I do blip the throttle when downshifting, except when I'm also braking. Again, I was more wondering whether to downshift or not while braking and coming to a stop.

As an example, at lunch today I crested a hill at maybe 40-50 mph in third gear. As soon as I did, I saw a red light relatively close ahead and had to immediately apply the brakes to slow the car (not an emergency situation). I then had a choice: downshift into 2nd while applying the brakes, or just put the car in neutral while I brake. Normally, I would downshift into 2nd without rev matching (which would require heel/toe) as the car slowed. Instead, I put the car in neutral as some have suggested. Felt a bit strange to have the car out of gear while still moving.

I hope you're right about the V12V clutch life. Like I said before, I've never had to replace a clutch on any of my cars and it'd be nice to extend that run as long as possible.

 

It looks like we have some different opinions. Wondering now if I should have done a poll.

 

Really to everyone, anyone might act different...In that situation with no time to really downshift, I'd just keep it in third while braking and when the rpm's drop close to 800 push in the clutch not to stall, no damage to the clutch...you can almost come to a dead stop in first gear without pressing the clutch nor stalling

 

hehe..might of been a good idea

 

We actually need a powertrain engineer to give us dopes the straight dope. As drivers and even most mechanics are just giving their opinion based on what we were taught, habit, or best guesstimate.

You really need someone who designs this equipment to explain, preferably with a cut-away, how it works and why going to neutral or not is the best approach mechanically.

I forget the Lambo reps job description, but he sounded quite sure when he said it.

 

Using heel and toe takes some practice to get used to, but with a modern syncro transmission you don't really need to do it anymore. Using heel and toe in a race car (where I learned it) allows you to sync up the gear your in with the gear you are going to. It takes very little pressure on the stick to flick it into the next gear down, and you don't even need to use the clutch when you do it right. Going up a gear is similar. You put a little pressure on the stick while the car is floored in gear, then you lift off the throttle just a bit the gear releases and pops up into the next gear perfectly, then mash the gas back on. All without the clutch.

As to using the clutch to save the life of the brakes, well, if the clutch is less expensive to replace then your brakes, go ahead. Personally, I find changing brake pads the lesser vise, and, slowing down the car is what they are designed for. You never see clutches advertised for their incredible stopping power.

Keep in mind that if you use the engine to slow down your car if you shift down to aggressively you can easily loose traction at the back end, and that’s bad. I've written more than enough checks to have the corners put back on after loosing traction in the back and meeting up with the a wall because I pushed the down shifts too fast and neglected to use the brakes.

Some cars are just not set up right for heel and toe. The Ferrari 550 is terrible unless you have size 14 prehensile feet.

In racing, or on the street, you want your car in the correct gear for your speed weather your accelerating or decelerating so you can react to the situation if things change.

Brakes are for slowing. Clutch is for going.

 

Put the car in neutral and brake. I leave the car in neutral then when green engage 1st and go.

 

I always downshift with a good rev matching and never had any problem with my clutch. ( my clutch lasted 40k miles )

 

Very basic-but to the point-see the section under "braking to a stop".

http://www.wikihow.com/Drive-Smoothl...l-Transmission

This will limit the wear on the clutch and wear the brakes more......brakes cost much less. The only downside really is you lose the beautiful sound of the Vantage decelerating-and the ability to accelerate immediately if needed.

Still on my original clutch.

 

One of the best reasons to use a lower-gear/engine braking is when you are descending a long grade and you don't want to ride the brakes all the way down. Truckers do this and I do also with all my cars, except the Aston. I live in the mountains, and have one 8-mile stretch down hill where I like to use engine braking to keep from riding the brakes all the way down. I've noticed something interesting, in that the ECU appears to be feeding fuel to the engine when I have my foot fully off the accelerator--so I get much less braking than I should. (Some modern cars cut-off the fuel entirely during engine braking--but not the Aston). I select "Instant MPG" on the computer, leave the car in 6th gear, and it shows "99.9". Every so often, I feel a little forward surge and the IMPG drops to "~65", then a few seconds later goes back to 99.9. If I down-shift to 5th the IMPG drops to about 65, in 4th it drops to about 47, and in 3rd drops to about 35. So even shifting to lower gears doesn't help much with braking because the ECU is compensating by feeding in extra fuel--Bummer.

