"Dominic Richens" <knob (AT) storm (DOT) ca> wrote

a) the pressure on the disks is NOT even.. that's why there a
proportioning valve in the hydraulic system.

b) the brake torque produced by a given pressure is NOT even... larger
radius brakes in front lead to more brake torque for a given line
pressure.

c) with less traction available, less weight transfer will take place.

hth
ken

<Daya> wrote:
<cynic>
....to the betterment of Subaru mechanics everywhere
</cynic>
--
Dominic Richens | dominic (AT) alumni (DOT) uottawa.ca
"If you're not *outraged*, you're not paying attention!"

In some regions you MUST use engine brake (the Alps in Austria and
Switserland): if you drive down from a "col" (San Gottardo, Simplonpass,
....) without engin brake your brakes are overheated and you will have almost
no braking power left when you arrive in the valley (if you will arrive
there!). It is also clearly indicated by roadside panels.

"Daya" <me (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> schreef in bericht
news:c01d1a$11gqb8$1 (AT) ID-223567 (DOT) news.uni-berlin.de...

"Dave Null Sr." <lrowoy (AT) ShNotmail (DOT) com> wrote in
news:Xns9488BCB912B50lrowoy (AT) 66 (DOT) 11.168.195:
<snip>
If you can match your engine speed to the transmission speed you're
basically doing the same thing. I think that what you are talking about is
a PART of engine braking.

-S.S.-

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 17:21:50 GMT, SkaredShtles <elan_mbx1 (AT) NOSPAMyahoo (DOT) com>
wrote in news:Xns9489696FE7715elanmbx1NOSPAMyahooc (AT) 216 (DOT) 196.97.132:

No, I'm talking about the need to downshift at all.

Proper habit is to make sure you always have engine revs in a usable
powerband: ie: not 700 rpm at 20km/h in fifth (or whatever that
works out on your car.) so you can (on the commute road) escape a difficult
situation under power, or (on a windy road) accelerate away at
a satisfying rate.

I should also point out an assumption that you never brake with the
clutch in in normal circumstances. The only exception is in extremely
slippery conditions where you want full control from the brakes without
worrying about the fronts locking up (FWD or auto AWD) and causing lack
of braking or stalling the engine.

Downshifting to slow down the car to 'save' the brakes is not a rational
thought with today's braking systems. Nevermind that I do it
at every stop.

"Dave Null Sr." <lrowoy (AT) ShNotmail (DOT) com> wrote in
news:Xns9489B2BF198D9lrowoy (AT) 66 (DOT) 11.168.195:

Ahhh... but I live near and drive often in the mountains. I will agree
that "speed management" is the goal that I'm working towards. Maybe I
don't do any "engine braking" per se at all...... I just use the
appropriate gear to manage my speed up & down steep slopes.

-S.S.-

"SkaredShtles" <elan_mbx1 (AT) NOSPAMyahoo (DOT) com> wrote

So why would you want to prolong your brake life at the expense of your
engine? Brake pads are cheap compared to internal engine parts. I'm just
trying to point out the other side of this often discussed, yet never really
solved argument. There are times when you should use the brakes and times
when using the engine is the best, most of the time the best is a little of
both. I should point out that I live in a mountainous area and you can
always tell a flatlander has been around when you smell those brakes
cooking!

JonnieBlue wrote:
I, too, use quite a bit of engine braking. But there is one thing that I
haven't seen mentioned that I think it worth pointing out: In wintertime,
you can find yourself in a situation where your engine braking is too much
for the available grip. I'll grant that it doesn't happen often, but it can
happen. In such a situation, you won't have anything "automatic" like ABS
to prevent the car from going into an uncontrollable 4-wheel slide (for AWD
vehicles). The appropriate response when you sense a loss of grip under
engine braking is either apply more throttle or depress the clutch. If
you're at a relatively high speed and in a higher gear, you can probably get
away with the former option. At low speeds and in a low gear you're
probably best off depressing the clutch and switching to brakes, as it would
be easy to apply *too much* throttle and make the situation worse rather
than better.

- Greg Reed

--
1976 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 9-Pass sedan
(FS: http://www.dataspire.com/caddy)
1989 Audi 200 Turbo Quattro 5-Speed sedan
2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue
2001 Chevy Astro AWD (wife's)
2005 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon (when available in U.S.)




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If you operate the clutch properly, there is no harm. My daughter is
driving my 91 Honda accord and it has 175,000 miles on the original
clutch. Engine breaking also got me over 100,000 miles on the original
set of brakes.
I hope this helps

Daya wrote:



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"Daya" <me (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

If you rev-match on the downshifts, you won't cause any undue wear to
the clutch disk.