Why do people sometimes change gear while going to a stop?

and adding power when you want to stop = no good.
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When would that happen? Brake and gaspedal pressed at the same time?
 
Renesis said:
All brake tests are done to get the best results and guess how they do? they use the brake and clutch, no gear change
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This is beacause so it is fair... because not everyone can do the engine braking the exact same way. I think Slamming on the brake after a 200mph is quite dangerous... theres a highchance you would loose control... its better to brake while you keep the revs high so if anything happens... just slightly let go of the clutch to gain traction
 
People, face it: using the engine's backpressure to help brake is a practical thing. The quickest, but not safest, way to stop is to lock the brakes, and stop the wheels completely. Done.
 
ive always pressed the clutch and brake and while i am still pressing the clutch i shift back down to the appropriate gear so that i dont strain the engine too much. you guys dont do that? ive always been taught that way...
 
You downshift gears when braking so you can make a turn, in most instances. In some rwd cars, before EBD and ABS and all that, the brake bias is so far forward for safety reasons, that using the engine braking is actually functional in increasing the braking ability of the car.

If you downshift one gear at a time, as you brake, you never get a big lump of engine inertia when you let the clutch out to take the turn. You can overcome this by slipping the clutch, or with a blip, but the more time you leave the clutch in, and the more gears you drop, the bigger and more precise the blip has to be.

Hit the brakes hard, dip the clutch, downshift two gears and let the clutch out... tell me if it becomes unstable... ;)

Oh and FYI, locking the wheels isn't the quickest way to stop in a car with treaded tyres. When you do that, the tread blocks get pushed over and the footprint ripples, giving the car less contact with the road, and hence, less grip.
 
SiR_dude said:
People, face it: using the engine's backpressure to help brake is a practical thing. The quickest, but not safest, way to stop is to lock the brakes, and stop the wheels completely. Done.
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I assume you are joking now....?
 
Jostyrostelli said:
SiR_dude said:
People, face it: using the engine's backpressure to help brake is a practical thing. The quickest, but not safest, way to stop is to lock the brakes, and stop the wheels completely. Done.
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I assume you are joking now....?
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I definitely hope so :p
 
Cubits said:
Hit the brakes hard, dip the clutch, downshift two gears and let the clutch out... tell me if it becomes unstable...
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Thats the best way to stop or slow down before going into the corner... but I prefer to do the blip of the throttle as well before letting the clutch go :wink:
 
I constanly change gear when I'm trying to slow down, not only is it smother, but your in the best gear to accelerate and pickup speed, it's just a quicker way of doing things.

The down side is that you put more wear on the transmission, but I'd say with proper double clutching and a gentle clutch foot this really isn't an issue.

On a car with really shitty brakes the engine is actually better to use, a good example is my 1960's landrover. if you try and stop by just brakes alone it's not a nice exeriance. But because it has a high torque low reving engine it pulls up smotherly and faster under engine braking alone. It's also much better to engine brake when your towing somthing as well.

ruu
 
v0od0o said:
Jostyrostelli said:
SiR_dude said:
People, face it: using the engine's backpressure to help brake is a practical thing. The quickest, but not safest, way to stop is to lock the brakes, and stop the wheels completely. Done.
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I assume you are joking now....?
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I definitely hope so :p
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I'm hoping someone will try it and make a video of it :p

Locking the wheels up works for the first few seconds, or less. Then the rubber heats up and becomes soft. All of a sudden there's less friction (and you're not decelerating as much), and as someone already mentioned, the tread blocks move, and stuff gets really messy. And there's a LOT of smoke.

Stopping very quickly, especially from high speeds, is an art that racing drivers know best. It involves precise timing, and a good knowledge of the car you are driving. Using the engine to help you is an option, but not always the best. If you slam your brakes to hard, they will heat up, and I'm sure you all have heard of "brake fade", not to mention what was already discussed about the tires.

Point in question: Don't get yourself into a situation where you need to stop faster than you can.
 
Hello, im new here.

I drive a crappy old laser (im a full time student and cant afford the M3 I want ;)). Anyway, I always heel toe double D shift down. It sounds cool, is lots of fun and gives you a very good feeling of the accelerator once you get used to it.

Its great when driving through the hills and youre approaching a corner...double D heel toe into 2nd and plant it halfway through the corner 8)
 
SiR_dude said:
v0od0o said:
Jostyrostelli said:
SiR_dude said:
People, face it: using the engine's backpressure to help brake is a practical thing. The quickest, but not safest, way to stop is to lock the brakes, and stop the wheels completely. Done.
Click to expand...

I assume you are joking now....?
Click to expand...
I definitely hope so :p
Click to expand...

I'm hoping someone will try it and make a video of it :p

Locking the wheels up works for the first few seconds, or less. Then the rubber heats up and becomes soft. All of a sudden there's less friction (and you're not decelerating as much), and as someone already mentioned, the tread blocks move, and stuff gets really messy. And there's a LOT of smoke.

Stopping very quickly, especially from high speeds, is an art that racing drivers know best. It involves precise timing, and a good knowledge of the car you are driving. Using the engine to help you is an option, but not always the best. If you slam your brakes to hard, they will heat up, and I'm sure you all have heard of "brake fade", not to mention what was already discussed about the tires.

Point in question: Don't get yourself into a situation where you need to stop faster than you can.
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Why do you think ABS was invented? To let cars brake more efficient.
 
Jostyrostelli said:
Why do you think ABS was invented? To let cars brake more efficient.
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Wasn't it to allow for steering control during hard braking?
 
ESPNSTI said:
Jostyrostelli said:
Why do you think ABS was invented? To let cars brake more efficient.
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Wasn't it to allow for steering control during hard braking?
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I've been wondering about that. Obviously that is an advantage but does/doesn't ABS slow you down faster when stopping in a straight line on butumen?
 
Yes it does, as far as I know it was first developt for that...a skidding tire has less friction than a rolling one (when braking) as you all know.
I don't know how ABS would help you out with steering if you brake hard.
ABS ensures the braking is as hard as possible but with no skidding wheels.
I can still steer when braking hard, that not a big problem, without ABS you have 4 skidding wheels and spinning around maybe you are right, it prevents the car from instability too...
 
After i read this thread, i just discovered that alot!! of people here don't know anything about driving :lol:
 
logo said:
people here don't know anything about driving
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not really don't know anything about driving... its just that everyone has different opinions on how to handle different situations while driving :wink:
 
hehe this thread got me to start the heel and toe thing myself
Well the car still jerks when I try it, haven't perfected it yet, I doubt I will ever be able to do it in the crappy car I drive right now :evil:
 
I have learned never to change gears while hard breaking on a track at high speeds, just because you don't have both hands on the wheel and are much more likely to have the car skid dangerously. A friend of mine told me to change gear only at the end, and indeed I won no less than 5 seconds per lap on the Charade track, all this because I could brake later and focus entirely on braking. Asks for dexterity though, and it's a reflex to drop. Of course, if you have paddle shifting this may be a different story. I don't have that, so...

But on the road this is a different matter and I do use engine braking.
 
Oh yeah, ABS has first been invented to be able to steer while braking, that's true. But now they react so quickly that in 99.9999....% of the times they will make for shorter stopping distances than even the best trained pilots. Why do you think F1 regulation forbids ABS now 8)
 
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