Do you down shift while daily driving?

T

thecavemankevin

Member
Just curious if anyone else out there down shifts while doing their daily driving. I've gotten into the habit of doing it while driving and slowing to a stop.

Just simply curious if anyone else does this on a regular basis and if it is bad for my baby.
 
Yes. Always. No it's wonderful for your baby if you rev-match. If you just ride the clutch down to the next gear...then yes it is bad for your baby.
 
my dad and I both engine braked on the car I learned stick on. it made it to 188K miles with no more engine service than filters, oil, plugs, and wires.. we sold it with the OEM clutch in it.
 
i do when theres no one right behind me. the last thing i want is for someone to be on a cell phone and not notice im slowing down
 
engine braking doesn't slow you fast enough to cause be that risky... if it did, its their fault anyway.

also, never engine brake with 1st gear...
 
Wagonbacker9 said:
you downshift but do not engine brake? I'm confused.
Click to expand...

like when turning on a tight corner i'll slow down using the brakes then i'll down shift to a lower gear most often 2nd gear stuff like that

or if there is a bump on the road where i'll have to slow down. Again brake then down shift to the right gear to accelerate from. Capish lol
 
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I revmatch and downshift EVERY TIME! Even getting off the highway, revmatch every downshift down to 2nd then just brake to a stop.
 
brake pads cost much less than a new clutch/transmission, I downshift every once in awhile just for the fun of it.
 
I never downshift, I'd rather replace brakes.

I need to learn how to properly do it though if I'm going really fast, and need to stop really fast cause brakes alone don't do the trick.
 
I don't understand why you wouldn't downshift when approaching a red light from a distance or coming to any stop when you have time to prepare. My dads old mustang gt didn't need new brake pads until like 90k miles because we always downshifted and hardly ever used the brakes unless it was necessary. If you do it correctly it will also always leave you in a good rpm range to floor it once the light turns green, then you can fly by all the idiots who sped up to the red light and slammed on their brakes.
 
you guys realy think you're wearing out the tranny by down shifting to a stop...?
 
bazooka joe said:
you guys realy think you're wearing out the tranny by down shifting to a stop...?
Click to expand...

I think maybe they are talking about the motor and tranny combo. This is my 5 standard car in 35 years of driving and this one has 40000 miles since last May. I have never had to install a clutch in any car I have owned and some have had 150 thousand plus miles. Downshifting and using the engine instead of brakes will infact put more stress on the internals. Its not like they are going to blow up or anything but they are working harder then a car costing to a stop.
If it dosnt matter why dont they make automatics downshift as you come to a stop?

But understand one thing > I dont really care what you do with your car so if you want to drive it like an indy car be my guest.
 
I've done it on every vehicle I have owned. The only clutch that has been replaced was on the last Miata I drove. That car got stuck when the slave cylinder went out. My ignorant father decided his friend would rather tow it and replace the clutch for $500 than rebuild the slave for $15.
 
well, i've downshifted a "long, long" time with many different cars and trucks...never had a problem or premature wear...i don't drive like an indy car driver either(dunno)
 
My MS3 is the 8th manual trans car I've owned in 25 years of driving, properly rev-matching downshifts, and I've never had an issue with premature tranny or clutch wear. I can't imagine having a manual trans and not using it that way.

Today's electronically-controlled automatics downshift as you slow down, for sure. My wife's Saab 9-3 certainly does.
 
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