LordRipberger

Hey,

I have a question I would like to ask everyone's opinion on.

For the longest time, my dad, who owns automatics, would put the car into neutral when coming to a stop light (or going down a large hill). And if the light would turn green before he came to a stop, he would drop it back into drive and keep going.

Does anyone foresee possible issues with this? Transmission or engine damage/wear? More work on the breaks, etc.

I can see his point, why would you have the car in drive so it trying to go forward when you are trying to stop. Its less resistance. But it is an automatic and not made for "shifting".

Thanks.

bluovalguy

Your probably gonna get arguements both ways. My take, it was designed to be left in drive, leave it in drive. Having said that, I dont think his driving habits are gonna do much/any damage to the car.

SirKnightTG

There is absolutely no point in this. For one it's going to just cause faster wear on the brakes by not using engine braking. Also you're not going to cause damage/wear to the trans due to the slippage of the torque converter. It's made to do this.

The same thing applies to people who have a manual and put it in neutral when coming to a stop. Makes no sense at all and is actually dangerous to do that.

Shifting behaviors some people come up with is really strange.

For an auto, really the only time neutral should be used is if you need to push the car. But it's never a good or smart idea to put it in neutral while you're driving. For a manual, the only times it makes sense to go in neutral is when starting (safety) and if you need to jump start it. Any other time, stay the fak out of N!

bluovalguy

<<< Guilty.

Not sure how it is dangerous?

SirKnightTG

If something suddenly happens in front of you and you need to be under power to avoid the obstacle you are going to waste precious time putting it in gear and most likely in that situation it will not go in the appropriate gear due to panic. Plus there's the issue of not using engine braking relying completely on the brakes to stop. Using both will allow you to stop quicker.

There's no reason at all to coast in N. It does not save anything and keeping it in gear engine braking or just holding the clutch in while slowing is not hurting anything either.

SirKnightTG

Also, even with an auto, the thing stays in gear as you slow and automatically down shift to allow engine braking (you can get more by manually downshifting as it says in the manual). It does not throw itself in N while you start to slow down/stop. So if you suddenly need to be under power, the auto is there for you as it's downshifting staying in gear for you.

bluovalguy

I can see that, but in most of my driving there is not anywhere to go left or right, so if something happens in front of me, then I am going to have to stop, not accelerate. I know downshifting does not hurt anything, sometimes I am just lazy and dont feel like it.

And the extra wear on the brakes due to not using the engine to help slow the car is going to be minimal at best.

SirKnightTG

Not quite. I've experimented on this before (not with my auto obviously) and by downshifting to help slow, I only needed very little brake action to the point where it's extremely minimal. Almost none until I was extremely close to the stopping point and touching of the brake was mainly used to kick the light on. Putting it in N or holding the clutch in and using only brakes needed A LOT more brake action. Due to the significant increase in friction needed, the brakes will wear quicker that way.

I even recall in my driving course a long time ago and even in my motorcycle course a few years ago they mentioned to use downshifting when slowing the car and to not put it in N.

bluovalguy

I'll give you that one But brakes aren't that expensive to replace or hard to replace in the driveway. I kinda enjoy brake jobs. Maybe that is what I should have said.


They also said drive with your hands at 10 and 2. The only time that happens is during "spirited" driving

replica

I don't engine brake. I'd rather replace pads/rotors than drivetrain parts.