Proper Technique For Coming to a Stop with a Manual Transmission

I need some advise on how to properly come to a stop when driving a car with a manual transmission. I learned to drive on a manual transmission back in the day, but the last couple of cars I've had were automatics. When I decided to get a new car, a manual transmission was a must! I'm pretty good at it, but maybe the methods I'm using are not best practices

When my father taught me how to drive way back when, I was instructed to always downshift through the gears before coming to a complete stop. I wonder if this is the proper way to do it. I've done some research on the 'net, and there doesn't seem to be much instruction on this technique. There is plenty on how to start the car, and how to downshift when you make turns, but nothing on coming to a complete stop that I can find.

Let's say you're on the freeway in 5th gear and you take an exit. You start slowing down for the stop sign ahead. Do you need to shift to 4th, clutch out, then to 3rd, clutch out, then 2nd, clutch out, then come to stop?

I found some instructions on a page called monkeysee.com where they have experts instruct, and it said that coming to a stop, you can just put the car in neutral and use the break without ever having to engage the clutch. Then once you stop, you can use the clutch to shift to first gear and get going again. They say this prevents significant wear on the clutch. But before I start doing this, I want to make sure it's OK to be in 5th gear, then put the car in neutral, come to the stop, and then go into 1st gear without even downshifting through the other 3 gears (like my father taught me). Any advise is appreciated.

Let's say you're on the freeway in 5th gear and you take an exit. You start slowing down for the stop sign ahead. Do you need to shift to 4th, clutch out, then to 3rd, clutch out, then 2nd, clutch out, then come to stop?

No, you can shift direct from 5th to 3rd, but make sure that you are at a speed where you can rev-match into 3rd properly (without making the rpms jump to 4500-6000rpms).

I found some instructions on a page called monkeysee.com where they have experts instruct, and it said that coming to a stop, you can just put the car in neutral and use the break without ever having to engage the clutch. Then once you stop, you can use the clutch to shift to first gear and get going again. They say this prevents significant wear on the clutch. But before I start doing this, I want to make sure it's OK to be in 5th gear, then put the car in neutral, come to the stop, and then go into 1st gear without even downshifting through the other 3 gears (like my father taught me). Any advise is appreciated.

This technique is okay and will not wear your clutch or transmission excessively. However, I like to have my car in gear as much as possible in case I need to make an emergency maneuver. It depends on the situation.

Learn how to properly rev-match and you will be set. Part of this is getting to know the car.

I think either is acceptable (downshifting or simply braking). But only downshift if you rev match which will have several benefits: You keep your clutch disk and your driveline happy because you're not shock loading them, you're in gear and ready for any power-on maneuvers you might need to make, and you're saving wear and tear on your brakes.

Some would comment that brakes are cheaper than clutches and that's true, but I'm at 60K on stock brakes and they still have ~60%F and >80%R and the clutch is fine. Besides, I can change out a clutch disk in about 2 hours, if I need to and brake pads, done right, will take about an hour, longer if you need to dress the rotors too. And if you rev match and launch reasonably, then you should see 150K+ on a stock clutch.

The only possible down-side (IMHO) to downshifting is that you're pulling a ton of vacuum and that means any turbo blow-by oil is getting sucked into the intake system. My answer to that is to put a catch-can system on to completely mitigate that issue and then you can "have your cake and eat it too" without any worries.

Just my $.02

SBT

Thanks everyone, this is a huge help. I have been practicing rev-matching with my downshifts, and I'm getting better at it, but a little more fine tuning is still needed.

I also used the shift-to-neutral option a couple times and it definitely is easier to do than go through all the gears when coming to a stop from higher speeds. However, I do recognize the possible need to make a quick maneuver and when in neutral that would not work too well I guess it matters on each situation.

Agreed, on the street you are only increasing wear on the engine by using it to decelerate. I can't imagine using any extra fuel to do so however. Brakes are there to slow the car and the engine/transmission is there to accelerate it. Brakes are easy and inexpensive to replace - the engine/transmission is not. What is the amount of increased wear by using your father's technique? Negligible! Use the method you are comfortable with.

This is the way I've always viewed it. Brakes are made for stopping and the ending makes the car go; there really isn't any reason to use the engine to save the brakes.

I mean lets get serious; what are you saving the brakes for if you don't intend on using them to stop?

The only time I've bothered to rev match has been when I'm on track and I'm braking hard into a corner. Then, it's very easy to more my heel over and blip the throttle because my toe is planted firmly on the brake, and also very necessary to keep the back-end stable (Miata) when I let off the clutch.

