"In neutral, the only means of slowing down is the brakes, meaning they reach much higher temperatures than when braking while in gear, resulting in much more expensive brake service repairs," Carlos Tomas, president of Shifters driving school in Toronto, said in an e-mail.
Avoid Using Neutral while the car is at a stop light/traffic. Automatic vehicles that are on neutral while on neutral doesn't save on fuel, use hand break instead so that you don't wear out your transmission. Damage happens when if the gear is in N when the light turns green.
Is it better to downshift or coast in neutral? Unless you want to wear out your brakes prematurely ALWAYS DOWNSHIFT. That way you have engine braking to keep your speed under control, especially downhill.
Many of us are deterred from coasting because of concerns that it causes damage that could lead to costly repairs. Coasting has no real affect on the internal mechanics of your car. However, it does lead to the overuse of one clutch component in particular for manual cars: the throw out bearing.
Theoretically it cannot damage the box, but is better to follow the guidelines in your vehicle's manual for your own safety. It is fine to coast in an automatic in neutral as long as the engine is running.
A: The automatic transmission will not be damaged in the short time that it takes for the vehicle to coast to a stop. True, there is no lubrication provided to parts turned by the wheels and driveshafts, but there is also no load on the components.
While downshifting can be a helpful technique when you drive a manual transmission vehicle, this practice might cause devastating damage to your automatic transmission.
Even though rev matching isn't required to drive a vehicle with a manual transmission, it's highly recommended and relatively easy to learn. Downshifting without rev matching puts undue strain on the engine and the transmission, resulting in lurching and bogging down of the engine.
Once you're in neutral, you can let out the clutch completely without the engine idle changing. As long as you're not moving, leaving the car in neutral or pressing the clutch will keep the vehicle running.
It may sound like an obvious one… but being in the wrong gear can cause unnecessary strain on your engine.
If you happen to be stopped for an extended period of time, you may want to consider leaving your car in neutral and engaging the parking brake, or just leave it in drive. It's up to you. However, leaving your car in park should mostly be reserved for parking, but it's not totally wrong to do so.
Neutral allows your car to coast. The neutral gear isn't used often, but it's always a great idea to know the best times to engage it. The neutral gear should primarily be used during emergencies and mechanical failure. If you find your vehicle stuck or pedals not working, neutral would be a safe decision.
1 Don't ride the clutch
“Riding the clutch” simply refers to the act of keeping the clutch pedal partially pressed down. This pushes the pressure pad against the clutch plate but doesn't engage completely, therefore creating more friction and wearing out the clutch faster.
#1: Don't stay in gear at stop lights
Doing so is hard on the clutch's spring, bearing and diaphragm. Instead, put the stick shift in neutral and let the clutch out.
When bringing your car to a stop, press the clutch down just a few metres before braking to a stop. If you're braking whilst also changing down to a lower gear, ensure you bring the clutch up once you have completed the gear change. Other than the two examples above, you should avoid pressing the clutch when braking.
And, after reading a whole bunch of stuff about the matter, I found a pretty clear online consensus: Motorcyclists rev their engines because they don't want to stall — especially with new or recently repaired engines that have not been “broken in” yet — or, in the cases when that probably isn't an issue, because they' ...
Do not attempt a downshift until the engine RPM has slowed to or below 1100 RPM while in gear. This gives the engine room to raise one gear step in RPM to successfully perform the downshift. When the RPM begins to work its way towards the bottom end of the operating range, under full throttle, it must be downshifted.
Generally though, no, it isn't bad to rev match as it helps to reduce clutch and engine wear, but only a small percentage of motorists will actually drive this way and their car will still last for a similar amount of time.
Downshifting is necessary in order to put the car in the optimal gear to maximize acceleration when the time comes to squeeze on the throttle after we have exited a corner. Contrary to popular belief, downshifting shouldn't be used to slow the car down. That's what the brakes are for.
Rough jerking when shifting
It might feel like a jerk, clunk or thud. This is usually caused by troubles with the vacuum, transmission fluid or a faulty sensor. The vacuum modulator valve helps older vehicles determine when to shift gears.
Risks damage to the transmission
Another way that driving fast can damage your car is by damaging the transmission. When you drive too fast, you are putting a lot of strain on the gears. This can cause the gears to strip and eventually break.
Never Coast downhill in Neutral.
Firstly, it will reduce the overall control over your vehicle, as you'll only be able to brake. Secondly, when going downhill, you'll surely apply brakes and coasting in neutral will put unnecessary load on the braking system.
With modern vehicles, if you're not accelerating, your engine already has cut off fuel consumption and you're not wasting any fuel while you coast. All you have to do to stop fuel consumption is to take your foot off of the gas pedal. That means that shifting to neutral does not save fuel.
It doesn't harm the vehicle.
When you engine brake for the first time, it can sound a little scary! That's because when you shift down, it often causes the engine to rev loudly. But the high revs are totally normal and won't damage your vehicle.