I have a few questions about this so bare with me and try to help a n00b learn some stuff.

When you are braking from 5th gear say 70 or so, is the proper technique to brake and downshift until you get down to about 2nd/3rd gear

If you are driving and you put it in neutral from 5th and brake will the car shake

When downshifting should you still give some gas when letting off the clutch, thanks for the know

8/25/2005 12:57:46 PM

just shift right from 5th to 2nd, no need to use the intermediate gears

8/25/2005 1:01:17 PM

Just shift to neutral and apply the hand brake. Spin if you can.

8/25/2005 1:07:14 PM

shift it into reverse if you want to stop quickly

8/25/2005 1:09:13 PM

seriously though, would going from 5th to neutral and braking with foot until about 40 cause the car to shake, or would that mean the brakes are bad

8/25/2005 1:13:23 PM

In normal everyday driving - from top gear (wether it be 5 or 6) to stop just lift off the gas, put in the clutch, then use the brake pedal normally. When slowed down or stopped put it in 1 or 2 and go again.

On normal streets I've really only used engine braking in the mountains where I don't want to ride the brakes for miles. Pick a gear lower than the standard cruising speed and it'll generally hold you approximately at a constant speed.

^ In the situation you're describing - the brakes are bad. Probably warped rotors.

[Edited on August 25, 2005 at 1:17 PM. Reason : asdf]

8/25/2005 1:16:27 PM

the wheel is shaking cause your rotors

8/25/2005 1:16:44 PM

that would mean you have other problems. under normal driving, don't use the clutch to brake it just increases wear... it's alot easier/cheaper to replace brake pads than a clutch.

8/25/2005 1:17:05 PM

96 civic, do i need two rotors or four, how much will this cost me, assume rotors and pads, i plan on installing them myself

but back to my original question, when braking from high speeds, use the clutch or no, if not just brake in current gear until desired speed then shift? sorry im such a n000000b

[Edited on August 25, 2005 at 1:54 PM. Reason : sfd]

8/25/2005 1:53:30 PM

rotors will range between 25 and 35 bucks apiece, and you can get pads for as cheap as 20 bucks or you can fork out over 60.

And most likely you just need the front ones.

8/25/2005 1:55:51 PM

phew, that's not too bad, hey zx since you are here, can you weigh in on my initial question, what do you recommend for braking? (since people are disagreeing I will probably adopt your input bc i value your opinion)

8/25/2005 2:02:31 PM

I don't think downshifting is really that crucial unless you're really worried about taxing your brakes. Just like BigBlueRam said, it's a helluva lot easier to swap brakes than a clutch.

I do a lot of matched-throttle double-clutch downshifts, which place very little extra wear on the clutch. I just do it to remain in practice. If you learn to do it this way, there's not a whole lot of extra wear. But it DOES take practice.

If you don't stop abruptly from high speed, there's no reason at all to downshift. If you do stop abruptly from high speed, it can help, but the negatives outweigh the positives.

8/25/2005 3:21:00 PM

so should i put it in neutral, then shift into the appropriate gear, or leave it in gear then shift to the appropriate gear once I start accelerating, im talking about going from 60 to 20 etc..

can you do either one?

[Edited on August 25, 2005 at 3:23 PM. Reason : adas]

8/25/2005 3:22:31 PM

Quote :

"I do a lot of matched-throttle double-clutch downshifts, which place very little extra wear on the clutch. I just do it to remain in practice. If you learn to do it this way, there's not a whole lot of extra wear. But it DOES take practice."

What exactly does that entail? (Just curious, I drive an automatic, but desire to learn more about proper operation of a manual...)

8/25/2005 3:23:48 PM

You have heard of heel and toe? This is just without the braking.

Clutch, shift into neutral, declutch, blip throttle, clutch, shift into lower gear of choice.

If you get everything right, the tranny just glides into gear with almost no need for the syncros to do any work.

8/25/2005 3:26:45 PM

THE BEST AND LEAST HARMFUL WAY TO STOP/SLOW A VEHICLE IS USING THE BRAKES ONLY.
ITS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY.

