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I do pizza delivery so obviously the clutch has a hard time. Is it safe to pop the gearbox into neutral when approaching the lights without promoting further gearbox wear?
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For a number of reasons ie. lack of full control of vehicle, it is not considered good practice at all. Mention has been made here of Advanced Driving tests (see IAM). They disapprove strongly and you'd fail your test for doing so.
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I have been told that IAM do not approve of changing down thru the gears, but instead recommend braking almost to a halt in 4th/5th then engage neutral just before your stop/stall. This is not very different from the original questioners proposal.
What you must not do is put the car immediately into neutral at say 30mph and then brake - a colleague of mine used to do this and it's very scarry.
Personally I always go down thru the gears.
Cheers
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Puzzled by this brake to a halt thing in the IAM, seems to run contrary to planning ahead.
Both cars I use are diesels (BX and Xantia HDi 110) with excellent engine braking. The BX particularly can be controlled precisely on accelerator alone. Change down as the revs drop below 2000 to keep the engine in the torque band. Staying in 4th/5th and using the brakes forces the engine into an uncomfortable judder as the momentum pushes it below natural idle speed.
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Marko is right that the IAM do not approve of changing down through the gears, just for the sake of it, or of coasting to a stop in neutral. More a case of being in the right gear at the right time etc.... People have been arguing over this one since the Flintstones invented the epicyclic.....well you know what I mean.
Their book 'Roadcraft' isn't expensive as is well worth a read. (W H Smiths etc)
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It's perfectly safe to coast to a straight line stop with the car in neutral below about 10mph. Above this, you can happily stay in 3/4/5th.
Slowing down using gears a heinous crime against mechanical sympathy. Not only do you unbalance the car with each downchange, but massively increase wear on the gearbox.
Brake pads are much, much cheaper than gearboxes.
Rob
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Coasting in neutral is actually illegal. Quite how they'd prove it is another matter...
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Surely it depends on speed too? I agree coasting from 30mph but braking hard is clearly unsafe, but I can't see much harm in coasting to a halt just letting the car slow up by itself, if there is not much trafic around. If the lights do change, then you can re-engage an appropriate gear and pull away.
BTW, not many people realise that you don't need the clutch to disengage a gear. Just ease off the throttle a bit and move the lever into neutral. Saves wear on the thrust bearing.
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The IAM priciple I referred to suggests being in the right gear at the right time. If this means approaching (say) red lights in 4th and not 5th then so be it. What they're saying is, it's not necessary to work your way from 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 every time, if you know you're going to stop. As I said, it's a regular argument, and neither way is 'dangerous' See the book 'Roadcraft '... It used to be what they based Police driving instuction on. Don't know about present day situation. It uses a "System of car control".......C M S B G A (Remembered by the acronym Can My Safety Be Given Away?) which means - Course, Mirror, Signal, Brake, Gear, Accelerate. It's used to negotiate every single hazard or situation which can be encountered while driving.
Read the book and see if you agree. Rgds KB
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