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And the big problem I have with this method of driving is it says do one thing at once (brake, turn, accelerate or change gears) which means as you brake for a corner, you have to wait till you are there before changing into a gear to pull away.

I'd far rather always be in a gear which gives me torque at the speed I am at. So I always heel and toe, changing down gears as I slow, and coming into a corner I always brake late or back off to get the back out before accelerating through the turn (Roadcraft states drive through the turn, then accelerate)



So have you actually changed your driving to match the Roadcraft way of doing things ?

The argument for only changing down when you have finished breaking goes something like this (I am not saying I agree with the argument):

- when you change gear there is a risk of screwing up the clutch release and upsetting the balence of the car (obviously a much higher risk in high performance cars or in wet/icy conditions)
- therefore you should minimise the number of gear changes
- when braking to slow down because you have identified a hazard you don't know what speed you will be doing when you finish your breaking (because the hazard may well have cleared by the time you reach it)
- because you don't know the speed you will be at when you finish your braking there is no way of selecting the correct gear during braking so that you will end up in the gear you need
- you should therefore brake down to the required speed and then select the gear appropriate to that speed

Another argument is that changing down while braking uses more engine braking, therefore putting more wear and tear on the clutch/gearbox/engine, which are more expensive parts to repair/replace than the brake pads/disks.

Like I say, I'm not sure I agree with all of this. I do hope that the IAM instructors are willing to talk all this through and back it up with reason, rather than presenting it as "this is the way it is done, don't question it" ?

I have actually been trying the "change down only after braking" approach myself recently. I have discovered two things:

- it works better than I expected
- I was probably not changing down that often during braking anyway

P.S. Roadcraft doesn't say that you should never use engine braking, for example it recommends you use it when descending hills. I am always amazed that the vast majority of people brake all the way down steep hills, they clearly lack an understanding of gears and engine braking.
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