Downshifting bad?
 

"Use your brakes to slow down, downshift to the appropriate gear for the speed that you're going. That's what the brakes are meant for. Using your engine to slow you down is tough on the engine and transmission. Brake replacement is way cheaper than engine/transmission repair."

Really? So im on the GTR Forum and saw that comment on a thread talking about downshifting. When i come to a red light i downshift to slow down my car instead of using the brakes to save my breaks. Does that really hurt the engine/ trans? The GTR guys seem to think so. I have the 7 speed auto BTW.

If anything, you are using your transmission more than usual. This then leads to more wear than usual.

Gears are for going, brakes are for stopping.

Backloading the transmission places the load the wrong way around in the g/box, hence it will wear more quickly

In older cars, it could be a problem, but in a modern drivetrain, all you're going to do is increase wear slightly. When decelerating, the ECM cuts fuel to the engine, so it turns onto a big air pump. If the tranny can't handle reasonable downshifts (ie, not downshifting to 1st at 30mph), we got screwed.

There will be some added wear and tear, but not what I would call hurting anything.

If you're downshifting hard, like at the track, all bets are off.

YMMV

pads are cheaper than a trans so you decide

Not going to hurt anything. We even have such a thing to limit Trans wear. Srm... If anyone can find proof that down shifting has actually caused premature trans failure (not holding my breath) then i will retract my previous statement. If anyone thinks that gradually slowing down via down shifting puts more stress than going wot and banging thru gears then u may wanna re-evaluate your theories on stress loads.

I don't advise doing it all the time, but here and there won't hurt anything

that sucks. I love to downshift. I love the sound.

The transmission was design to shift up and down. It makes no sense in saying "don't use the down shift feature" because you can then argue that you should not use your breaks or horn or anything else because it might wear prematurely... obviously it will wear but you got the car to drive it in a complete manor, not think about what will wear and will not. If something wears out, replace it and keep enjoying your car... wth did you buy it for if not that?

Agreed. I'm 47 years old and have been beating the snot out of Z's for 30 years. I have only changed a clutch once in an 83' 280ZX, which was not related to any shifting habits. I've been downshifting with careless abandon the whole time. On the 370Z I've had SyncroRev turned off since I bought the car in 2009. The RPM match is fun for awhile, but takes away the ability to slow down with downshifting. Of course I did have a transmission scare with the 370, but thanks to forum posts. I realized I needed to put some decent fluid in the lines and get rid of that nasty assist spring.

:iagree:

I love downshifting my vette and locking up the rear wheels just before coming to a stop. Been doing it for over 20 years of ownership. Ain't broke yet!!! I pamper the Z more on downshifting because it's my wife's car and I need to stay on her good side.:driving:

Downshift to your heart's content. I heel-toe 90% of the time.

agreed ^... I downshift all the time to slow down and normally heel-toe for quicker stopping power. Don't Automatic transmissions downshift also to help slow down the car?

Seems idiotic to me to think that a transmission that can handle the load of moving a 3,000+ pound car cant do the same for slowing it down? Either way just dont be stupid as stated earlier and down shift into 2nd from speeds of 60 plus or similar situations.

I can't believe this is an argument. This world is lost.

The OP comment sounds like it came from "ULTIMATE SPEED SECRETS" by Ross Bently. See attached paragraph

Nope downshifting is not a bad idea.. you can downshift all day long without a problem..

/end thread

There you have it.:tup:

Downshifting is one thing, doing it properly is the other. It's pet peeve to see someone jam the shifter into a lower gear without rev matching. We're talking several thousand RPM jump. So I've decided not to let anyone test my car if they can't rev match when downshifting. I have SRM, but decided to turn it off in case people freak out over it, but I'll probably leave it on for them. [shrugs]

Plus, I rather not coast in neutral and to keep it in gear for emergencies.

I will continue to downshift...i didnt my a manual for nothing! Maybe I will feel different when I hav to cough up a lung to replace the tranny, but until then:driving:

I let a friend drive my Z, and put SRM on. Freaked him out when he wiggled the stick in neutral at 45 mph. Ndont know what he was doing but I think it saved a transmission

Might not me true if they have the Spec-V brakes:rofl2:, saw an article that said it was a $50k option! :eek:

Not sure if this is accurate or if it is for the total Spec-V package but either way that's a crazy expensive option!
http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/news/10-mo...r-options.html

Same here and love it!:tup: But these guys are all talking about the A7 tranny not the M6....

Man if downshifting was bad, I would sell my Z.

I think I prefer downshifting than speeding up lol

Cars come in women's auto? :stirthepot: :p

granny shifting, not double clutching like you should.

amen, couldn't have said it better myself. as long as you know what you're doing and you do it correctly, downshifting is not bad

193000 miles on a stock 350z (fully factory no mods) tranny and has canyon runs. Never blew anything on that car. Your statement is inavlid. Unless ofcourse you don't know what you are doing.

This is the silliest thread I've seen in a while.

Agreed, its a car drive it. I would be more worried about your brake light bulbs burning out if you use the brakes to much, thus downshift as much as you can.