Re: Survey about Braking...

[Bunmar <Bunmar@aol.com>]

I've got some comments:

	If you feel that you don't want to shock your passengers, depress the brake
pedal slowly then a little faster.  Once the passengers realize that you are
slowing down, they will compensate their bodyweight automatically.  I don't
see how if you have very little time because you are coming around a corner
and need to brake quickly that you have all this time to brake, downshift
picking the right gear, etc.  Besides, if you're braking and allowing a lower
gear to slow you down, it will have the same reverse momentum (whatever the
terms are) on your passengers as braking a little harder without downshifting.

Chuckem

In a message dated 5/4/98 8:21:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time, kmk@pacificrim.net
writes:

> On 5/4/98, you wrote:
>  >I've just got a bit to add - a question/comment:
>  >
>  >> That having been said, I think that it would be acceptable to downshift 
> to
>  >> slow down when you're going too fast to efficiently slow down with the
>  >> brakes alone. For example, if you're coming off the freeway at 75mph,
and
>  >> there's a backup right around the corner you didn't see, apply the
brakes
>  >> with your right foot, and with your left foot, push in the clutch, shift
>  >> down, and slowly let out the clutch to add some torque related braking
to
>  >> assist in slowing you down.
>  >
>  >I've always been under the impression that the brakes were capable of
>  >slowing you down as fast as your tires will manage - since they are
>  >capable of locking the wheels up.  With ABS I suppose it doesn't matter
>  >where the slowing force comes from, the brakes will reduce their drag if
>  >you lock a wheel.  Without ABS, I would think that using engine braking in
>  >a panic situation would tend to lock the two drive wheels, or cause the
>  >two non-drive wheels to not be braking at their maximum (this since the
>  >car comes with front to rear brake balance optimized for the car).  This
>  >logic would also seem to apply to using the handbrake to stop.
>  >
>  >But I could be wrong.  That's just what I've always thought...
>  
>  What you say makes total sense.
>  
>  What I mean by saying "efficiently slow down with the brakes alone" is that
>  to me and I believe other passengers in the car, (ASIDE FROM THE INITIAL
>  INERTIAL JERK ONCE YOU HAVE DOWNSHIFTED), downshifting and braking at the
>  same time allows me to slow down without having to STOMP on the brake, nor
>  to engage the ABS, to get me down to a stop.
>  
>  When it is rarely used, downshifting can assist in applying smoothe
>  braking. One of my responsibilities to my passengers is to prevent any sort
>  of shock or surprise because I am paying attention and they are not. IMHO,
>  I think that downshifting and braking is less cause for concern for your
>  passenger who is daydreaming and not paying attention to traffic, than it
>  is to allow ABS or stomping on the brakes to allow you to stop.
>  
>  All this is said from someone who has not taken any sort of meaningful
>  drivers or racing training courses, so don't take it as a matter of fact,
>  but a matter of opinion.
>  
>  As Jeff Newton pointed out, using the handbrake in almost any situation to
>  stop from a driving position, is a bad idea because it will not offer you
>  any gains above and beyond what your brakes will already do anyway. At most
>  it will simply do what the ABS would have done, and at worst, it will cause
>  you to spin out (which is generally a bad thing because you lose control of
>  the car to avoid an accident).
>  
>  I can summarize what I have to say by the two (maybe three) statements
>  (which may contradict each other depending on the situation):
>  
>  1. To minimize wear and tear on your engine and other components, always
>  use your brakes to slow down-- do not ever downshift to slow down.
>  
>  2. If using your brakes may engage ABS (on dry conditions), or will require
>  stomping on the brake, you might consider downshifting to assist in
>  braking. This should be done rarely, and only when you feel that your
>  normal brakes won't *comfortably* stop you quickly enough.
>  
>  3. Avoid using your hand brake to stop you at all costs. It is the least
>  controllable way of stopping, and won't offer any benefits over braking
>  normally. That having been said, if your brakes fail for some reason, or if
>  you are the passenger, and the driver of the car passes out on you (heaven
>  forbid) you can attempt to stop by driving the wheel with one hand, and
>  SLOWLY and GRADUALLY applying the handbrake with the other hand until you
>  slowly drift to a stop (might work OK on a freeway with little traffic to
>  pull over to the side). (i.e. set the first notch of the handbrake at
>  60-35mph, the second notch from 35-5 mph, and the third notch from 5-0mph).
>  This should allow gradual and controlled stops from freeway speeds.
>  
>  -K
>