I was recently driving with a relative in their Mustang (6) with an automatic transmission.
They were "shifting down" to decelerate for stop signs, curves, normal traffic etc. (Someone told them it saves the brakes)
Is this wise?
Is it necessary?
Save the brakes at the expense of the transmission? Sounds like a bad idea to me:) Of course if you have a 100K mile powertrain warranty, and you plan to sell the car at 90K.....
Al
right, brake pads are a lot cheaper than transmission bands, clutches, etc. Have also heard that engine braking is hard on piston rings and even valves.
If the manufacturer thought it was a good idea, they could easily program the transmission to downshift - and they don't.
MOPAR's downshift when going down hill with the cruise on if the car speeds up. Rented a Neon and I thought something was wrong with it:)
Al
Depends on the transmission. Mine is custom built and it will take a heck of a lot of abuse.
Let's say you're cruising down a lonnnng grade (anyone familiar with the trip from Truckee to Sacramento or the Grapevine down LA way?)... are you going to ride your brakes all the way? Or use your transmission to help control your speed? And if you'd use your tranny for that, how hard is it gonna be to slow for a stop sign? And what about winter for you drivers in the frozen north?
Spike wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Those problems don't exist for an old Powerglide. ;)
Man them is strong transmissions! My OT car has a Powerglide. I let a freind make a few passes, he accidently hit the trans brake at about 30' from the line. And the car just locked up! Imagine any transmission with almost 1000 HP going in the input and the car on the output, just locking up. Didn't hurt anything that showed up yet!
Al
9.02 @ 153 in a OT door carOn Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:32:39 -0400, "Bill & Gail"
No, it's not necessary. And no, it's not wise. Brakes are cheap and easy to replace. With normal use they'll last a long time.
The only time you should use engine braking is on a long down grade to control speed. On a long hill like that, brakes can overheat and fade.
-------- .boB
2006 FXDI hot rod 2008 Mustang Coupe 2001 Dodge Dakota QC 5.9/4x4/3.92 1965 FFR Cobra - 427W EFI, Damn Fast."Big Al" wrote in news:PKU5k.1183$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe06.phx:
Yup, and they're nice and simple, too. Lo and Hi. Bada-Bing, Bada- Boom.
guess we should have differentiated between occasional downshifts due to driving conditions vs downshifting at every stop.........and between different kinds of automatics. sure, I lock out overdrive on my GT 'Stang on twisties & downhill.......but don't use it regularly instead of brakes.
Al: interesting on the Neon. Last Chrysler I had was a '96 LHS and it didn't do that (but that was the "electronic" tranny they had so many problems with in '94 & '95, so maybe they didn't want to push their luck). I once had a '90 Chevette that downshifted frequently: like trying to get up a 1% grade. Then it stopped shifting at all (damn German tranny - cost a fortune to fix).
Powerglide? Never owned one, but assumed they were strong considering some of the applications over the years. Packard Ultramatic was often compared to Powerglide, i.e. 2 speed w/torque converter........don't think you'd want to downshift one of those too often!
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