Downshifting to First Gear q - new boxster owner

[mcomet]

Wow interesting. I tend to drive by feel and sound so the answers are consistent with what I was thinking then. Shifting to first is pointless unless I am near a crawl and about to pickup speed again. I tend not to downshift to brake/slow excessively tho I might depending on speed of braking and wanting some assistance so I don't slam my brakes. plus it can be a little fun but generally I will downshift to slow to take corners and have the power to come out of them and accelerate. In street driving I tend to brake more while still downshifting with more matchup...

So here is a follow up q based on some responses... Is it really ok to shift to neutral from any gear? Do you have to match revs then? What if i was going 55 in third, saw stoppped traffic went to neutral by simply shifting and braking and did not touch or alter gas or rpms at all?

I would think that simply braking and shifting to neutral from a moderate speed would mean coasting and not being ready to accelerate. I was always taught instead to downshift thru each gear... in general... although first gear as mentioned especially in this car seems pointless unless starting from a dead stop.

Thoughts?
Thanks again! Comet