Warm Up Time / Oil Temp - When is it ok to cut loose?

**hooba** · 03-09-2010, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by rs73

sometimes in traffic my oil temp can go to about 97-98C... is that still ok? that's according to the MFD, not sure how accurate it is

That's fine and quite normal. Highest I've seen is 109C whilst driving a demo on a hot day, if you turn it off at that temp the pumps continue to run in order to cool things down.

**Maltopia** · 27-09-2010, 03:22 PM

Did a search for topics and didn't find anything on this, apologies if I missed it.

I use the paddles a lot rather than the foot brake to slow down for lights/traffic/corners. I use the foot brake to come to a complete stop or where the engine braking is insufficient.

Is this something I should avoid whilst the engine is still warming up or is it irrelevant when I use the engine braking vs foot pedal in terms of wear and tear on the engine?

Oh, the engine braking usually just takes me up to 3-4.5K RPM, not redline heh.

Thanks for any advice.

M

**pologti18t** · 27-09-2010, 04:13 PM

As i was told at advanced driving courses...

Brakes are stopping and gears are for going.

The only time I use gears to control (keep a constant) speed is when travelling down an incline.

**Ryan_R** · 27-09-2010, 04:19 PM

What's wrong with the foot brake again? Besides eventual wear'n'tear you could save petrol by using the foot brake I guess, but then again you bought a GTI - so that might not matter to you

**bwen** · 27-09-2010, 04:32 PM

Brake pads are cheaper to replace than engine mount and clutches

**MACCAA** · 27-09-2010, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by pologti18t

As i was told at advanced driving courses...

Brakes are stopping and gears are for going.

The only time I use gears to control (keep a constant) speed is when travelling down an incline.

Correct.
Maybe back in the good old days of drum brakes you may have used the gears to ASSIST you in slowing,but not with modern brakes.Brakes are pretty much the cheapest component in the drive train.
Their job is to stop you.
Use them as such.
This is what we teach at all Advanced Driving days.

**Maltopia** · 27-09-2010, 06:51 PM

I thought I read in the manual to use the gears to slow down to avoid overheating your brakes - that is why I started doing it! I'll have another read of the manual to see if I can find it.

**MACCAA** · 27-09-2010, 06:54 PM

Originally Posted by Maltopia

I thought I read in the manual to use the gears to slow down to avoid overheating your brakes - that is why I started doing it! I'll have another read of the manual to see if I can find it.

Anyone who overheats their brakes on the road would be a bit of a worry!

**Ryan_R** · 27-09-2010, 06:55 PM

It says to use 3rd gear while going down a long hill to help limit the speed of your car. This is so that you are not constantly on the brakes for a minute or more. In all other situations use the foot brake as the primary way to limit your speed or slow down.

**cameronp** · 28-09-2010, 12:24 AM

Generally I agree with (and have always been told) the "brakes to slow, gears for go" school of thought. When driving a manual I shift down through all the gears until (usually) coming to a stop in third, but that's more to make sure you're always in a gear where you can accelerate again if e.g. the lights ahead turn green.

Interesting that the DSG automatically applies engine braking when you're going down a hill though - and in fact it does so more aggressively than I would when driving a car with a manual transmission. There's a hill in West Perth where the DSG will often downshift to 2nd at 50 km/h, ~4000rpm!