Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

Hello,
Anyone got good tips about driving standard 5 spd neon or in fact any car, i heard from few that which shifting down from higher to lower say to stop at a light use gears instead of breaks, say i am at 60 and in 3rd gear i should not put it in neutral and brake to stop but should go to 2nd let go of clutch a bit than to 1st and let go of cluth and than to neutral. But some say it will kill the transmission , some say its illegal to drive /stop by just putting standard into netural and braking .


Its so confusing.

RE: Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

You should leave it in third until your RPMs are low, at which point you should be at a lower speed, then shift to neutral. That's called engine braking and it supplements your actual braking.
Downshifting is bad for your syncros. Have you ever noticed that at times it's hard to downshift, as if something is blocking it? That's because your syncros are out of "sync" and forcing it to a lower gear can and will wear them down faster, unless you have dual syncros per gear...chances are, you don't.
Yes, everyone does it. Does it mean that you should too? Nope. Don't get into bad driving habits early. Unless you're on a track where you need to downshift and you have a built tranny don't do it bro.

As for being illegal[>:] Ask for documentation on that because that's BS.
There aren't any laws on how an individual drives their car. Only laws on how and individual should act on the road.

RE: Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

first off, putting your car into 2nd at 60 mph is gonna start the damage right there...
second, you normally dont need to downshift in a neon because downshifting is to help slow the car without using the brakes as much, this is usually done with big trucks or when hauling sumthing...it doesnt take much for a neon to stop just using the brakes....the only time i downshift is when im bored or when i have to stop real fast when moving pretty quick, like if a deer runs out infront of you, or sumone pulls out in front of you....otherwise when regular driving, its more or less pointless on small cars....again unless your driving a semi or pulling a fifth-wheel, you really dont need to downshift at all

RE: Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

Oh man i think i gotta call SGI and inquire about this bull**** that some people told me. Maybe its illegal in vancouver but need to clarify, cause till now i never heard anyone telling me to go to 2nd and than 1 and than neutral cause it will be bad for my transmission.

So its perfectly good for the transmission and car to go to neutral from 5th gear without going to 4th ,3rd and 2nd and 1st and than neutral? by just using brakes, cause brakes seem to be good on neon.Too bad it aint abs :(.

And how to check for dual syncros per gear...chances are, you don't. ??

RE: Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

it sure as hell isnt illegal in canada.

All downshifting does in a neon is kill gas millage. Just use your brakes.

RE: Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

as p3 asked does going from 5th to N hurt the transmission? cause i do that on off ramps and i dont want to do it if it hurts my transmission or any other part of my drivetrian.

RE: Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

Your first statement is confusing...please use punctuation and take a breath.
Who is telling you to downshift like that? You don't need to be on the clutch that many times just to come to a stop. Most manual cars can't be put into 1st gear unless the engine RPMs are low and speed is below a certain mph anyway.

It's not bad to shift into neutral when coming to a stop. It's worse to downshift. You can also leave it in the current gear you're in and let the engine assist you in stopping just like motors do in automatics and then shift to neutral when you get close to your stop.

Take your tranny apart. Your car is most likely stock, so you don't have dual syncros unless the previous owner installed them for autox or the likes.

RE: Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

lot of WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN info. here's the deal, if you have a 4-cyl car (non-perf gas sipper like the neon), as soon as you want to slow down, put the STICK (not auto) in N and let off the clutch. this will mean you are stopping with your brakes and not with your motor that WANTS to be at idle unless you have your foot on the gas.

it don't matter if you have ten syncs per gear (i drove my 85 528i BMW on the german AUTOBAHN for 2 weeks with NOOOO clutch pedal at all, just gotta know your ride).

RE: Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

Neon - BMW
Apples - Oranges

My motor hates idle. It would rather be above 5k.

RE: Tips about Driving a Standard Neon
 

can't you shift your car without using the clutch pedal? even if everything works right?