I always hear on the boards people complaining about brake dust, and wanted to know if you downshift when your are coming to a stop or slowing down to save your brakes.

 

that may help, but im a lazy driver. if i wanted to shift constantly i would have a manual trans and wouldnt be driving an f150 since its not available.

 

asin- I was just down at the dealership today and spoke to the service manager regarding the brake dust. He said ford is aware of the defect but will not warranty the change to the new motorcraft pads unless it can be proven that both front and rear are causing the same problem. we looked at my wife's Expy then showed me a 04 F150 that was in for service and a Sport trac that is used as a customer loaner. the funny thing was all three suffered from the dreaded brake dust....only on the front wheels. huh?? even with 4 wheel disk brakes, dust was only on the front but they were aware of it but they were under strict rules regarding replacement.....has to proven that all four was at fault!
I told him it sounded to be a simple explanantion for why the front fell victim and not the rear.........it has to be something with air dynamics....he laughed and so did I.

 

The only time I downshift is when I am traveling in the mountains. I first take it out of "OD" and if the truck still wants to coast too fast and increase speed then I will drop it into 2nd. This prevents riding the brakes and warping the rotors.

 

however, I do occasionally put it in Neutral when waiting at stop lights. (Is that a bad practice?)

 

Why put the un-needed wear and tear on your engine and transmission? Brakes are much easier, faster and cheaper to replace. At least that's how I look at it.

 

I may get blasted for this but what is this forum for, but opinions!

Ford gives you the option of 1st, 2nd, Drive, or OD for a reason. If downshifting the transmission to slow your speed and maintain control of your vehicle was to cause un-due wear on the engine or transmission then Ford would have given you just one option. Say you are coasting down a steep grade and want to maintain a speed of 35-40 mph without riding the brakes. Put the truck in 2nd and coast, leaving your foot off the gas until your speed drops below the desired speed. You will not hurt the engine or transmission, provided you remember to shift back into the appropriate gear when you increase your speed.

Brakes and Rotors are more than likely cheaper than an engine or transmission, but not if you have to continually change them due to improper driving habits.

My wife once melted the hubcaps off her 93 Taurus (brand new) because she road the brakes in the mountains around Lake Isabella, CA. I ended up turning the rotors/drums and replacing the pads. I then taught her how to drive in the mountains by downshifting. I have never had a engine or transmission problem on any of my vehicles related to downshifting and letting the engine/transmission do the work.

What do you think Truck Drivers do to maintain control of their trucks.

 

My thoughts exactly, worst case scenario you replace the brakes probably a couple of hunded versus a few thousand for the tranny/engine.

I typically just hold my hand out to increase the drag coefficient.

 

I certainly agree that downshifting on long downgrades is the smart way to do things but I was speaking more towards downshifting on standard slow downs, such as for traffic lights. While downshifting to slow down in standard traffic situations is most likely a harmless act that will never result in a problem, it's still my opinion that it just adds unnecessary wear to the engine and components. I'm certainly not a mechanic or anything close, so take my opinion for what it's worth....not much.

 

Same here. I only do if i'm in a hurry to stop (not paying attention). Otherwise take it out of OD and gradual braking is good. I avoid the fast rpm changes that manually downshifting causes. Brakes are cheap, transmission on the other hand.....

 

I used gentle engine braking (downshifting) during my 500-mile break-in period, and countinue to drop out of OD on long downgrades, but I don't downshift for stoplights or other routine driving.

HawaiianStyle...the front wheels suffer brake dust the most because they provide approx 80% of your stopping power, so more wear on them. After a while you'll see the rear wheels also get dusty, but not near as bad as the front. For now, I'll just keep cleaning the front wheels weekly, no big thing, but when they wear out I'm gonna replace them w/ ceramic pads. BTW, did you finally get your rig?? I know you were waiting MONTHS for it to get delivered (joys of island living?). If you did, hope it is treating you well!! -Don