Well, I finally did it! I bought a brand new blue 2003 and it's a thrill to drive even though I've got to wait another 300 miles of break-in period to find out what that VTEC is all about.

I picked the blue for a number of reasons. 1. It's a gorgeous blue/silver rather than blue. 2. It's not as flashy as a red or yellow but I wanted something a bit more "stealth". 3. I'm kind of sick of silver since I have a 2000 silver 4-runner.

Even though my wife and I agreed that this would be my car, she's already taking dibs on driving it a couple of days a week.

Question: We have a disagreement as to downshifting or not downshifting. I was brought up to downshift when slowing down, she was brought up to stick it in neutral no matter what the speed and coast to a stop. Outside of the obvious "downshifting in wet or icy weather to help with braking, what's the general rule?

 

congrats, nice color choice!

check here for some info on downshifting

 

Congrats and enjoy!!

 

Congrats and welcome to the club!! I've always read that you should allow engine braking to help slow you down a bit (leave it in gear and don't push the clutch in) but down shifting to help slow you down creates unnecessary wear on the clutch and transmission. I do blip the throttle and downshift sometimes anyway (can't help myself) but brake pads are cheaper to replace than the clutch and transmission. You'll be using the clutch and transmission hard enough when taking off.

 

I believe the only good reason to downshift as you are slowing down is that the car will be in gear if an emergency requires you to speed up without wastng any time. If someone behind you can't stop in time it allows you to just hit the gas and get out of their way.

 

if you downshift using rev matching, you have nothing to worry about extra wear and tear. its those idiots out there who just select a lower gear and let go of the clutch, wihtout blipping the throttle. they put all the force on the synchros and this willl drastically wear them out. when you downshift and you did not feel any "jerking" movements, you did it properly.

btw, its not good to let the car move without it being in gear. its bad for the transmission when you're goin 30-40 MPH in neutral. thats what girls do, and i don't blame them.

 

OK. You're the first to say that coasting may damage the transmission when doing it above 35 - 40 MPH. To be honest, it just doesn't feel right letting the car coast a couple of hundred feet before stopping at the light. I was conditioned to downshift. Plus, when downshifting for slowing traffic, you're better suited to pick back up if you've successfully downshifted into the appropriate gear. This, rather than having to pick something when the car in front of you gives you distance.

Sounds like the conclusion is to downshift when appropriate and do so while not revvy and/or popping the clutch. I find that if I downshift when I drop from 3000 RPM's into the high-to-mid 2000 RPM's everything feels quite smooth and natural.

Jim

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RazorV3
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btw, its not good to let the car move without it being in gear.

 

i think its cause the gears are just spinning very fast, and thats not good. its supposed to be in gear. i dunno, for me i usually depending on speed, if im goin kinda fast ill downshift from 4th to 3rd and then just wait till im down to like 1 - .5rpm to put the clutch in.

 

Congrats on the car. Enjoy and welcome to our little community. Check your oil often.

The issue of downshifting to slow the car (engine braking) is one that has been raging here for a while. I'm sure the thread will rise up again. For the most part some do and some don't. It really is a question of personal preference.

I grew up on the old British sportscars and I was taught to do it. For me downshifting is the "art" of driving a manual transmission. For others it is a waste of time and should only be used to be in the proper gear. In this case I would say both you and your wife are right. Do what feels best.

I agree with dangarza. I have never heard that it is bad to roll (at speed) in neutral. What I have heard is that when the car is moving you should always be in gear to help to maintain control over the car.