Using engine braking, heavy clutch wear?

[Nick_J]

Hi

When decelerating, I tend to put it into 2nd or 3rd (say from 60 + odd) and then hold the revs at about 1200 RPM to get the max engine braking possible.

My question is, will this wear my clutch out, ie, is it as bad at putting ur foot down on accelerating at very low revvs?

I ask becuase looking on Jabba, possibly for a remap, says the remap will depend on the state of the clutch, so am wondering how I am treating my clutch doin this declerating technique. Never seemed to be an issue wit my other cars...

Cheers guys

 

[Leigh15]

Modern driving and police professional driving advice is not to use the gearbox to help you brake. Basically you should only change down a gear to speed up - ie. knick down a cog to overtake etc.

This will be putting a certain amount of unnecessary strain on your clutch and gearbox

 

[Nick_J]

o ok, how is that, because your more in control of your car using engine braking?! not that im ignoring what you say, just curious!

I hate not using engine braking becuase of the excess stress on the pads and the lack of control you have if u need to accelerate quickly!

 

[hon_n_gem]

your supposed to engine brake when u learn to drive right? i tend not to these days, unless i want a constant speed going downhill, i.e 40mph in 3rd or simular

 

[Leigh15]

You keep in the gear you were in - so if you're in say 4th you stay in that gear and then dip the clutch just before the engine stalls.

This way you still have the advantage of engine braking but you're not putting loads of strain on the clutch and box going down through the gears.

If you do need to accelerate, you then change down and accelerate away.

The advice on going through the box when braking comes from a time when brakes weren't very efficient and driving instructors didn't have dual controls - going down through the box was safer for them

 

[Leigh15]

your supposed to engine brake when u learn to drive right? i tend not to these days, unless i want a constant speed going downhill, i.e 40mph in 3rd or simular

There's a difference between engine braking - ie. letting your foot of the throttle and leaving in gear which is a good practice and changing down through the gears whilst braking which is now regarded as unnecessary and causing prematur e wear on the transmission

 

[lukey]

if your coming up to a juction you can easily leave it in gear and brake to almost a stop before the engines in gear revs reach idle level and you have to dip the clutch.
replacing discs and pads is way cheaper than replacing a clutch.

if you brake down the gears, to people you drive past, it sounds like you dont know how to drive too. like the grannies giving it 11,000 revs and crawling forwards in tescos car park

 

[hon_n_gem]

well ill let my brakes do all the work now! need some 312's!

 

[Hudson]

I do engine break but generally from say 6th for 4th at aorund 50 mph and then again if needed down to second if i'm stopping in a hurry - this is ofc in junction with using the old foot break.

as for clutch wear it will of course use the clutch more and hence wear more but I wouldnt worry too much - unless of course your riding ur clutch like a woman parking in tesco

H

 

[chase06]

Yup I agree with Leigh here,

However, I still come down the box sometimes but I try not to do it so often when there is an obvious mismatch between engine and gearbox speed without blipping the accelerator. For example, if Im coming to the end of a motorway ill brake slightly and whack it from 5th to 4th but in the process ill blip the throttle to match the engine and transmission revs. Then I leave it in 4th until, like Leigh says, just before the idle speed and select my gear from there.

I think id rather replace my pads every 20k miles than my clutch tbh. However, ive had a load of bother with my clutch so mines prolly on its way out Does anyone else have a 20VT where the biting point is really high up that it actually becomes awkward when changing gear?

 

[Nick_J]

kool ok guys, think i might start to use brakes more than engine braking...... shame tho, cos the amount of engine braking available when holding it in 3rd gear at 1000 revvs from 80 odd is fantastic! such an advantage!

 

[chase06]

Hi again,

Wow that is some slippage going on there! Mega slippage infact. Thats a bit like putting it in 4th to pull away, revving it up to about 5krevs then letting the clutch up slowly, holding it at 1000revs until you get some momentum and get upto speed. I wouldnt be doing that at all! Is yours a TDi or 20VT? How many miles has it done?

 

[Nick_J]

its the tdi, got 10k on the clock......... ive done it in my mk2 golf, tdi 306 and my dads c-max tdci, the c-max for about 20k miles and its now for over 60k with no problems

 

[chase06]

The TDi's are on the limit with the clutch anyway. It will probably be alright but id imagine it being the difference between a clutch lasting 120k miles and one lasting 75k miles

Cheers

 

[Nick_J]

ok thank you

 

[Ad Lav]

Brakes arecheap, clutches expensive, you choose!

 

[DodgyDave]

Depends on driving style at the time

On Track it's a must to keep the revs hi so very early change-downs so revs stay above 3k at all times (i have the petrol lump), change down so in the lower gear revs are 5.5k+mark and hold until they get to 3.5/4k, then down again.

On a fast road drive i'm not as agressive, change-down so revs are always above 2k (so to limit the loss of turbo boost).

If i'm just driving (to/from work or to local shops - nothing fast!!!) then very light engine braking, if any, but never let the revs go below 900rpm and dont change down into 3nd (go from 6th to 5th to 4th then use brakes).

All depends on what you want really, would not say a right/wrong way to do it.

These are a few corners i drive all the time that i just dont brake for, take it down from 4th to 3rd at the way in to scrub off a bit of speed (but the bend does most of that) and i'm in the right gear for driving out - so quicker on the exit (but still having two hands on the wheel through the bend).

No right, no wrong ... only styles


Dave

 

[Nath.]

Brakes arecheap, clutches expensive, you choose!

^^^^^^^ what he said

 

[ubiquitous]

Yup, since I did my test (2000) you're supposed to brake using the brakes then select the gear when you know what gear you need to complete the manoeuvre. Exactly the same if you do your advanced/police driving grade. This means that you have both hands on the wheel
when braking and gives you more control.

 

[Triple D]

Brakes arecheap, clutches expensive, you choose!

Not for me they werent