Quick shift to neutral.. is this good or bad driving?

[Smoke XIII]

I'm sorry if this shouldn't be in this category.. I can't seem to find the right category for this thread...

Intro >
Anyway. I'm kinda new to driving. It's been about 6 months or so. And I'm kinda new to bringing my own car. So I don't really have that much knowledge. And I learned mostly just by myself and looking at other drivers.

Question >
I've found this out by myself. When approaching an intersection and when I'm about to turn right, I hit on the brakes, hit the clutch, and shift to neutral. Then I turn to the right, managing speed with the brakes. When I'm in position to go straight again, I shift to 1st gear and go on. I haven't noticed any driver doing things like these. The reason why I wanted to go to neutral is so that I won't have to bother with watching the RPM go down and having the engine turned off. Cause if I'm not in neutral, I'd have to hit the clutch when the RPM's really low so as not to have the engine stopped.

Any advices? Suggestion? I'd really appreciate it, thanks...

[gwapito69]

I do it sometimes but it's better if you leave it in 2nd gear.. I dont use first gear pag umaandar pa yung oto ng mga 10mph. but if you know you're stalling then it's time to put it in neutral.

[BlueBimmer]

afaik this will promote faster clutch wear n tear..

[Smoke XIII]

afaik this will promote faster clutch wear n tear..

what will promote faster clutch wear n tear?
If I go to neutral? or if I just stay in 2nd gear?

[mazdamazda]

only put the gear into neutral if you are about to stop / stall.

[silhouette]

like gwapito, i don't shift to 1st gear when moving. i do manage my ride on the 2nd. but if you think your ride will stall while on 2nd gear, then go neutral. timplahan lang yan, and dapat kilala mo na ride mo.

[Smoke XIII]

thanks for the replies..

I guess I shouldn't be doing this... thanks...

how about if I'm going downhill and I shift to neutral? Is that still not ok? Do forgive me if I'm too stupid with this kind of things, I'm learning through friends and some drivers I know....

[mazdamazda]

how about if I'm going downhill and I shift to neutral? Is that still not ok? Do forgive me if I'm too stupid with this kind of things, I'm learning through friends and some drivers I know....

nope. don't shift to neutral when going downhill at a fast speed.

though you can do that when in heavy traffic.

[Smoke XIII]

may I also ask why? Will it damage something?

hmm.. on heavy traffic that's what I've been doing though. When in "bumper to bumper" situation, from a stop I'll move to first gear and move a little and then I quickly go to neutral and slowly hit the brakes (assuming the car in front of me is stopping again).

[mazdamazda]

AFAIK, you won't damage anything.

You'll ONLY have a degraded steering & braking capability. Not to mention that you won't have acceleration if you suddenly need it (like to avoid an obstacle / accident / etc).

[Smoke XIII]

ahhh.. I see.. that's a really good point..

I guess I have to move on to a new driving style..

Thanks! It's good to know, there are a lot of good people in here.. I'll keep coming to this site. Been looking for a forum like this one..

[gwapito69]

plus i you leave your car when going downhill you'll be using your brakes frequently unlike shifting to 2nd or 3rd you can control your speed and won't burn out your brakes...

[jgnob]

if your not in full stop, why you use 1st gear?... 2nd or third is good one, aangal lang makina pag mo sa 1st gear... leave the gear in shift position is safety!!!

[afrasay]

smoke XIII,
Welcome to the forum. When going downhill, like coming down from Baguio, use engine brake .That is you use the appropriate gear to slow your descent at the same time flowing with the traffic. Never shift to neutral and rely on your brakes as your car will just accelerate to a dangerous speed. Of course you can still use your brakes if the need arises. There is this debate about how to approach and stop at an intersection. Whether to shift to neutral and use the brakes (wear on your brakes) to stop or coast to a stop in gear (wear on your clutch). I guess you should also consider which is more economical and easier to replaced, the brakes or the clutch. Nagulo ka ba?

[afrasay]

BTW, Ive notice na six months ka palang driving. Well, practice makes perfect. Brake, downshift and accelerate after the corner.

[1997]

I use top downshift to first gear pag below 20km/hr ko or below 1500 RPM on 2nd gear... I don't know if its bad or good... Kasi parang hirap yung makina pag 2nd gear... feeling ko under power...

[DENCH]

Question:

What is more easy and less costly to replace brakes or clutch? I assume the brakes? Right?