i am guilty of engine braking and heal toe :happysad:

 

99% of the time I just use the brakes. The only time engine braking is useful is if there is ice or perhaps rain or something and engine braking is better since the wheels won't ever lock up from it. But if you have ABS or something than I would see it as being completely useless.

 

:werd:

 

dropping gears around 1.5-2k rpm dont hurt anything if u let the clutch out softly and slowly.. i was taught to downshift and i do to this day.. i still get 34-36mpg on my d16z highway/city mix... my friendns cant even tell im downshifting i do it so smooth, w/o rev matching..

 

both, dropping gears are safier in winter.

 

I get around 300 miles to a full tank of gas. My current brake pads have lasted me longer than a year, although I've only used them one time for track time.

 

I use the gears in my civic (when it was running) to slow but when comming toa red light I always go out of gear and coast. then if the light turns gree B4 I get there I go to whatever gear is best at the time depending on speed.

 

wrong. it wont effect your gas mileage

 

So all engines use the same amount of gas when they are at idle as also when they are at 4k rpm's?

 

Typically when people downshift coming to a stop they don't rev match and let the clutch spin the engine up to speed through a bunch of clutch slip. Doing this on a regular basis over time won't wreck your transmission but it will wear out the clutch sooner.

The only time you should worry about engine braking is when you're trying to gradually slow the car without locking the wheels, like on ice.

For uh, "performance driving" into a turn you should brake, downshift, turn in, accelerate. If you want to be smoother then double heel-toe. Double clutch when you're downshifting like, on the highway or something.