There is a question I want to ask.

I see alot of people driving manual car will free the gear first before applying brake to stop the car but last time when Im in the driving academy, my instructor taught me to press the clutch and brake till the car stop and then only free the gear.

Which one is the right way because my instructor scold me when i use the first technique

press the break first witout pressing the clutch, once u fell that ur car gonna jerk, press the clutch and lower ur gear , than release the clutch and wait until ur car feel like gonna jerk and drop another gear. doing all that while pressing the break.
this will spare ur clutch and brake lifetime.

Free-ing the gear (*shifting to N) is for N cruising, which means when u r cruising on high speed, or are going down from a high ground like fly-over, shifting to N will let the car cruise by itself, while not reducing the speed that dramatically.

proper techniq to brake the car is like what foxx3001 said,
-step on the brake pedal until the car's engine ALMOST jerks (*reach a very low rpm that the throttle is insufficient to move the car), while not stepping on the clutch
-shift down a gear, and release the clutch
-repeat step 1, and then 2, until ur car reaches 1st gear, and stop.

what ppl love doing is (*which is not recommended coz it'l reduce ur brake pad's lifespan)
-cruising in N (*free gear)
-step on brake gradually when nearing destination (*or junction, or whatever)
-steps harder until cars stop "cun cun" accurately at the place that u desire.

what i does is,
-cruise on N when not driving high speed
-does not step on brake pedal at all, coz i duno y, but my calculation is always accurate, and the car will stop when reaching junction. (*edit: might need to step slightly on the brake though)

extra info:
when driving at high speed and needs to stop drastically(*this is also used to avoid accidents, like cars that stop suddenly, or bikes that "die fire" suddenly)
-imagine you are speeding at 120km/h, 5th gear
-step on clutch and shift to 4th gear, release clutch, step on brake pedal
-next 2 seconds, step on clutch and shift to 3rd gear, release clutch, step on brake pedal again.
-repeat til 2nd gear, and your car has most probably slowed down drastically to around 20km/h ~ 40km/h, depending on your timing and skill.

this skill is call gear-braking, is taught in BMW driving academy. given situation is:
-there's a trailer which turn over suddenly in front of you
-you're 6 seconds behind him, cruising with 66m/h
-you need to stop ur car in 5 seconds

its impossible to step on the brake pedal to stop the car in 5 seconds. handbrake is out of the though of coz. so u'l need to slow down ur car drastically, and turn ur car when nearing it.

This post has been edited by don^don: Sep 22 2006, 11:43 PM

Great explaination, bravoooo
it's a normal habit , break while pressing the clutch.

not to me.... i won't free gear or clutch when slowing down the car...

thanx for the praise. wil always try to help. i'm still valy noobies though.

eng98, what you do is actually the correct way, and recommended. its just that, that's my bad habit la... haha~

What i did is, when wanted to stop, push the gear to N, or lower gear then hit the brake abit just to slow down the car.

Always drop gear when there is a sudden stop infront of you.

Do not step brake as hard as u can, this will get ur spin 360 degree*xx times

also, press brake to stop car at average speed/high speed normaly will increase the Fuel comsumption,

This post has been edited by Shock: Sep 24 2006, 02:24 PM

it's brake, not break.

btw what about downhill slopes, like when want to pay parking.

since the gravity is pulling the car downwards and the movement is quite often just like few feet at once.

normally i use brake only. let go brake to move. step on brake to stop. no clutch / gear involved.

ever seen the driver in the BMW movies? those are proper braking techniques

yup in drving school, the instructor also asked me to step on the clutch before steping on the brakes for the car to stop.......
anyway, drive auto is better la

break the car! nice...

anyway, yeah, at slopes, i supposed everyone will do that, including me.

lol, sorry dude, just woke up at that time ^^

braking does not increase fuel consumption... that is purely misconseption

re-accelerating after hardbraking requires driver to press the gas paddle more... that's where the fuel consumption comes into the picture. but it's not that obvious though... ECU is much more efficient that what people could think of, in managing fuel system of course.

driving at low speed can la. with clutch pressed, you're just putting braking power on the wheels. that increases brakepad wear. if you brake without stepping the clutch, you're doing engine braking as well. you can see the rpm drops tremendously.


