Braking?

[FatGaz]

??? this may seem a little strange - but how do you slow down?

There seems to be 2 schools of thought on this -

1. 'Younger' people, who were taught and passed their test recently, tend to brake late and rely more on their brakes for slowing down...

2. 'Older' people, who were taught and passed their test some years ago, tend to start to slow down earlier, and use the engine/gears to slow down...

I think there is good and bad about both - if you use your engine/gears to slow down then this could be seen as 'safer', but causes more wear 'n' tear on the engine/clutch (which could be expensive).

If you use more brakes, then it could be seen as less safe (risk of skidding, etc), and causes more wear on your brakes (which are cheaper to replace than your clutch! )

So... how do you slow down, and whats your views on which is 'best'?

Cheers
GAZ

 

[Jim]

if i'm coming up to a junction where i know i will have to stop, i brake early but don't always use the engine/gears (ie. i'll sink the clutch)...naughty i know, but hey

but if i'm coming up to an island where i know i can probably get away with just slowing down, i'll brake early again and use the engine/gears..

the key is the braking early really, as I have a K10

 

[Arnold]

I tend to use a bit of both, when going say 60+, i slow down earlier by pumping the brake, then foot on clutch, usually in second, to either slow down to stop or release and bomb round the roundabout lol.

I dont rely on my brakes at the last minute as the car is light, you cant guarantee what the road conditions will be like at the junction, and yes, its a K10, so probably wouldnt stop if i asked it to lol.

 

[Ed]

"when going say 60+, i slow down earlier by pumping the brake" Thats a bad idea. You can destaberlise the car, you should only need to pump the break if you have lost traction, and your trying to gain it back

My comments on breaking is FAR to many leave it too late. Time and time again I can prove this through this club alone as quite a few people have run into people infront of them. There really is no excuse running into the car of the person in front.

 

[wilsonian]

it really does depend how i feel.

if i'm fast pace driving (eg country lanes) then the brakes do get stamped on a bit. however if i'm on the motorway i normally just come off the "gas" then if need to brake.

i rarely use the gear box for braking, normally when i'm coming up to a set of lights.

 

[tommo]

i never coast wiv the clutch in cos its just plain dangerous i use the gears and never leave it too late, i love usin the gears cos i can hear the burble of the powerflow now ive stripped it out......

 

[G_Man]

I just drive and brake i use the brakes to slow down, dnt put them on late, or early. Jus in the middle lol, then as im braking, i drop the gears down

 

[goldstar0011]

I'm a bit like Wilsonian, motorway if not busy I just come of the "gas" and touch the brake a little, I use the gears with brakes on main road.

Do feel in control when using gears though but at late night do just use the brakes for a little skidding

 

[Retepetsir]

Left foot braking is where its at.......

Only kidding! I use a combination of both, it depends what I'm slowing down for really.

 

[JayY]

RE: RE: Braking?

Left foot braking is where its at.......

Only kidding! I use a combination of both, it depends what I'm slowing down for really.

:laugh:

I use both

 

[Craig]

I brake pretty early if I have to stop I've also got into the bad habit of coasting up to red lights and junctions if I know I will haveto stop,but I like to leave quite a gap between me and the car in fornt
Left foot braking is good for speedhumps

 

[Zephyr]

Gears braking usually used for most important cases where u need to stop car fairly quickly kinda cuts the distance needed by nearly half 'imo'. does take its toll on wear n tear my car isnt half as effective as it was in gear braking...then again i got it with 15000 miles...now 50000...lol

when im slowing down from fairly fast speed i usually pump the brake too, braking n lift off a tiny bit so it doesnt lock n keep pressing, doesnt really destablise the car as someone said earlier unless ur trying to manover with it then it could be a problem. in my experience pumping is actually more effective overall than standard slap foot on pedal, hold it pressed untill stop...

motorway usually try not to brake at all it isnt needed in 90% of the cases, as dropping speed with gas up does it good enough n with the car in front normally still holding a fairly good constant speed(well not braking) the gap widens easily. saying this but when the car in front of me on the motorway brakes, i always brake at the same time...never wait untill u realise that the gap is closing its usually too late! >.<
(u do get some dodgy drivers that brake for no reason at all with no cars infront of them n no im not crawling up their ass either...makes me brake too(as i mentioned my lil safety precaution thing) but just annoys me so much i overtake)

usually its very easy to read how another car drives too u can usually spot the dodgy driver half a mile away so u just give lots of distance or get past it.

me kinda going off topic now ending it here getting late in morning *yawn*

ps. everything is from my experience n imho so dont blast me about stuff i said...

 

[masterbiker]

I agree with Zephyr about the not always needing brakes on the motorway, because if your are paying attention you can just come off the gas to slow down enough. I do have a K12 tho so the aerodynamics seem to slow the car down more quickly than most other cars I have driven.

About people coasting (and I am not sure it is aplicable to micras) but on topgear Jeremy said that most new cars now save more fuel when coming down the gears when stopping or slowing down then when coasting because the ecu stops injecting fuel alltogether. It was on the one when he drove to Edinburgh and back on one tank of deisel with some Audi. Could this be applicable to K11-K12's?

 

[Kyle]

Ive got a micra k10 auto, and since i can just stick it in drive and not bother after, I do have the facility of engine breaking using the semi auto gears but they dont give me a good enough range to do efficient engine breaking without over engine breaking say sticking it in first at around 50. But the Gearbox is only 3 spd giving a greater range on your speeds. One thing I'm not sure of is when I'm in drive i can stop completely and the car doesnt stall, but ive gotta keep mi foot on the break or else it will creep, should i really be putting it into neutral once i stop? and would it be using more fuel by not changing into neutral? could this cause wear on the break pads?

 

[DoomPixie]

i was taught when i was haveing lessons (last year) to slow down early, so i tend to slow down early useign the gears, this goes against pretty much everything i have been taught before i had profesional lessons though. depends who you learn with i spose. learn to drive in a rally prepped BMW and you will learn to drive like a rally driver, learn in a driving school corsa and you will learn to drive like an old granny. lol
owen

 

[NeX]

i always brake with the engine. i rarely use the brake.

it's all about perfect timing and keeping a big enough gap.

whatch through the car in front's window to see if the car in front of it brakes.

if it does then straight off the accelerator and if the car just infront brakes then drop a gear.

 

[Jim]

RE: RE: Braking?

watch through the car in front's window to see if the car in front of it brakes.]

unless the car in front is also only using his gears to brake, in which case, you'll probably go into the back of him :laugh:

 

[NeX]

yea hehe

but the big gap gives you the stopping distance *slim*