Leppy
Well-Known Member
hmmm Never had my clutch explode coasting down hills while in gear... Although now I have a feeling I won't be doing it anymore...
Hmm... statistics like brake distance require a controlled environment. One control is braking without downshifting, because it would be harder for an automatic car to get accurate results, because obviously engine braking is more efficient/better than idling to a stop.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
That's true in a sense, but slamming on the brakes is a bad idea, even with ABS. First of all, you will get maximum braking if you threshold brake, and that means without ABS and without locking the wheels. Secondly, I would assume that ABS causes substantial brake wear, and would probably heat the brakes up quite a bit, because the brakes are vibrating and causing friction to increase, I believe. Also ABS would probably be slower than threshold braking because the pads aren't creating nearly as much useful friction. Threshold braking is the way to go for performance.800hpfury said:but if you want to all out stop, then slam on the brakes as hard as possible if your vehicle has ABS and you will come to a stop far quicker.
theblue said:wow... interesting thread... there is about as much true information as false and a whole bunch of people look to learn.
Myth - Engine braking will stop you faster
The deal here is that once you've gotten to the limits of your tires you're not going to stop any faster regardless of if your brakes or engine or anything are responsible for slowing the wheels down. Almost every modern disk brake car has enough stopping power lock the wheels up. Bigger and better brakes come into play because they won't fade as fast. (fading will kill your ability to stop fast)
so why use engine braking?
The first reason is because you only have so much braking power before they fade so you can take a decent chunk of that work off of the brakes by using engine braking. The next reason is because unless you are coming to a complete stop you're going to want to get back on the gas at some point -and you'll want to start out in the power band.
There are lots of other things like electronic brake distribution and ABS and traction control systems that I'm just going to leave out for now.
That's not entirely true. While you may prevent lock up, if you engine brake too hard you can get the tires spinning at a slower speed than the road. Sliding is sliding.Leppy said:Yes you cannot go past the abilities of your tyres but if you engine brake you will make sure the wheels are always in motion. This will prevent lock ups.