Ok,
I'm going to try to clear things up here, and can pretty much guarantee that this IS the best method. (Ofcourse open to debate).
NEVER keep the clutch pressed or shift into neutral when braking UNTIL you have reached 10km/h or less. (just before the engine is about to start shuddering/knocking)
Netarchie,
First - let me negate your "saving fuel" arguement...
When you are in neutral or have the clutch pressed, the car has to keep fuel going to the engine in order to keep it running. This uses fuel, naturally.
When you are in gear, and you take your foot off the accelerator, modern cars (which are fuel injected and pretty intelligent) sense the decelerating load on the engine and CUTS ALL FUEL SUPPLY TO THE ENGINE. This
uses virtually NO fuel. The only thing keeping the engine spinning is the rolling of the tires transfering power back up the drivetrain, keeping the engine spinning. And at the same time you are getting engine braking! Talk about a sweet deal.
Secondly - a small point to note about "shifting to neutral on the expressway".
When you drive at a high speed for a long time, a phenomenon called
velocitizing occurs. It basically means you dont have a realistic feel of exactly how fast you are going, which means slowing down will be harder than you think, which means ANOTHER REASON TO USE ENGINE BRAKING. If you want to just roll to a hault over 1000mts, feel free to do so, but STAY IN GEAR, the higher the gear (eg. 3rd, 4th, 5th gear) will make your rate of deceleration slower, whereas a lower gear (2nd or 1st) will slow the car down more rapidly. Regardless of the gear you are in, if you are not pressing the accelerator, chances are that NO fuel will be being used.
Thirdly - Vivek, for tips on driving an automatic, check out
this thread.
Fourthly, and finally - Why engine braking is better!
1. It saves your brakepads from overheating and causing VERY dangerous brake fade. (Believe me, your brakes just WONT work when they get hot!)
2. It will save fuel, as mentioned above.
3. It will give you better control when turning. (try this out by taking a corner at Xkm/h and in 2nd/3rd gear, and then try doing it at the same speed in neutral and see the comparative lack of control you feel.)
4.
YOU WILL STOP FASTER using engine braking.
Vivek2kny, your point about the quantity of friction between the tyres and the road being the limiting factor (so what difference if it comes from the brakes or engine?) makes sense in theory, BUT it doesn't take in several other factors.
For eg. getting the maximum out of your brake pads is not easy. If graphed, there is a non-linear curve of the amount of braking you are getting for a constantly increasing brakepad pressure on the rotor. Several factors influence this curve, including temperature, type of brakepad, type of rotor, speed of rotation etc. Hence, getting it consistently perfect is nearly humanly impossible, so if you have engine braking on your side, its much easier to get the maximum deceleration.
Still not convinced? - Try this -
Find an empty peice of straight, clean surfaced road. Make sure noone is behind you, get upto about 60-70km/h and shift into neutral. At a predetermined marker on the road brake as best as you can. Make a note of when the car comes to a complete halt.
Now, do it again. Get upto the same speed, but stay in 2nd gear. Make sure theres no car behind you, and at the same marker brake as best as you can, KEEPING THE CAR IN 2nd gear, only to press the clutch just before your car comes to a hault. Take a note of where the car came to a stop.
I am pretty sure that you will find that your stopping distance was significantly shorted when you left the car in gear, as well as much more confidence inspiring!
Try it out and let me know.
If i havent explained anything clearly enough, please let me know.
cya
R