This post has been edited by soulfly: Sep 24 2006, 11:17 PM

drop down the gear and press the brake simultaneously

Actually it's correct to shift down lower gear + applying some brake when U doesn't want to burden the brakepad and tyres.....

and in case if you are on high speed and want to slow down ur car asap, follow what did Don^Don said .....for me, If I'm in the 5th gear mode, I will shift to 3rd gear and release clutch + hit the brake harder than usual...and hence I quickly change to 2nd gear + brake...afterall, It's depend on ur driving skill....when U shift to lower gear and U feel the car starts lowering the speed b4 ur meter hit high RPM, that is the moment U need to apply much brake....this will decrease ur speed lots....

if time permit i'll try to blip abit throttle when down-shifting and braking so tat the car won't jerk too much when down shifting...

errr, how bout if i brake until car almost or stop already then faster clutch and free gear ? issit the rigth way ma ?

Obviously one need to brake a lot while in traffic jam. But Do you step on the clutch when braking too? I heard too much stepping on the clutch is not good.

ur car will probably jerk alot, if you're not stepping on the clutch (*i mean stepping, not releasing).

stepping on clutch while braking will wear and tear your clutch's skin. its not recommended if you're at junction or crossroads.

i only step on clutch and brake only at junction cornering, that is to prepare myself to shift to a lower gear when exiting corners.

When traffic jam, here's what i do:
-step on brake
-step on clutch
-when wanna move, shift to lower gear(*probably 1st gear), release brake, lighten up ur clutch, and ur car wil move a lil`.
-when the car in front of u slow down again/stop, press ur clutch down again, and step on ur brake again.

in this way, u don hav to apply ur pedal, thus u don havta waste alot of fuel in traffic jam, but ur car will be moving very slowly.

This post has been edited by don^don: Sep 26 2006, 10:01 AM

Drifting technique also roughly like this.but need to apply handbrake only right?

but my car weighs almost 1.5ton. So I have to apply a little gas in order to move the car from standstill. your statement might be true for a lightweight supermini car like Kancil. When I was in driving school, I did the same too with driving school's Kancil and 120Y. Their idle rpm is tuned a little bit high to avoid stalling (usually occurred when newbie trainees don't know how to play with clutch).

if the traffic is moving very very slowly, you can actually just engage in second gear and let your car roll slowly, instead of pressing/releasing the clutch pedal all the time. But you have to time yourself so that you are neither too close nor too far from the car in front.

a lorry? but i supposed if its that heavy, it should be running on a v10 or v12 , which in wad i understand, should also be very powerful. its just that, if u apply this, then its gonna be valy valy slow for the car to move.

kancil and kelisa in driving academy hav their throttle adjust to a higher rpm. so the idle rpm might be 1.5k, which is impossible for the car to "die" even if u lift the clutch too soon. so u wont fail lo~

i usually engage in 1st gear during traffic jam, and didn apply acceleration pedal. this is coz my car has small displacement.

to drift (*around 100km/h - 5th gear):
1st, step on brake pedal
2nd, press clutch,
3rd, turn to the direction you wanna go to
4th, pull handbrake, shift to 2nd gear (*though valy stiff, juz force it in)
5th, counter steer and rev ur car, (*by that, i mean step hard on the acceleration pedal)
6th, when u c the exit (*by that i mean a straight line), SMILE!!!
th, release clutch, release brake, let go the steering wheel abit, and grab back when u know its in straight line...

the next thing u know... u r DK!!!

