sync rev

Holliday

Downshifting can reduce brake pad wear, but not adding enough brakes can add more stress to the transmission. You can argue that either way I guess?

It also depends on the situation at hand. I personally tend to use more brake but I do work my way down in gears as I come to a stop.

SyncRev sounds good too

Here is a non-bias opinion from here: http://standardshift.com/faq.html

Stopping
Downshifting without touching the brakes to stop is not recommended, the person behind you babbling on the phone might not notice you without your brake lights on, especially at night. You can stay in your current gear down to around 5-15 mph quite easily; at that point, put the car in neutral and use the brakes to come to a complete stop or you can downshift and apply the brakes as well. Downshifting into first is not recommended. For safety reasons, you shouldn't keep the gar in gear while waiting at a light. If a car hits you from behind, you foot will be off the clutch, which means your car would jump forward and possibly end up in the middle of an intersection.

__________________

SVTNate

Keeping off the clutch and in neutral at a light is bad advice IMO.

Motorcyclists all know that you keep in gear and check your mirrors at a red light. While a car is much larger, I think it's a good idea to practice the same.

If someone is barreling down on you at a red light and you're at the front, you can

a) take a hard left or right along the crosswalk
b) check for cross traffic, dump clutch, GTFO
c) possibly jump the curb (not too likely in a Z)
d) take it right up the ***, which is what you'd do sitting there in neutral anyway

The point is that watching your six and keeping the car in gear means you have options.

onzedge

Excellent advice -- my original driving instructor (in 1974) taught me this when I was mastering a manual trans in a 1969 Datsun 510.

__________________

Koni|Swift|Michelin|Motordyne|Berk|RJM Performance|Gates|SPL|Motul|Technafit|Ate Super Blue|Hawk
Tommy Kaira|Momo|Optima|Hella|Hotchkis|Red Line|ZSpeed|Stillen|B&M|H&R

mick

i used if for about a week after getting the car and turned it off ever since. it's a good feature people who frequently downshift but i don't and if you don't downshift much, the z drives better with it turned off.

kenchan

the only time my car is in neutral is when the car is stopped for the light or starting the car or crawling in traffic and dont want engine braking, etc.

i usually only downshift to 3rd gear in the Z (down to about 1.5K rpm) to a stop because there's more torque from engine braking in 2nd and sometimes requires more braking to stop the car. if it's a a downhill i will use 2nd.

bascially i like my car in gear at all times while moving so that i have constant control of the car. if im in neutral it will take me a split second before i can get the car moving again. that i dont like.

as a side effect which i dont really care for, you will waste more fuel in neutral to idle the engine than fuel-cut while the engine is spinnin in gear.