Rotories do not provide the braking power that a piston engine does, so much so that it's hardly worth using it for that. The only time I down shift the gears is if I anticipate that I may not stop afterall (light changes green) or am making a turn. If it's going to be a full stop I tend to just brake with the clutch down but dry shift in case I need to react. Also if you know your clutch point you do not need to "pre-rev or flutter" no matter what incline you are on, if you have troubles on an incline use the emergency brake to help until you're used to it.

Once you're used to it you won't even realize your shifting gears anymore, it becomes second nature.

 

Just so all are clear, the entire point of "dry shifting" - or moving the lever down through the gears as you deccel, even though you're not putting the clutch in and engine braking, is to be prepared in case you want to or need to put on the power again before your stop. If you've got nowhere to go, no point to do it, but if I'm the first one into a light, or Im decceling in traffic for a slowdow, or I'm slowing for a toll booth, etc. it's always a good idea to have the right gear selected for "go" in case you need it. As I learned once long ago in my dear departed 1990 Legend Coupe.

I don't pre-rev, I don't hit every gear, but I always make sure I've got the lever in gear at most if not all points, and always in a gear that is appropriate for the speed the car is traveling.

Hey, it's a safe practice. But don't do it because I do it.

 

:D :p

 

[QUOTE=HardHitter]Well, I am still learning to drive stick, I have the hang of it, but there are those times where I'm trying to go from stop to first gear where my RPM's totally shoots to around 5000-6000 before my clutch catches.[QUOTE]


Maybe i misunderstood, but don't put the car in first to downshift, ever. Only use first gear to get the car rolling. Downshifting to first gear and sending the engine into 5k rpms is quite bad to say the least. :D

 

That's not true at all. I wouldn't tell a noobie to do that, but it's pretty important to be able to downshift into 1st during an autocross.