 

There are a lot of misconceptions about "Heel and Toe"--because you really don't use your heel, at least not on the throttle. It's still not really easy and takes a lot of practice to master, but basically you keep the pad under your big toe on the right side edge of the brake pedal, and blip the throttle with the outside pad under your little toe--you roll your foot as shown in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYnVBEGF2t0

 

Do not downshift, unnecessary wear & tear on syncros and clutch as well as drivetrain shock (in case you get it wrong and don't match revs perfectly).

The best thing to do from a fuel efficiency standpoint is neutral coast for a good 5-10 sec until you get close and then use brakes to bleed off the rest of momentum.

On the race track its obviously 100% opposite.

The ONLY time its makes a lot of sense to do this is during the initial 1500 mile engine break in, its actually very good for the motor to use this technique as it helps ensure maximum engine compression as the rings seat into the cylinders (I have been doing it on the bicolore for the past 1000 miles). Its certainly easier on this e-gear than a standard manual as it rev matches absolutely perfectly every single time without hesitation. On a manual car already past break-in its just overkill. The only time otherwise that an engine/tranny should be used as a brake is on steep declines coming down a mountain to help lighten the strain on the braking system.

As mentioned, just use brakes (after a bit of coasting)

 

that is not proper technique. this is...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuoZeuSgEj4

regardless, it is an advanced racing technique, so none of you need feel bad for not being able to do it.

the reason for blipping the throttle is to synch up the gears... while not necessary as it once was thanks to synchros, it still reduces wear on the synchros. however, as said, not having to use the synchros at all will cause less wear. just brake.

 

A great deal of the technique you use for heel and toe depends on the pedal geometry. If you gave a gas pedal with a hinge on the bottom of the pedal it make be easier to reach over with the little toe to blip the throttle. In some cars, there is just no good way to do it.

In the race cars I'm used to (open wheel) the pedals all pivot from the top, but they are also individually adjustable. When I use heel and toe I have the brake pedal set so that when I'm mashing the brake the gas pedal will sit right next to it. That seemed to be a common setup, at last with the racers I know, but it's not unique.

Once I switched to left foot braking (a whole other discussion) I didn't need to heel and toe anymore because I gave up the clutch for everything accept for the initial roll off, coming to a full stop, or a spin.

 

I remember discussing this with someone from IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) in the UK. Very interesting because their mantra is brakes to slow, gears to go, and they (officially at least) take the view that heel & toe downshifting is undesirable.

I would agree in terms of wear and tear that it is preferable to come to a stop without downshifting, and to simply engage the clutch to prevent stalling. In theory at least, if you are rev-matching properly, the wear on the clutch ought to be minimal because there should be as near as no slippage of the friction plate against the flywheel. I suppose there is more wear on the thrust bearing, but the most wear is probably going to be on the drivetrain from the additional load. Again, if you're doing it properly/smoothly the load ought to be not much increased from where you would be if you were in the lower gear to begin with, and coasted or braked down on the over-run.

Personally I heel-and-toe the vast majority of the time, because my track time is very limited and I like to practise, and also because I enjoy it!!!! One of life's little pleasures that can be enjoyed every day, like my morning cup of coffee, a well executed heel & toe down shift on the way into the office sets me up for the day!!!

One of the things I found going from the road to the race track is that to heel and toe successfully it really needs to be second nature. If you have to think about it, it really detracts from your attention to other areas of your driving. So I do it as a matter of course because I'm probably not good enough to switch it on and off.

As far as the question of using the gears as a means of slowing down, I disagree with that. Maybe if you're on the freeway in slow moving traffic it's a nice way to pace yourself against the car in front by going down a gear so you aren't on and off the brakes. Karl-Franz, I agree with you also - coasting in neutral is frowned upon by all advanced driving instructors. The ability to react quickly is important, but also the fact that a car which is not in gear is much harder to control if you have to swerve or change direction suddenly because it is much less stable.