NO NEED FOR USING YOUR ENGINE TO SLOW YOU DOWN, OR ENGINE PLUS BRAKE TO TRY TO SLOW YOU DOWN.

oh and your civic is most likely 2 rotors unless you got some special shit. VTEACKS POWER

[Edited on August 25, 2005 at 3:30 PM. Reason : ]

8/25/2005 3:30:00 PM

Quote :

"If you do stop abruptly from high speed, it can help"

im not sure about this... the brakes are usually strong enough to lock up the wheels (or engage the ABS). downshifting wouldnt help in this instance b/c the traction of the tires is the limiting factor.

8/25/2005 3:49:27 PM

downshifting will just put wear on the trans, and make stopping the vehicle an extra effort.

8/25/2005 3:51:19 PM

I've locked up my turrs even though I supposedly have ABS

8/25/2005 4:18:49 PM

more like BS

8/25/2005 4:28:04 PM

^x6

Quote :

"you almost had me? granny shiftin, not double clutchin like you're supposed to. and you almost had me??"

i never why they said double clutching during a 1/4 miles street race. I guess they put it in there to sound like somethin cool for the noobs watchin who had no clue. dumbass movie.

[Edited on August 25, 2005 at 4:32 PM. Reason : ^]

8/25/2005 4:32:14 PM

Just use your brakes only. I usually coast or hit the brakes with the car in gear until I hit say 30 or 40 mph, then just shift into neutral or just push in the clutch and continue stopping with the brakes only.

8/25/2005 4:34:08 PM

I just let off gas, leave it in gear, push brake, downshift if it looks like I'm going to be accelerating, or just drop into neutral when the engine is back down to idle speed. You get a little bit of engine braking without worrying with double clutch heel and toe downshifts. You don't have to downshift through every gear every time you slow down.

[Edited on August 25, 2005 at 5:03 PM. Reason : ]

8/25/2005 5:02:17 PM

i know a guy who drove from raleigh to charlotte with bad brakes on a manual truck, only used the transmission and e-brakes the whole way down.

8/25/2005 5:50:00 PM

^ that's how you get the style points y0

break off the back end like whoa

8/25/2005 5:53:50 PM

ive driven dump trucks and wreckers with bad brakes and just downshifted

8/25/2005 7:29:18 PM

Just use your brakes, pads are cheaper than clutches

8/25/2005 7:31:01 PM

exactly

8/25/2005 7:31:19 PM

you can either put wear on your engine/transmission or brakes - your choice.

just go to auto zone and tell them you need a new NGR valve

8/25/2005 8:07:04 PM

Quote :

"96 civic, do i need two rotors or four, how much will this cost me, assume rotors and pads, i plan on installing them myself"

No '96 Civic was available with 4 wheel disc brakes, so you'll only have to replace two.

I'm not sure if its a good idea for you to install these brakes yourself. No offense, but you don't seem too mechanically inclined if you have to ask questions like these.

8/25/2005 8:22:49 PM

Quote :

" do a lot of matched-throttle double-clutch downshifts"

yep, same here. if im approching a curve in regular city driving....usually, lets say from going 45mph in 5th...go neutral and then just before entering the curve, blip throttle to 2500, clutch down to 3rd. you do have to know each gear in your car well enough to know how much blip you need, otherwise you will get that nasty CLUNK sound from synchros.

8/25/2005 9:14:32 PM

^in normal city driving why would you downshift to 3rd while going 45mph through a turn?

8/25/2005 9:23:58 PM

I double clutch 2nd yo.

Seriously though, brakes are cheap compared to transmissions and clutches.

[Edited on August 26, 2005 at 1:33 PM. Reason : .]

8/26/2005 1:19:08 PM

Quote :

"Nerdchick n00batron 3000 15887 Posts user info edit post just shift right from 5th to 2nd, no need to use the intermediate gears 8/25/2005 1:01:17 PM Lewizzle All American 9237 Posts user info edit post Just shift to neutral and apply the hand brake. Spin if you can. 8/25/2005 1:07:14 PM jataylor All American 1028 Posts user info edit post shift it into reverse if you want to stop quickly 8/25/2005 1:09:13 PM "

Fucking fags. Stay out of The Garage.

8/26/2005 1:33:39 PM