itry to drive my car around by letting it chug around / less pedal less the fuel it uses,
imust say the.. sSwhistle noise from the Turbo it Gives out is Adictive Especialy if the window is down, its Hard to resist the urge to hit the loud pedal.
My last car The fiat Mare 2.0 20v 5cl jobbie Got driven like it was Stolen for abit but 13mpg made me swap over too a Derv car,
Iwouidnt Have another Petrol car Again idont think,
Just a couple of random thoughts:
When you use the brake pedal you're turning all the momentum you got from the fuel into heat (and noise if you drive a V6 coupé ), so perhaps it's a good idea to not make the car go fast enough to need to use the brakes a lot.
When you decelerate using the gearbox you are slipping the clutch, wearing it out faster, so perhaps sacrificing brake disks and pads is a cheaper option.
Hmm, not sure how these two work together...
steve_earwig wrote:Just a couple of random thoughts:
When you use the brake pedal you're turning all the momentum you got from the fuel into heat (and noise if you drive a V6 coupé ), so perhaps it's a good idea to not make the car go fast enough to need to use the brakes a lot.
When you decelerate using the gearbox you are slipping the clutch, wearing it out faster, so perhaps sacrificing brake disks and pads is a cheaper option.
Hmm, not sure how these two work together...
iagree with you onthebrakes mate,
ive never burnt or gone through a clutch plate yet and ive had a lot of cars,
igo thru a set of pads tho may-be every 6mths or so as im abit keen on the Brakes ive never like using the gears in anycar as to slow down ..it Fubars up clutch plates slowly-but surely,
"cheaper too replace pads than a clutch plate..
lozz wrote:igo thru a set of pads tho may-be every 6mths or so as im abit keen on the Brakes ive never like using the gears in anycar as to slow down ..it Fubars up clutch plates slowly-but surely
6 months My current pads are a year old now and are pretty much like new. My driving style is FLOW! Flowing your car through the corners and anticipating whats ahead will save you fuel, tyres, brakes, clutch...everything. A perfect example of this type of driving is Jenson Button, Jenson has a great driving flow and saves his tyres and machinery alot better than the likes of Lewis Hamilton does with his more aggressive style.
I Don't know about this clutch braking theory, I use the gearbox to slow me down when approaching junctions and corners and I've never had a clutch issue on any car. 178k on original clutch with flatout gearbox braking and the clutch is still perfect
lozz wrote:igo thru a set of pads tho may-be every 6mths or so as im abit keen on the Brakes ive never like using the gears in anycar as to slow down ..it Fubars up clutch plates slowly-but surely
6 months My current pads are a year old now and are pretty much like new. My driving style is FLOW! Flowing your car through the corners and anticipating whats ahead will save you fuel, tyres, brakes, clutch...everything. A perfect example of this type of driving is Jenson Button, Jenson has a great driving flow and saves his tyres and machinery alot better than the likes of Lewis Hamilton does with his more aggressive style.
I Don't know about this clutch braking theory, I use the gearbox to slow me down when approaching junctions and corners and I've never had a clutch issue on any car. 178k on original clutch with flatout gearbox braking and the clutch is still perfect
Changing the brake pads every six months or so dosent bother me .. iget my pads cheap as chips- through a main supplier not car shops or ebay,
when ido change them there plenty still left on them, ijust like to change them before they get too low and score or Warp the discs,
The pads on the 406 have been on 5mths and there still looking good but another month and they will be coming off and replaced,
ive seen people drive there cars until there "metal on Metal" idont see the logic in that as it wouid cost them the price of a set of discs as well as pads,
steve_earwig wrote:When you use the brake pedal you're turning all the momentum you got from the fuel into heat (and noise if you drive a V6 coupé )
too right
When you decelerate using the gearbox you are slipping the clutch, wearing it out faster,
You mean, when you decelerate using the clutch?
There are other ways of slowing down without using the brake pedal - using no pedals at all or double-declutching into a lower gear are considerably less harmful than using the clutch to brake, and a lot smoother too
My method of saving fuel is to just not brake. Ever. You pay a little more in tyres, insurance premiums and fines, but you use a lot less petrol if you don't bother stopping for red lights, level crossings, busy roundabouts or pedestrians. Everyone seems to get out of my way so it's all good...
