I would dissagree that any car should be allowed to roll to a stop in neutral. Accept the fact that engine braking is not only acceptible but a feature common on all stick shifts. Efforts to prolong the natural wear and tear should only pretain to unreasonable driving habits and not the subject we are discussing here.

 

Fair enough. Cutting the fuel to the engine on decel does use less gas, though I'd imagine it is a very modest savings overall.

I agree that it puts more wear on the brakes and requires increased pedal pressure, but when it comes down to the rate of deceleration as long as the brakes are not the limiting factor in stopping the wheels, you don't sacrifice anything on the maximum rate of deceleration. If you slammed on the brakes the tires would lock up/abs would kick in. Having engine braking on top of that does not increase the rate of deceleration.

If you describing a situation where the engine does part of the braking and the brakes handle the rest, certainly not using the engine braking would reduce deceleration, but that could be overcome with additional pedal pressure (and of course, brake wear).

This probably shows that I spend too much time on the phone in the car because I tend to just throw it into neutral anytime I'm starting to slow down for a light so I can use my right hand for steering and avoid shifting for a few seconds.

I think I'll start downshifting more and see if I notice my fuel economy move up .

 

dude. stop talking on the phone and drive.

 

I know I know. I hosted a conference call while driving to atlanta last week. My wife is good about reminding me that I am an idiot.

 

S2kI has gone to pot in my absence.

 

If it makes you feel better, I enjoyed reading your responses in the linked thread.

 

[QUOTE=RED MX5,Sep 26 2008, 04:09 PM]

S2kI has gone to pot in my absence.