Driving Tips - Manual Transmission

[infinitemberstang]

So - been a stick shift person for over 20 years now and I have always rolled in neutral just before the red light and/or anticipate stopping. Obviously I am careful and check my surroundings and back before rolling in neutral.
I was just browsing through the ford owners manual and came across this -

“Do not shift into neutral when you are braking or when your vehicle is slowing down.”

What harm does it cause is what I want to know. I have had 4 different manual transmission cars till date and have always had the same driving style without any issues and curious now as this is my first pony!

Thank you!

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[Dena]

That is a bit misleading. Say I am approaching a stoplight and I can see it's red. I take my foot off the gas and coast using the engine for braking. Once the RPMs get around 800 RPM, then I push the clutch in and apply the brake as needed. It saves wear and heating on the brake and makes you more predictable to the person behind you. Reading stoplight at a distance also saves gas. Keeping the car in gear give you access to power should conditions change as all you need to do is let the clutch out and apply the gas. It has the additional benefit that with all the gears turning, the transmission remains properly lubricated. In neutral gears can get dry which is why they don't recommend a front tow on rear wheel drive cars.

 

[infinitemberstang]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. ! Interesting that each of us have different styles while driving a stick. I am always hesitant to depress clutch and brake together if I anticipate stopping early. Good call on keeping the gears lubricanted. Will see how I can tweak my driving style!

 

[DCS]

So - been a stick shift person for over 20 years now and I have always rolled in neutral just before the red light and/or anticipate stopping. Obviously I am careful and check my surroundings and back before rolling in neutral.
I was just browsing through the ford owners manual and came across this -

“Do not shift into neutral when you are braking or when your vehicle is slowing down.”

What harm does it cause is what I want to know. I have had 4 different manual transmission cars till date and have always had the same driving style without any issues and curious now as this is my first pony!

Thank you!

Is this advice from Ford for a Manual or Auto transmission?
If I see a light or stop sign ahead of me, I have always done as you have with clutch in, shift to Neutral, Clutch out, Brake as needed.

 

[infinitemberstang]

Is this advice from Ford for a Manual or Auto transmission?
If I see a light or stop sign ahead of me, I have always done as you have with clutch in, shift to Neutral, CLutch out, Brake as needed.

It wasn’t specific to Auto or Manual. It is just under driving tips.
Your driving style is similar to mine. That’s exactly what I do - obv im careful about it and ready to get into the desired gear incase road conditions do change all of a sudden.

 

[DCS]

It wasn’t specific to Auto or Manual. It is just under driving tips.
Your driving style is similar to mine. That’s exactly what I do - obv im careful about it and ready to get into the desired gear incase road conditions do change all of a sudden.

I just read a few articles that indicate when coasting (in gear), fuel injectors are turned off (saving fuel - theoretically) until you are stopped. I don't know if this is true.

 

[infinitemberstang]

In gear with no throttle depress modern cars do turn off injectors after some rpm hang. But in neutral - I’m not really sure whether it affects motor or tranny in any shape or form.

 

[Skye]

“Do not shift into neutral when you are braking or when your vehicle is slowing down.”

I looked for that in the 2022 manual. The statement is on page 232, under "Driving Economically". As @Dena mentioned, in doing so, you lose the benefit of free engine braking. The engine is spinning no matter what. The spent fuel can be used to brake the car (some benefit) or idle (wasted).

IMO, it's kind of a toss. You might get just a bit of better mileage, but you're also loading the engine more often, wearing some bits longer. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

It depends on the situation. Many times I engine brake. Sometimes I don't.

 

[infinitemberstang]

^^ good points there! Thanks for your insight! I will continue to enjoy my ride and gear shifts! Imma turn that auto rev match off !

 

[Dena]

One other little trick that many don't know because they don't live in the rockies and it works well with manuals or autos. I use this in other places but the most significant is the Grapevine in California. This is a really long downgrade known for burning up brakes. With my 5 speed 96, at the top of the grade, I slow to the speed I want to travel down the grade. I then shift into 4th (one to one gear) and set the cruse control. Not only will the engine provide normal braking but it has an additional trick up it's sleeve. It can completely close off the air intake providing additional braking over what you would experience without the cruse control. It allowed me to go down the Grapevine without touching the brakes unless I had to dodge traffic. If I have to, at a speed below my desired speed, I reengage the cruse control and I am back where I was before. This trick dates back to carburetor cars so it's been around for a long time.

 

[DCS]

One other little trick that many don't know because they don't live in the rockies and it works well with manuals or autos. I use this in other places but the most significant is the Grapevine in California. This is a really long downgrade known for burning up brakes. With my 5 speed 96, at the top of the grade, I slow to the speed I want to travel down the grade. I then shift into 4th (one to one gear) and set the cruse control. Not only will the engine provide normal braking but it has an additional trick up it's sleeve. It can completely close off the air intake providing additional braking over what you would experience without the cruse control. It allowed me to go down the Grapevine without touching the brakes unless I had to dodge traffic. If I have to, at a speed below my desired speed, I reengage the cruse control and I am back where I was before. This trick dates back to carburetor cars so it's been around for a long time.

Interesting!

 

[infinitemberstang]

Nice won there. Thanks for sharing. The other trick on grapevine I’ve done in my ST is use engine braking all the way - minimal brake pedal decompress and instead downshift once i foresee a need to slow down a bit. I’m yet to take my pony to SoCal! Can’t wait for spring and some clear blue skies!

 

[Dena]

Nice won there. Thanks for sharing. The other trick on grapevine I’ve done in my ST is use engine braking all the way - minimal brake pedal decompress and instead downshift once i foresee a need to slow down a bit. I’m yet to take my pony to SoCal! Can’t wait for spring and some clear blue skies!

There is a place east of Orange county that I traveled with a 35 mile per hour speed limit on a two lane road. I used the same trick but I used 3rd gear instead because I needed additional braking. Good driving is paying attention to what is ahead and planing a move that will best accomplish what you want. Far too many people get themselves into trouble because they are distracted from the job ahead.
Anyway you can now see how I managed to get 170,00 mile on the last set of brakes and I could have got more but it's not worth the risk when they get to the yellow zone.

 

[Rapid_RedGT]

I typically shift down the gears when I'm coming to a stop, been doing it for years. I have not heard much about coasting to neutral written in stone on how to drive a manual to be honest, just users opinions on the matter. How do you typically drive it?

 

[Dena]

I typically shift down the gears when I'm coming to a stop, been doing it for years. I have not heard much about coasting to neutral written in stone on how to drive a manual to be honest, just users opinions on the matter. How do you typically drive it?

Down shifting asks the question. Do you want to replace a clutch or the brakes. Down shifting is good if your going to be in it for a while but stop signs I wouldn't do unless my brakes failed.

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