I‘m hearing mixed opinions on this. Currently, if I see a red light or something coming up, I‘ll shift the car into neutral, then start applying my brakes when I‘m close enough.
you in basic terms downshift in case you could desire to function extra horsepower to the wheels, alongside with once you're going up a steep hill and you spot your motor vehicle slowing down. in any different case, while braking you do no longer might desire to down shift. in simple terms brake as prevalent while slowing down fairly. regardless of if, while coming to an entire end, launch the accelerator, push interior the grab alongside with your left foot each and every of how, and placed the tranny into impartial alongside with your genuine hand (which will additionally show you how to launch the grab) as you push the brake in many situations alongside with your genuine foot.
It's easier on your brakes if you leave the car in gear until you're almost to a stop (don't let the engine lug, but let it run down to 1500rpm or slightly lower before disengaging the clutch by pushing the clutch pedal in at that point). When you let off the gas pedal to brake, you get engine braking that also helps slow the car down if it's in gear. You get no engine braking when putting the car in neutral or disengaging the clutch. Downshifting through the gears as you're stopping will cause even less wear on your braking system as engine braking force will be increased as you shift down through the gears. The downside to downshifting through the gears is that if you're not matching RPM as you downshift through the gears you're putting some of the wear you're saving on the brakes onto the clutch. You want the engine RPM between gears to be right where the RPM would be as you let the clutch out in the next lowest gear as you're downshifting - that's really the only way you're saving wear on both the brakes AND the clutch if you're downshifting through the gears when stopping. If you decide you regularly want to downshift through the gears as you stop, practice makes perfect. You'll get better at matched rev downshifting the more you do it
Brake first, Once you start to slow down, down shift
