Downshifting = Hard on Tranny?
 

I dont consider my self hard on my tranny/driveline but i am a very aggressive driver on the road. I am always downshifting for corners/traffic lights. I match my revs while downshifting and i'm pretty good at it. my question is...

Is downshifting hard on the transmission? I was always curious.. Over the past two years i've owned my car i've noticed the tranny getting alittle louder.. meaning gear whine and syncro noise... is this caused from repeditive downshifting? or is it simple wear and tear?

Mind you guys, my tranny is pushing 215,000 miles and has never been rebuilt. thanks again ]

-Markus

"If only i could use my skills on the track...."

Well is you are MadD kUIk jO!!! then it is probably hurting it. But I am sure that normal downshifting is intended with any manual tranny.

Santiago

Tranny`s are ment to down shift. You`re being a lot less hard on your tranny then you would be on your breaks if you we`re to use them all the time. Auto trannies down shift themselves also. So you`re doing nothing wrong. When I downshift I try not to let it rev too much over 4.5K rpms.

I dont necessarily think that it is being hard on the tranny but my mentality is that brakes are easier and cheaper to fix than the tranny.

also when downshifting, dont you use more fuel becuase your keeping your revs so high? Thats another reason i can think of for not downshifting to brake.

another good point.

Actually, when the RPM's are going down, the rear rotor is basically not running (for fuel consumption reasons)
, ie no fuel going to that rotor (at least, on the 1st gen 13b that was so, I'm assuming same is true for 2nd gens)

1. Nothing wrong with downshifting. The transmission is meant to downshift. As long as your not hammering the gears and clutch, then things are fine.

2. Using the clutch to brake the car is kind of dumb. Alot easier to replace a set of brake pads then a clutch.

3. The ECU cuts fuel to the engine during decel, so fuel consumption should not be a concern.

4. Change the fluid in your transmission. If that doesn't get rid of the noise, it sounds like the bearings are starting to fail.

I always downshift when I'm braking to a stop. Except I match the revs at the same time, so I don't wear the flywheel (6puck) as much. I have gotten myself in a habit of heel-toeing everytime I have to come to a stop or take a slower turn ;)

After a while your synchro's will wear. But when? I don't know.

if you match the revs you are doing the synchros jobs for them.

Not true. Your TPS would tell the ECU no gas pedal movement. Gas mileage does not suffer from downshifting.
You can definitely make the trans last longer by not downshifting. But why not just enjoy your car.
To carry the analogy to the extreme:
"Driving causes wear, so don't drive your car"

Amen Vegas...

THanks guys, just checkin'

-Markus

"I think i'll keep downshiftin' lol"

hey guys, post whoring

-Victor

"Look's like somebody's copying another prominent member of the forum with a GTUs, cough"