Quote:
Originally Posted by 02337
Engine braking as never made much sense to me, unneeded stress on things that don't need to be stressed. It's not like you're using throttle when you're coming to a stop in gear so loading the front makes no difference as its all on the front anyway. I'd be curious to see the actual technical reason why you should have the clutch out in 2nd gear as opposed to clutch in when rolling the same speed in the same traffic situation.
I'm not saying to coast from 60mph to stop at idle but no reason anyone should be downshifting to first when you're going to come to a complete stop...
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leaving the engine engaged while you brake is not engine braking.
leaving the engine engaged while you brake also does not cause damage. the "wear" you speak of is so minimal that simply driving causes about the same amount of damage in a well running engine. now, we are not talking about dumping it into 1st and sending the rpms to 20 grand, which will blow your head out.
there are reasons to leave the engine engaged, but all of the reasons are edge cases where you are having to cope with something unexpected.
one reason outside of those edge cases to leaving it engaged while braking with the front brake is stability. it helps keep the rear wheel seated while you have all the weight on the front.
but you are right. if you are going slow and casually, there is no specific need for one way or the other. but experience tells you being able to instantly have power
*if you need it* is very useful.