I've been driving 'wrongly' for 25 years....

[steve_earwig]

I had a moped with no engine

[Doggy]

I had a moped with no engine

Might one reasonably assume it didn't have too many gears?

[steve_earwig]

I can't remember it having more than one.

Shoebox in middle of road...

[DaiRees]

Didn't the Grifter have a pedal<back brake thingy in the hub?

No, it had normal rim brakes, I used to snap those cables too, ouch!

[mjb]

I remember having a "discussion" with mjb a few years back where I put forward the opinion that it's better to use the brakes only as slipping the clutch on the downshifts wears it out and I know which is cheaper to replace. He reckons he can match the engine speed every time so there is no clutch slip.

I could... in my coupé. I really was at one with that thing... :nostalgiaface:

Yeah, I try not to engine brake nowadays as replacing the 540i's gearbox won't be as cheap as throwing a new one on a pug. Manual boxes are sadly rather rare on bigger cars, and mine's not feeling as smooth as it probably should be As a result of this, I use the 'new' method when coming to a stop at lights, traffic jams, etc. Helps that the v8 idles at about 2 rpm...

I still don't believe in the braking before changing gears though - it means you need to brake earlier than necessary(*), and if slowing down too much it means you may actually accelerate up to idle point when you release the brake. I've been a passenger in cars with a few people (mostly learners tbh) getting into messes on roundabouts because they didn't downshift and ended up almost out of control being pushed along by the idle control, having either been taught that driving over 1000rpm is a sin, or their instructor's not bothered letting them explore and get used to higher revs and throttle control No, I still prefer to downshift *while* braking. I'm still not hitting the mark every time in the bimmer - it takes an age to pick up revs if it's not already singing - but I don't mind slipping the clutch and feathering the throttle a bit as the price to pay for control


(*) HATE HATE HATE HATE those people - Kia drivers mainly - who stamp on the brakes 50 yards before a roundabout, then crawl up to it at a walking pace...

Though, I remember Top Gear where JC drove that Audi A8... where he said that it's best to brake without changing down until you're ready to stop as no fuel is used then.

That's not quite true. I believe some ECUs will typically still dump a (tiny) bit of fuel on over-run for lubrication, even during braking, and most ECUs will have the idle control kick in and fight against the braking when you dip under idle revs. Some cars - particularly those that use the main throttle mechanism for idle - will actually chuck quite a bit of fuel into the engine doing this