Don't want to put all the work on the brakes, heating them up and making them less effective.

Im basically saying under normal driving circumstances, do you feel it is harming the engine, and is the deceleration worth the cool sound and the lack of flopping between gas and the brake? </font>[/QUOTE]Engine braking doesn't hurt the engine. Nor does it use more fuel. Your TB is closed, so the computer doesn't dump in fuel. If you don't rev match before downshifting, it will your clutch out a bit faster, but rev matching is easy and only takes a second.

I've downshifted both my manual cars. My camaro had 140k on it when I sold it and the drivetrain was in good shape. The syncros were going, but that's from abussive speed shifting.

[95Batmobile]

I say if they put brakes on the car, use them ;)
The engine is for moving the car forward, the brakes are for stopping it :D

[AZ3.8Camaro]

I say don't use your clutch at all, except to start from a stop.
Its fun to do sometimes.

[shenanigans]

I do it, not to the extreme... but I do rev match and double clutch.

you can get by without it but when I drive normal I like to make it so the shifter falls in like butter... hoping maybe it will make up for the abusive driving I give it, though probalby not, makes me feel better and after awhile I its just natural.

My dad laughs at me when I drive his C5, he says "thats why I let you drive the car more then you brothers, you know how to take care of it"

[Dojo2000]

I have no comment on the topic as of right now, but I will say, please, people, stop quoting Wikis, they are not a reliable source of information

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wiki.htm

[JusFlyinBy]

I suppose what I really mean is, not to actually come to a complete stop, but to decelerate.

There's people on the GTO board that will get really defensive and swear up and down, its bad, its bad!

I know it kills the fuel and doesn't waste, or shouldn't waste more gas, I said that in the first post.

And Dojo, I didn't quote any type of fact from Wikipedia, its just two generalizations people have on the subject.

[Dojo2000]

Originally posted by JusFlyinBy:
And Dojo, I didn't quote any type of fact from Wikipedia, its just two generalizations people have on the subject.

Oh, I apologize. In my haste all I saw was 'wikipedia' and I had to post my disdain for it.

[JusFlyinBy]

Originally posted by Dojo2000:
I have no comment on the topic as of right now, but I will say, please, people, stop quoting Wikis, they are not a reliable source of information

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wiki.htm

Heh, thats kinda funny because that article you link to basically says that despite how people feel uncomfortable using Wikipedia information, its rare that the information is not reliable because the community.

Although I definitley see your point, just that article sort of counters what you're saying. How I read it anyway. [img]tongue.gif[/img] Thanks for the read though, im definitley more wary. (or however yo spell it)

[rhouse21]

Wikipedia is just a clear example that sometimes being the expert just means knowing more than anyone else in the room (or acting like you do). :D

I've found some good information there, but I view it more as opinion than fact. Its users provide a certain degree of peer-review which keep many articles on common subjects pretty close, but you have to read it with an active BS filter. I've even seen an article or two with notations that the content was under dispute for accuracy and to take it with a grain of salt.

[loser]

im confused about everything now. can someone quickly explain to me what rev matching and double clutching is exactly. i have a M5. but i cant legally drive yet, if i can learn stuff now it'd be great.

edit: also, is neutral between 1 and 2? or 3 and 4? my dad said i should leave the car in gear when i shut it off anyway. but im just wondering. again, sorry for the stupid questions, but im new to this stuff and dont want to break anything.

[ September 28, 2005, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: loser ]

[98Camaro3.8]

I do mostly higway driving, and I always downshift to slow down off the interstate, in addition to many other times. Why waste my brakes when I don't need to?

['98 BlackBird]

I like my automatic