[Mark Worthington]

I know some people hate it and swear that you will break your engine, but I have fond memories of my father downshifting and using engine braking on his Alfa before he turned into our driveway. It's how I remember knowing that Dad was home. Now I find myself doing it because I turn into a long common driveway from a long, fast stretch of a state highway. Lets my kids know I'll be walking in the door in a couple minutes.

Yeah, OK, the metallurgists will say that 4340 doesn't like stresss reversals, and that's why you should never swap half shafts from one side of the car to the other. But really, how much reverse torque does a crankshaft see from engine braking? Maybe 5% of the torque it sees from normal acceleration?