Down shifting

Hi Mike,

Let me make sure I have this right.

You are using your $300.00 (just a guess) transmission to save your $49.00 brakes. Is that just about it Mikey?

Of course it will. But hey, a transmission rebuild is only in the low thousands and a break job is just under $100 at worst so what the hell.

To preserve your brakes. Heh. Yet more proof that ANYONE posting from webtv is a moron.

You don't have to be nasty. I asked a simple question. Either answer it or butt out.

---MIKE---

Who are you talking to? See, one of the many problems with webtv'ers is that they can't figure out how to post to usenet.

IF you happen to be referring to me, I answered. Your question was simple in the sense that a simple minded person would ask it.

You're not driving a stick shift on hills. You're downshifting an automatic. It's moronic to even THINK that's the right thing to do.

I could be wrong here but I have never heard about downshifting being a bad thing. As long as you are not slamming it down at a high RPM and you shift down to the same gear you shifted up from, which means you should probably shift your way down to a stop. If you do not run 2nd gear at 40mph do not shift into second gear at 40mph, if you shift out of 2nd gear at 20mph it would be safe IMO to shift into it at that speed.

Little harsh don't you think?

I just took notice it was an automatic tranny, my bad! Don't downshift your auto tranny, there is no need for it.

Gary, yer a prick. It seems like Webtv has done something very very terrible to you in the past. Surely there are other ways for you to feel self worth than comparing your method of internet access to others that are clearly inferior. However, your command of our language makes for convincing prose. Your stunning argument against Webtv nearly had me until I saw that you can't grasp homophones.

Hey everyone, this guy can't spell!!

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But you'll notice that he knows for sure how to spell brakes, and I'll bet that he knows that detonation is not a normal condition in an internal combustion engine too bright bulb...

Yes, Detonation is a normal condition and it occurs every time you have ignition, you really need to get over that!

I am not going to wade into the pool of right or wrong. But growing up in a family where my father bought and sold cars for a living, I would never downshift an automatic tranmission as you do.

As another poster asked, you would use a $300 transmission to do the job of $49 brakes? The price of the brakes is about right, but my guess is that the transmission is closer to 1500 than 300, which just makes the practice that much more absurd.

If you were pulling a trailer down a steep grade that required constant application of the brakes to keep the speed under control, then it is reasonable to downshift. However, your Prism will never pull a trailer heavy enough to utilize this practice.

What you should be doing is letting off the gas earlier when the red lights or stop signs approach, and simply coast longer. This will save both the brakes and the transmission. It will also make your passengers more comfortable.

So what's the big deal? I don't see any problem with downshifting an automatic. What exactly will be harmed by doing so? Also, can someone help me. I can't find the @ sign on my remote. Thanks. jor

Jesus Christ Josh!...please tell me that there's not two of you bright bulbs on here who doesn't know the difference between detonation and combustion?...Do you really think that they named them 'Internal combustion' engines by accident?

What the hell is with you people and these two words? Here is what my trusty Websters unabridged has to say: Detonation n., 1. The act of detonating; to explode with sudden violence Combustion n., 1. 1. The act or process of burning 2. Rapid oxidation accompanied by heat and usu. light

Now, I only want one of those two things to happen inside my engine

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Of course!...most of us do too!... :)

...but it seems that we've got a couple of dim bulbs on here who don't know the difference despite kindly instructions...

If your A/T is an overdrive with a lockout button on the shifter it is generally OK to take it out of overdrive. The only time I use this is to control speed on downgrades to avoid speeding tickets. Ron

Qslim wrote: :: What the hell is with you people and these two words? Here is what :: my trusty Websters unabridged has to say: :: Detonation n., 1. The act of detonating; to explode with sudden :: violence Combustion n., 1. 1. The act or process of burning 2. Rapid :: oxidation accompanied by heat and usu. light :: :: Now, I only want one of those two things to happen inside my engine

So, what do you suppose happens when you suddenly spark a load of compressed air & gasoline?

Downshifting an automatic during normal street driving is pointless, you really don't take enough load off the brakes to make up for the slight extra wear on the automatic transmission bands and clutches.

If you want to do something useful during normal street driving, simply slip it into Neutral as you come to a stop, so the brakes aren't fighting against the transmission. Even then, I only do that when I think I hear a brake pad that's worn to nothing and scraping as I carefully limp it to a local mechanic to do the brakes.

(I can - and have - done brake work myself. But brakes have too high an "Oh Shit!" factor if you screw something up, it's far better to pay a little and let someone who does brake work every day deal with them.)

Where downshifting is a vital habit to get into is when you are going down long steep grades, especially when heavily loaded and/or towing a trailer. The basic rule is never go down a hill faster than you can go up it. Dropping out of Overdrive is enough for mild hills, steeper ones require you to brake to a safe speed to drop it another notch into Second gear, then get off the brakes and let the engine slow you down.

If you ride the brakes to scrub off speed down a long hill, you are wearing down and heating up the brakes which cuts their effectiveness

- and if you need to make a sudden stop at the bottom of the hill, there might not be enough brakes left to do the job before they heat-fade badly.

(You really need to abuse the brakes to get them that hot, but when you do get them hot enough to fade away it will take several minutes for them to cool and recover - and in a crunch that's time you DO NOT HAVE. You have to get stopped NOW. Better to never get yourself in that situation in the first place.)

To the naysayers out there arguing back and forth about the wear on the slushbox: Yes, downshifting wears on the transmission a little, and trans rebuilds are expensive so you don't want to do them any sooner than needed. But how expensive is a whole new truck if you get into a collision you couldn't stop in time to avoid?

Or more important, how expensive is a transmission compared to your life (and your passengers) if you can't make it around that last 25 MPH curve at the bottom of the hill, because you're doing 75 and out of control, with smoking and faded-away brakes?

They don't put "Runaway Truck Escape Ramps" at the bottom of the hill because Caltrans Workers like making Scenic Zen Gravel Gardens for tourists to look at, they do it because people screw up bigtime and run themselves out of brakes...

Jeez, look at the big picture, folks!!!

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Here are some hints. The place where that air and fuel mixture is compressed is called the combustion chamber. Different head shapes are used to control the flame front. Higher octane fuels are used to prevent detonation. See

Replacing brake pade - cheap and easy Replacing clutches - no cheap nor easy Replaing transmission synchronizer - no cheap and really not easy

IfF you are on a long downhill run downshifting is a good thing to keep from overheating your brakes. If you are tooling around town, save the clutch, don't downshift to to slow down.

Ed