Do You Need to Press the Clutch When Correctly Decelerating and Braking in a Manual Transmission?
2 Answers
The specific operation method depends on how much speed needs to be reduced, and there are several scenarios: 1. When only a slight reduction in speed is needed. For example, reducing from 70km/h to 65km/h. In this case, simply press the brake without needing to press the clutch. 2. When a significant reduction in speed is required, but stopping is not necessary. For instance, if the vehicle is in 5th gear at 70km/h and needs to slow down to 10km/h. However, there are two additional points to note: 1. After reducing speed, if you need to continue moving forward, but the speed has dropped from 70km/h to 10km/h, releasing the clutch at this point will cause the vehicle to shake severely or even stall due to the mismatch between speed and gear. Therefore, after slowing down, you must shift to an appropriate gear (e.g., 2nd gear for 10km/h) before releasing the clutch to ensure smooth driving. 2. In the same example or any similar situation, another approach can be taken: shift to neutral first, continue moving, and then shift to a gear that matches the current speed.
I've been driving a taxi for ten years, and there's a knack to slowing down a manual transmission car. You don't need to press the clutch every time you brake. When driving at high speeds, braking with the gear engaged allows the engine to assist in deceleration, making it especially stable. However, when the speed drops below 20 km/h, you must press the clutch; otherwise, the engine will stall from being forced. Here's how I usually handle approaching a red light: first, release the accelerator and coast in gear, then lightly apply the brake when the speed drops below 40 km/h. Wait until both the speed and RPM drop before pressing the clutch and brake together to come to a complete stop. Never get into the habit of pressing the clutch before braking—doing this downhill is particularly dangerous.
