manual tranny myth #1

Driver Joined: Sep 25, 2006 Posts: 107

myth:
It is better for your car if you engine-brake by downshifting through your gears while approaching a stop

truth:
your brakes are made for braking and are a LOT cheaper to replace than your transmission

extra:
engine braking IS a valuable skill to have in case of brake failure, especially since most modern 'emergency brakes' use the same hydraulic system as the regular brakes.

Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 9:30 pm

100% agree as defined,
BUT
if you are driving on an icy road, this is the most efficient and safe way to slow down Smile

Member Joined: Nov 15, 2006 Posts: 18

Wrong, most, is not all cars use cable e-brake!
You will need to have another master brake cylinder, more brake lines, and just a comlex system. Please enlighten me of a single passanger car that uses a hydraulic e-brake.
I've been fixing cars for quite some time, and yet to see a car with a stupid system like that, as it is more possibilities for failure.

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 1:19 am

I think you misunderstood something. Nobody is talking about parking brake here.

Member Joined: Nov 15, 2006 Posts: 18

I just reread it and still can't figure out what Stimpy ment by "emergency brake", like system that makes you stop if one of your lines is broken? Please explain.

Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 1:09 am

Oh, my bad! Oops

I'm sorry man, you are absolutely right. I don't know how I missed it, guess just did not read his last sentence carefully, because it just did not add to the main idea about engine braking.

Yep, you are right, I don't know any car with hydraulic parking brake, so Stimpy is off here. Confused

Driver Joined: Sep 25, 2006 Posts: 107

*thinkin*

I know the E-brake is cable actuated, but once it gets to the caliper it uses hydraulic pressure doesn't it?

dang it.. now I have to find my manual.

..can't really tell by the exploded drawing, but the reason I was thinking that is from when I replaced the rear calipers on my car. I thought I had bled the brakes well enough, but the brakes AND E-brakes felt squishy on the test drive. When I took more car in bleeding them, both types of braking improved. ..Maybe I inadvertently fixed a seperate problem at the same time.. Laughing

Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 11:20 pm

I think I know why. Honda pistons (and I think other brands, too) have self-adjusting mechanism to keep the pads at the correct distance to the rotor. It is basically the kind of screw and nut with springs, and parking brake cable turns the lever that pushes the screw that pushes the nut that pushes the piston....

It just takes braking several (guess much more than ten) times until it gets fully adjusted after caliper assembly. Until then it keeps piston too far away.

New member Joined: Apr 07, 2009 Posts: 8

Stimpy wrote:

myth:
It is better for your car if you engine-brake by downshifting through your gears while approaching a stop

truth:
your brakes are made for braking and are a LOT cheaper to replace than your transmission

extra:
engine braking IS a valuable skill to have in case of brake failure, especially since most modern 'emergency brakes' use the same hydraulic system as the regular brakes.

Why do you think engine braking significantly damages the transmission?

Obviously engine braking is of little benefit if you need to stop, but it is absolutely the correct thing to use when adjusting your speed when approaching a roundabout or corner and you need to take a few mph off - it is no better or worse for your transmission than driving - it's the same forces, just in the opposite direction.

Dropping down a gear or two when approaching standing traffic puts your transmission under no more stress than accelerating would, saves your brakes, and means you are in the correct gear to accelerate should conditions allow. And it's less effort - if you were slowing from, say 40 mph to 15mph you would need to change gear anyway Smile

Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:17 am

IB, I think Simpy was addressing exactly what he wrote - using transmission instead of brakes when this is uncalled for by driving conditions - exactly like breaking to stop before the red light, and he did not mean casual engine breaking to adjust the speed. And btw those several extra shifts down per occurrence WILL put some extra strain on transmission...

In the past I spent some time on American car forum populated by teen drivers, and it is amazing how many myths and misconceptions are circulated there as an obvious truth, probably because of the lack of driver education.

Driver Joined: Dec 25, 2009 Posts: 100

Myth should always remain as Myth. Its a saying that Truth alone triumps. Engine brake is not a necessary factor as long as brakes do their work .

Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2010 10:37 pm

This is somewhat nitpicky, but engine breaking and down shifting are two completely different things.

Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 10:14 am

Hi Kelly, and welcome!

Not sure I see your point. Yes, they are different - yet interrelated, too. Smile

Member Joined: Sep 15, 2010 Posts: 27

excellent post. I bookmarked this post. Like this, but myths are always myths. But truth is always truth.

New member Joined: Oct 15, 2010 Posts: 5

Something that hasn't been mentioned is that I think the original poster meant 'Clutch wear' rather than 'transmission damage'.

Thereby make more sense with a much simpler statement. Replacing worn brake pads is cheaper and easier than a worn out clutch disc.

That being said...I personally love to clutch brake over using my brake pads. If you concentrate on matching revs (such as a heel-toe shift) your not wearing the clutch that bad, OR your brake pads.

Here's what I think is could be the biggest detractor to this method...

Your slowing your vehicle down, with NO SIGNAL (brake lights) to other motorists. That could make it hard for other drivers to operate smoothly behind your vehicle.

But alas, it's not like your brake lights don't come eventually.

Sometimes I do have the brakes on and I'm downshifting to help slow the car, much like an automatic tranny which uses some engine compression to slow the vehicle to the point where the torque converter disengages.

Thats from speeds around 55/60 to a complete stop, like you'd find on the Lake Ontario State Parkway, heading from Rochester NY out towards Niagara Fall's