Controversy regarding brake habit.

One of many ridiculous laws in Oregon.

 

I brake, release, brake, release etc. Then once I come to a stop i will roll forward just enough to move the pads to a different place from where they originally stopped in the rotor. For the record, the ebrake is the same shoes as the regular ones, not a separate system. It will still be hot shoes against the drum, which will warp just as easy.

 

All those laws go back to the beginning of automobiles when brakes were almost none existent. I coast in neutral all the time.

 

With an MT I put it in neutral and let out the clutch to save wear on the throw out bearing at stop lights.

 

Seems to me y'all are overthinking this. It's a truck, not a track car or race car. Sure when I come off the track I worry about pad transfer on super heated rotors and make sure not to apply the handbrake or sit on the brakes in one spot. On a street car? Never.

 

I never thought about it till today, other than the clutch but even that came from a post on TW.

 

OH RLY?! Next you'll tell us that Fast & The Furious was not a documentary!

 

I always just thought this was something guys that don't know how to drive manual do to feel cool.

Never heard any idea about brakes before.
The brakes are designed to take that heat though and I feel you are putting extra strain on transmission instead.

Besides you could roll back and safety wise a car behind you might think you're not stopped or something and rear end you and like mentioned above you'll end up in the intersection.

Figure some idiot not paying attention to the light texting and driving, doesn't see brake lights so they continue into you. Sounds stupid but hey those people thinking they can safely text and drive usually are.

 

And some here heel and toe too.

 

I always pop ATs into neutral at long stops. Just something that I do. The engine is unloaded and it takes a bit less brake force to hold it there.

I do the same on my bike and MTs. With my bike, I have a Reevu helmet that really helps to see what is going on out back.

 

This^

I drove my Tacoma hard to and from a city in rush hour traffic for 80k on the factory rotors and just two sets of pads. Zero issues. No need to treat it like you just did 10 laps in a GT3.

 

for me it's not so much over thinking as it is habit. You experience enough brake fade on the track or towing and you learn to take care of your brakes as much as possible. As the song says, you don't know what u got till it's gone.

 

Dare I say....over braking it

 

If safety is a priority, keep it in gear,, wheels straight and brakes applied. Being in gear gives you the ability to move quickly if needed. Wheels straight pushes you forward, but not into on coming traffic if rear ended. Brakes applied prevents accidental rolling and minimizes push if tapped from behind.

 

For those who claim putting your auto into neutral and letting off the brakes saves them or the rotors can you post any data to back up your theories? This is the first time I have ever heard anything of this sort.

I am an industrial mechanic and when someone suggests something absurd I like to hear the theory before calling bullshit or simply calling someone a moron. In all my days racing motorcycles I have never had issues and there is a huge difference between racetrack braking and street braking. If you are braking hard enough and frequently enough to have issues with heat your license needs to be taken away from you. On the other hand some OEM’s (FORD) are known to have warping issues. Some aftermarket as well. This is more down to metallurgy and design than people pushing their Fords harder than other makes and warping their rotors.

Internet engineers calculate opinions not numbers or facts. Who do you trust? The guy who read something and then thought something or someone who has facts data and math to back up their claims? So let’s hear some facts and data backing up these claims and go from there.

 

I would be concerned with the Heat build up in the tranny, heat soak after running. I know for a fact that in my Jeep if it’s in park or neutral fluid does not flow to the trans cooler.

I do not know if the Tacoma is the same.

I will check some temps tomorrow at stop lights in neutral. I haven’t pulled a tranny line and checked pressure at the cooler in different gears.

 

All good points. Never thought about the tranny or the shifter contacts wearing out sooner.
I drive in normal traffic and coming to a light I anticipate my speed, distance and road conditions and brake-release-brake-release-brake-release till stopped (drives my wife bat shit crazy-she is lead foot on the brakes).
When at full stop, I put the shifter in N and release the brakes but hover over the pedal just in case. Light turns green (not before to give me the 2-3 seconds in case somebody runs a red) and throw it in D for normal drive.
Not to the subject but I have another habit: when I am at full stop and somebody comes very close to my back, I step on brake pedal hard and put the shifter in R to activate the rear camera and see how close his bumper is to me. Backing lights turn ON, panic sets in and his horn makes some noise...I put it back in D or N and drive when time comes. If follows, second time the car is far behind me...

 

Dude, don't take this the wrong way but you have some terrible driving habits! Your theory about brake heat and pad contact on rotor is nonsense. Why? For the one or two minutes you sit at the light you have little if any heat dissipation to the air. This is a regular old vehicle, not a race car. Seriously, if you want to worry about warped rotors, don't ever drive from hot and dry into a rainstorm. You have a much better chance of warping your rotors from a big delta T than you do a slightly hotter section under the pads.
Brake and release is also a terrible idea, especially if you are in the vehicle behind you. I'm sure they have no idea wtf you are doing! Is he gonna stop? Speed up? Slow down? Give it the gas? Very dangerous and just asking to get hit in the ass.
Please tell me you don't bite your nails too lol.
Just drive normal man. Start braking steadily as you approach the light. Keep your foot on the brake and your truck in gear. Slowly accelerate away. Your truck and components will last just as long as any other method.

Oh, and quit biting your nails!

 

To answer your original question: I don't think you are really doing any harm by putting it in neutral when stopped. It also won't hurt the pads and rotors to leave your foot on the brake. In normal driving you aren't building enough heat in the brake system to cause damage. And even if you did eventually damage the pads or rotors they are pretty easy to change on most vehicles.

As a data point. The 4Runner we traded for our Tacoma had 175K miles. In that time I changed the front pads twice and the rears once. It was still on it's original rotors all the way around. I leave my foot on the brake, tranny in D while stopped at lights. I did this even when towing our boat (about 3500lbs, no trailer brakes).

On the other hand I can see how your wife would find the "brake-release-brake-release-brake-release till stopped" really annoying. What's wrong with just smooth continual steady braking until stopped?

 

I never had any problems with the brakes on any other cars, I guess I am overprotective with my "baby" to minimize the "wear and tear".
If I drive "your" truck, I slam the brakes, put it in R and give gas hard while trying to bounce it off the curb.
My understanding and rationing was that while I brake to stop the pads and rotors/drum get really hot and by releasing the brakes there is air between the pads and rotors/drums to cool off as opposed to keep the pads on pressed and keep the heat trapped in between.