Engine Braking...not breaking...

[Space_Cowboy]

Okay, so I'm definitely one of those "I have a stick so I'm going to use it" guys...I tend to do engine braking a lot, that is to slow down with the gears...now I formula 1 and rally drivers do this a lot, but will it hurt the reliability of my engine? Should I just bite the bullet and use the ample four wheel disc brakes instead?

[NovaResource]

The brakes on the Vibe are very good (even the base disc/drum setup). I see no need to put the extra strain on the engine, trans and clutch.

[d_m_kolb]

Well look at it this way. over all it probably wont hurt the engine over time but it will ware out a clutch faster than normal and also the synchronizers. Both of which are much more expensive to replace than brake pads.I wouldn't recommend doing this unless for some od reason you just had to. Also missing a gear and putting the trany into to low a gear can red line the engine and this of course would cause engine damage.

[wrench79]

instead of using the brakes to stop the car, you're using compression from the motor. This puts alot of stress on you're piston rings and over a long period of time you could gradually start to lose power.