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bbqroast t1_ja7ealf wrote

Hypothetically yes, engine breaking might* give you a small amount of additional breaking force.

In practicality you should focus only on slamming down the breaks as far as they'll ago (assuming you're driving a vaguely modern car). Fyi the breaks on a car go a lot further than most people ever try.

*Might not because the limiting factor could be how much traction your wheels get, at which point adding additional breaking via the engine won't help.

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pseudopad t1_ja7hlyd wrote

I don't think so. The inertia of the engine and the rate of engine braking means a set of brakes will slow the wheels way faster than the engine would lose speed, which means you'd theoretically brake slower, because the engine still wants to rotate at a higher speed.

However, the brakes are also going to be strong enough to lock the wheels even when the motor's still trying to turn the wheels, and ABS will kick in anyway.

Typically, a set of good brakes will have many times more braking power than the same car's engine has motor power. Your brakes could take an engine from full power to stalled in a second (and probably ruin your drive train in the process).

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