This post has been edited by don^don: Sep 26 2006, 03:08 PM

it's still a car. A '74 volvo 144 to be exact. kerb weight already 1300kg.


it's running on a 2L 4 cyl engine with single carb. Idle rpm normally set at 700-900rpm but peak torque only comes at 3000 rpm. Peak HP is only 97HP at 5700 rpm.

the transmission gear ratios are designed to enable highway cruising/overtaking without having to change gear quite often (4 speed), not to crawl in traffic jams (late 60's automotive engineering philosophy). with such gear ratio and idle rpm, i need to step a little gas. the plus point is, i don't need to press more than half of pedal travel at highway speed.

does not apply to all cars

at least mine wont work in traffic jam with 2nd gear, i need to use 1st gear. 2nd gear will stall, or i need to rev more compare to 1st gear.

if your car has ABS


slam on the brake right before any corner


but of course, your pads lifespan will be shorter la

hit hard on the brake (but dun locked it) down-shift untill you reach first gear+car almost stopped at the same time, then onli move into free gear~ hold the brake untill the car stopped sompletely ~

the best way to stop a manual car is still heel & toe i think......i m practising this since i was able to do it in my car now...hehe....i like MT...lolz

What about Engine braking?

Engine braking? Doesn't will cause engine wear too?

I only do engine braking only when going downhill.... which one is cheaper to replace, engine or the brake pads...dun overstress ur engine.

Can i says something STUPID ???..

How to stop a car with a proper tecnique ..

As long as u stop before hearing a bang.. :-P.

To me.. brake 1st.
2nd Apply Clutch. to standstill.

During Speeding..
Downshift .. engine braking.. Heel and toe.. (TALK only .. seldom do) .. finally brake.. to a halt.

guys...i hav a ques
when u press on de clutch, arent the gears hav been disengage?

yes the gears will be disengage when u press the clutch, basically its on Neutral

Whatever the case, just DON'T tailgate, keep a distance from the car in front and break early for a safer stop.
But the best way to stop when reaching traffic is just drop one gear and and press the brakes. I always use this way to stop. Just make use of the engine brake.

Dun ride on the clutch! press cluth while driving or when the car is moving..it will wear out your clutch plate!

So.. Does that means.. i drive without pressing the clutch i wont wear it out ??
(trying to be stupid) .. hahaa

He is rite thou .. when the car is moving smoothly .. release the clutch totally.. and dun put ur foot on it...

It depends on the cruising speed and rpm. when you driving on highspeed, need to brake accidentally, you need to first brake and then press the cluth with transmission. if you know what i mean. if driving at low speed and certain distance from car infront, you can play with the clutch first to free gear and need not to press gear, it depends still, because if you veteran driver, you can sense how fast is the car driving right infront of you. Why do ppl not press the gear sometimes, because once you press the clutch, that will decrease your rpm ratio thus cost your more fuel effiency. Hope this point of view of mine could help

break the car............ i like the idea.......looking for a chance to try it out haha...........

pressing the clutch all the time when u braking.......it's meaning less......

best, let the engine help u to break; when u almost stop onlt shift to N, but remember to match the rpm a bit before engaging gears again if u still rolling ( moving lar)

my dad always drive like that, the brake pad sets last him for 10yrs before he borrow the car for me.......... used till almost finish.....

but autocars brake pad very fast wear out though..........

You gotta be kidding me with that Brake Pads set last for 10 years??

when car moving cannot engage 1st gear (unless very slow)
is this happen to every cars or only some model ?

I guess most of the car comes with this feature. I think this is one of the safety feature to prevent engage 1st gear accidentally. Imagine u going 60kmph and u suddenly engage 1st gear

I only shift to N when i know it is about to stop(Stop for long time. Mostly at traffice light.). Going down a slop or downhill i never shift to N. Normally use 3rd gear for downhill. If want faster for downhill i just shift to 4th gear.

The rules i use is just like driving Daytona.. Warning!!! i am not saying i Shift 4-2 or 4-1 or 5-3...your gear will spoilt. Just shift according to the speed...

This post has been edited by 6650: Dec 8 2006, 06:06 PM

Engine rpm and wheel speed not matching.

When still moving ~20kmh use 2nd gear, or blip the gas.

my driving school ask me to step on clutch and brake togeda wor... wonder if this is right? o.O

Only when u want to stop to a standstill or change gear. If you just slow down the car a little without changing gear or into neutral then no need clutch.