<steve_earwig> I think this forum is more about keeping our cars going with minimal outlay than giving our cars more reason to go bang
Yeah, bluddy incosiderate people, wasting all your precious fuel
mjb wrote:You mean, when you decelerate using the clutch?
If you're using the gearbox and engine as just dead weight... I remember being told to do this on my driving lessons (almost 30 years back ), change down the gear and let the clutch out slowly so it speeds the engine up, so using the clutch in reverse as it were. As you say, the best way would be to match the engine speed to the road speed but that's not always so easy, especially if you have the stereo going.
I remember doing this when I got a single seater experience.
1600cc Zetecs.
Braked slightly, went down a gear and let the clutch up to slow down enough for a corner, which then placed me closer to the top end of the rev range to accelerate out :thumbs:
1999 Honda Accord Coupe 2.0 Vtec Automatic
Previously 2002 406 HDi 90 Rapier Monaco Blue
Welly wrote:something to do with rubber/splits/bursts/flat/floppy etc
steve_earwig wrote:When you use the brake pedal you're turning all the momentum you got from the fuel into heat (and noise if you drive a V6 coupé )
too right
When you decelerate using the gearbox you are slipping the clutch, wearing it out faster,
You mean, when you decelerate using the clutch?
There are other ways of slowing down without using the brake pedal - using no pedals at all or double-declutching into a lower gear are considerably less harmful than using the clutch to brake, and a lot smoother too
My method of saving fuel is to just not brake. Ever. You pay a little more in tyres, insurance premiums and fines, but you use a lot less petrol if you don't bother stopping for red lights, level crossings, busy roundabouts or pedestrians. Everyone seems to get out of my way so it's all good...
On my old commute when leaving the motorway I know how slow I have to go down the slip road so that I get to the traffic lights as they go green. I'm convinced that getting to know the traffic light timings saves a lot of fuel. Typically some angry accountant in an Audi would go belting past and then brake hard for the lights; at the lights he's setting off in frist and I'm in third and on boost. They hate it
I always double-clutch to change down well in advance of things that I know I'm likely to have to stop for -- like roundabouts -- using engine braking as much as possible. If visibility is good then you can risk approaching quite quickly so that you don't have to slow down as much, but with the expectation that you might have to stop suddenly. (Passengers tend not to like this.)
At junctions, try to keep rolling and not to stop, so hopefully you can set off in second rather than first. Get slowed down and into second in advance.
Changing pads every 6 months I've just changed the Volvo's pads which had been in there for 5 years and 40,000 miles and still had about 3mm left on them.
If you dip the clutch or otherwise disengage the drive to the wheels you are unsettling the car and braking whilst free-wheeling can get messy. I always change down and pop the throttle to match the engine speed (heel and toe if I can be arsed whilst braking).....I can't think of many times where I'd be rolling along with no drive to the wheels
Cars in my care:
2021 Kia Spottage 1.6 Pez Turbo Dual Clutch Gearbox Trickery
2013 Renner Twingo - donkey work
rwb wrote:On my old commute when leaving the motorway I know how slow I have to go down the slip road so that I get to the traffic lights as they go green. I'm convinced that getting to know the traffic light timings saves a lot of fuel. Typically some angry accountant in an Audi would go belting past and then brake hard for the lights; at the lights he's setting off in frist and I'm in third and on boost. They hate it
Heading from the Odyssey direction towards East Belfast, the traffic lights at the junction of Dalton Street / M3 onslip. Once they are green, keep to about 18mph, then the traffic lights past the signmakers at the M3 offslip will automagically be green.
And mr Audi/BMW will have raced ahead, breaked, stopped, while I cruise by
1999 Honda Accord Coupe 2.0 Vtec Automatic
Previously 2002 406 HDi 90 Rapier Monaco Blue
Welly wrote:something to do with rubber/splits/bursts/flat/floppy etc
), so perhaps it's a good idea to not make the car go fast enough to need to use the brakes a lot.
My current pads are a year old now and are pretty much like new. My driving style is FLOW! Flowing your car through the corners and anticipating whats ahead will save you fuel, tyres, brakes, clutch...everything. A perfect example of this type of driving is Jenson Button, Jenson has a great driving flow and saves his tyres and machinery alot better than the likes of Lewis Hamilton does with his more aggressive style.
too right 
I've just changed the Volvo's pads which had been in there for 5 years and 40,000 miles and still had about 3mm left on them.
