GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: P6GTD on 05 August 2020, 22:38
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I tend to flick down through the box to use engine braking if I’m slowing from anything above 50 or 60 mph and flick back into D or S ready to pick up again.
It has got me idly wondering what is easiest on :
the DSG box
the front tyres
the brakes
Is it better for the car just to leave in D and use the brakes rather than using overrun to wash off speed?
Is there a “ best practice” for the good of each of the above three aspects of the car or does it not make much difference in wear and tear providing one is reasonably gentle with the car?
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Brakes are cheap. Leave it in D unless you are going for a spirited drive. Just my 2c. Have owned previously 2 DSG GTi’s
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Brakes are cheap. Leave it in D unless you are going for a spirited drive. Just my 2c. Have owned previously 2 DSG GTi’s
Agree with the above, but I enjoy flicking through the gears “manually” with the paddles to scrub speed, then if hitting boring straight roads, straight back into D.
Just my personal preference.
Good post though :smiley:
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Engine braking was the norm with drum brakes back in the old days, when they couldn't always be relied on. Given the advances in braking technology, the common train of thought is "brakes are cheaper than transmission"
https://www.iam-bristol.org.uk/index.php/articles/driving-tips/76-brakes-to-slow-gears-to-go
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Y’know what?
Brakes to slow, gears to go ..... quite a good slogan I suppose and maybe I should adopt it for day to day stuff.
Yeah, my first three cars were a 1957 Beetle then a 1954 Ford Pop followed by a 1963 Minivan.
Brakes.....what brakes? :grin:
However I will keep “using” the box as the mood takes me (see some of my previous posts).
Thanks all and also those few replies on replacing the Bridgestones.
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Engine braking for me to help avoid all that brake dust over the alloys, especially when intially cleaned :grin:
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Modern engines and gearboxes are programmed to abide by some arbitrary test conditions and don’t necessarily reflect real world conditions. I think we can nearly all agree on that.
The DSG engineers are clever but are hemmed in by regulations.
Within the software there are workarounds and I’ve found that a quick but firm prod on the brakes makes the gearbox drop down very quickly to an appropriate gear to engine brake properly.
Engine braking every time for me I’m afraid. It keeps you in full control.
Coasting down on the brakes puts the engine out of the responsive zone and using the wrong gear (too high) for most situations unless you know you’re going to be coming to a dead stop.
Truly skilled drivers would almost never need to come to a full stop, well in theory - other impatient pricks on the road who think the world ends six feet in front of their bonnet would soon hamper that mission!
I learnt at a young age the exact thing p3asa says, cleaning brake dust off intricate alloys is a disgusting chore so any way of avoiding it building up should be encouraged!! Yuk!
And who says new brakes are cheap?
I might be a pauper amongst millionaires on here but if there’s any way of staving off a £250 plus bill for another 10 or 20k miles I’ll take it :grin:
I think in 34 years of driving I’ve had to buy new brakes less than half a dozen times, which considering nearly all my cars have been second hand isn’t bad going.
And obviously the small detail that I change cars every few months has no bearing on that whatsoever... :whistle:
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If I'm not in a hurry and doing so won't get in other peoples way, I always engine brake.
You burnt the petrol to get that energy into the car, why then dump it as heat into the disks and pads, when it could carry you x distance down the road?
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Coasting to a halt is not really the same as engine braking. The efficient way of driving is to assess the situation ahead and slow an appropriate speed, or slow enough to just need the slightest pressure on the brakes to come to a complete stop if required, by coming off the throttle and coasting.
My understanding of engine braking is it's the use of lower gears to slow the car faster than it would if it were just left to roll. Therefore giving the same results as using the brakes.
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Brakes are cheaper than a new gearbox, however looking ahead at what the traffic is cheaper.
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Brakes are cheaper than a new gearbox, however looking ahead at what the traffic is cheaper.
Anyone who lunches a gearbox through stupidly when engine braking should be back in L plates.
Just found this, even those sensible boffins st Volkswagen recommend engine braking (skip to near the end)
https://youtu.be/xqtF_6hJmbk