That said, I've never encountered a situation on the street where it's necessary. That's the whole point of syncros and brakes, they take care of slowing down the car and handling speed differentials when changing gears. If anything, wearing non-driving shoes and doing this on a regular basis may very well cause your toes to slip off the brake or your heel to get caught behind the gas pedal.

I accept that there are manual transmission "connoisseurs" if you will who really enjoy going through this whole process, but it's not a required skill to successfully drive a manual car and modern transmissions are built assuming you're not doing this.

Downshifting is useful on long hills for engine braking, and to get more power when you need it. Otherwise, it isn't really necessary.

When slowing to a stop, keep the car in the highest gear you were in until the engine is turning too slowly. Then push in the clutch and coast to a stop. Leave the car in neutral with foot off the clutch at stoplights. Shift into gear when you're ready to take off again.

When slowing down but not stopping, put the car into the appropriate gear to get into the engine's power band. No need to go sequentially through the gears.

When I'm instructing new students on the track, I rarely encounter one who really knows how to downshift and heel-and-toe smoothly. I tell them to practice these techniques on the street and not to waste precious track time learning something they don't need a race track to perfect. Proper shifting, and smooth driving techniques in general, should be practiced every day until they become instinctive.

Just my two cents as an interested observer from the passenger seat:eek:

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You can find such clubs in most parts of the country. A lot more fun than drag racing IMHO.

I posted a similar question a couple weeks ago. Search if you want to find it. The general consensus is that, when coasting in gear with foot off the gas, no fuel is consumed because the car's momentum keeps the engine turning. However, the amount of fuel used when coasting in neutral with the engine idling is quite small, so you won't notice a difference if you just shift to neutral and use the brakes.

If you enjoy downshifting, then if you do it properly, it will not put any significant amount of wear and tear on your engine or clutch, so go ahead. I would not recommend downshifting into 1st while stopping unless you really need to, however, since it's tougher to get it right, and 2nd is just fine.

On the other hand, if you find it annoying to go 5th-4th-3rd-2nd every time you come to a stop, then feel free to either coast in the gear you were in until RPMs get to around 1000, then shift into neutral, or just shift into neutral right away. The synchros will handle the shift into 1st when you need to get going.

If you anticipate a need for sudden acceleration, then make sure you get into a gear where the RPMs will be at least 2500 ASAP. And don't worry if you blip the throttle or not. The fraction of a second it may take you to blip the throttle might mean the difference in avoiding an accident. Safety trumps all, and the tranny and clutch can handle a few non-matched shifts here and there just fine. Just don't make it a habit.

One reason to stay in gear when decelerating (and using lower gears to decelerate more quickly) is to be able to retain control over the car more fully, as some here have suggested. Coming to a stop is normally just coming to a stop, but sometimes you'll need to do something quickly (such as react to some jerkweek who jumps into your lane just ahead of you), and having the car in gear can be as helpful then as it is in cornering on a race track.

That said, here's another consideration: There was a long discussion, accompanied by scary pictures, on my S2000 forum about what jump downshifting (5-3, 4-2) can do to your synchros. You don't hear or feel it happening, but it grinds them down. I don't know if Subaru MTs are vulnerable to this, but I'm not taking any chances. HPH

That said, here's another consideration: There was a long discussion, accompanied by scary pictures, on my S2000 forum about what jump downshifting (5-3, 4-2) can do to your synchros. You don't hear or feel it happening, but it grinds them down. I don't know if Subaru MTs are vulnerable to this, but I'm not taking any chances. HPH

Not a problem if you match RPMs correctly. In fact, if you're really good, you don't even need synchros - or the clutch, for that matter.

Brake are a lot less expensive to replace than clutches.

You make the choice.

Brake are a lot less expensive to replace than clutches.

+1 and for those of us with the 'clutch stink', brakes don't smell bad when we over work them in city driving:spin:

I do tend to try and downshift to keep the car in gear. Lot of bad drivers in FL and you never know when you might have to gun it again to avoid someone. However by the bottom of 3rd I usally just coast the last of the way to a stop.

BUT on certain sections of road I'll just use the brakes and coast to a stop... during those occasions I've found the while coasting to a stop I can just bump the car out of gear without the clutch at all... i.e in 6th and rolling to a stop once the rpms hit about 1K I can just nudge the stick and it pops out of gear smooth as silk.

Can that cause any long term damage? Wonder if that is a habit I shouldn't get into. I know in theory if you match rpm right you can shift without the clutch at all... I've never had the chance to borrow someone else car/bike to experiment with that!