tl;dr: What's the best approach? To coast or not to coast?!
In the past, I simply kept the clutch depressed when I was approaching a roundabout or I was coming to a stop. Then my father told me that this will kill the clutch pin, even if I have it fully depressed. So I stopped doing that.
I started to put my car in neutral when I was approaching a roundabout or a stop. Again he told me that's wrong. He told me that this method could easily kill me. Especially in the winter. (I don't know what he meant. Switching into a way too low gear can cause a slip, but I never do that, I move into 3rd for example when I am slowing down and prepare for something, so I still have power and no engine brake. I don't know.)
> inb4 driving school The teacher many years ago forgot to even tell me that I have to give it some gas when I am letting the clutch up. I mean it worked in his big displacement Diesel engine - but it is unsafe to do anyway. (You cannot launch from any stop this way.) Besides getting my license - the experience I just wrote - I haven't been to a driving school. But I don't think they would teach this.
> Aggressive down switching That could work, but I hate how the 2nd gear is just too narrow and you have to almost come to a stop to switch into it without massive engine brake.
> inb4 double clutch to every 2nd and switch like a madman Guess I can do that but seems excessive.
> inb4 buy an automatic Nah, being a yuropoor we have like 3-cylinders already for petrols. Unless you want to travel with 30mph everywhere, you stay away from them.
What do YOU do?
Also it took me like 10 tries to submit a thread, wtf Hirmoot?!
Jack Phillips
Don't coast with the clutch in, just let the engine decelerate you in gear and shift into neutral before stopping or downshift to the appropriate gear as necessitated by your speed.
Ethan Sanchez
This.
Tyler Sanchez
So basically always stay in gear, never get into neutral unless it's a full stop. Fuck me, the 2nd thing is the worst. Slam the brakes, or get a huge ass engine brake bite, or just go with 5mph so there is no engine brake. Third is just always too much - there is this big gap that is just a pain to bridge. Fuck.
OR I could just use 2nd in the city all day long?!
Camden Phillips
>I started to put my car in neutral when I was approaching a roundabout or a stop
What the fuck man? Why? Just let off the gas but stay in gear and don't press the clutch.
Caleb Perez
>2nd gear This is my problem still. Downshifting to second without massive engine braking and quick enough to smoothly be fully in gear before turning a 90 degree.
Luke Morales
>So basically always stay in gear, never get into neutral unless it's a full stop
Pretty much this.
Learn to rev match when you shift into 2nd so it's smooth.
Tyler Bennett
But then it starts to stutter since the rpm drops way below. And I cannot just get into 2nd at that point because it will still bite. It's annoying as fuck.
My old Suzuki shitbox and my Ford Transit van both has a long 3rd gear that let's you take corners, roundabouts or whatever. But my Ford car has this tiny ass 2nd that is a pain to get into..
I'll try, but fuck... see above. Even if 3rd stutters, 2nd will still bite. Either you double clutch, or press clutch and wait for speed drop (+ light brake), or clutch + hard brake and switch to 2nd.
Tyler Wright
The general rule is that press clutch in when you go below 1k RPM.
