Can’t believe I’m still trying to explain this to the hard of understanding: because the road surface is very slippery, and even a very light application of the brakes will cause the wheels to lock. Are you really telling me you’ve not experienced conditions like that recently? In such circumstances, engine braking (of the sort which doesn’t result in the engine seizing) will not cause the wheels to lock.

Why would engine braking which works on two wheels be less snatchy than the footbrake which works on all 4 wheels?

Trolling, do you not understand why engine braking won’t lock the wheels?

I asked a simple question to which I was hoping to get a simple answer. Engine braking wont lock the wheels for obvious reasons, it might well break traction though. Now can you answer the question please.

A song to listen to while we wait for that simple answer.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1A_uSEjTIQ[/video]

Can’t believe I’m still trying to explain this for the hard of understanding: Footbrakes are not operated by an on/off switch. There are various degrees of modulation. Should the driver’s foot be a bit heavy on the brake and loss of traction occurs, the average none-racetrack-trained driver will find it easier to comprehend what’s happening and the best course of action to take than they would if they lose traction due to a bodged downchange/heel & toe.

Also, if you’re going to argue, at least stick to the same set of parameters for each type of braking. You’re using engine braking down a hill as an example of why using the footbrake on icy roads is a bad idea.

Anti-trolling – severe/bodged engine braking won’t lock the wheels, it’ll just cause them rotate slower than necessary to maintain traction.

EDIT:

even a very light application of the brakes will cause the wheels to lock

Really? I mean, really really? You come across as someone who knows about cars and driving and all that, but… really?

Why is it less snatchy? AFAIK mainly because the rate of wheel deceleration achievable with engine braking is a lot lower than with the wheel brakes.

Priceless.

AFAIK mainly because the rate of wheel deceleration achievable with engine braking is a lot lower than with the wheel brakes