Downshifting to slow down?

correct..

 

Not gonna hurt anything as long as you don't over rev the engine. I use engine braking on my motorcycle all the time!

 

actually i read somewhere that the transmission isnt meant to stay in neutral while moving for long periods of time so itll wear....something...out. just what i heard

 

I just wouldnt do it. Breaks are much cheaper than any potential problems you could cause by downshifting all the time.

 

Downshifting from D to 2nd at 50 mph in an automatic will do nothing. The ECU won't let it do that!

 

i down shift when exiting the freeway! just thought i throw that in there

 

i dont do it on the highway, just around town. 45mph tops. it doesn't rev too much or anything, only a little

 

I think it's come down to splitting hairs at this point. We went from stress on the transmission to higher RPM equaling greater engine wear and shorter life. I'm not sure what the perception is here, but when I'm in a scenario where I downshift to decelerate I don't even hit 3k RPM. I accelerate like a grandma for fuel savings purposes, so I contend that based on your argument my downshifting is responsible for far less engine wear than someone who exceeds 2500 RPM while accelerating since my downshifting doesn't happen as frequently as I accelerate from a stop.

We'll find plenty of folks to argue both points. It's been my experience and observation that downshifting won't ruin your tranny or engine. My brakes last for a very long time and based on oil analysis of engine and transmission fluids my downshifting doesn't do a lick of damage either. Of course it's only been 140,000 miles...

 

now aren't you putting stress on the transmission from the shock of downshifting an auto? I always thought that that is the thing that would do damage to your transmission and hence why I never did it on any of my vehicles. Is there a difference between newer transmissions or torque converters and older ones? I know in my roommates car you definitely feel the downshift, it's not very smooth at all.
any mechanics have experience with this?

 

hey guys, please refer to this thread about the engine braking issue...lots of talk about it. i just experienced a couple of problems with engine braking.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/85637-2010-1-month-old-dclb-shot-transmission.html

 

I've heard that that is bad for it because the oil pump for the transmission is on the front meaning that if it's not spinning with the engine it's not getting oil.

 

Engine breaking is best for going down steep or really long downhill roads (mountain passes for example) and is also for safety. If you ride your brakes the entire way down, you'll cook em and could possibly loose your braking abilities all together while the vehicle is moving. This is why they have runaway truck ramps on the downhill roads coming out of mountain passes. The heavier the vehicle the more often you have to use engine braking. Using engine braking responsibly won't hurt the truck as it was also designed with this type of use in mind.

 

1st gens don't have the fuel cutoff during decel in gear, so it might benefit a 1st gen owner to downshift if the hill is particularly steep and/or long and if you have a load or trailer. As others have said, using engine braking will help ensure that the brakes are not overheated and will still work well if you have to stop suddenly going downhill.

On all but the steepest hills, my 2nd gen automatic will decelerate when I take my foot off the gas, presumably due to the fuel cutoff. On really steep hills, sometimes I will downshift *and* turn on the AC to put additional drag on the motor. This is extremely effective.

 

Never toss your automatic trans in neurtal, you will burn your transmission up. Manual is fine.

 

Are you talking about when at speed or anytime? Sometimes I will put my automatic in neutral when stopped at a long red light, maybe it would be better to just shut off the engine? I know it must be in P or N to restart.

 

When moving. If you're stopped it shouldn't hurt anything but a member here warned me about putting it in neutral at a red light if somebody comes up behind you and doesn't stop throwing it into drive is one more thing you have to do to get out of the way of the driver that's not paying attention and in the heat of the moment you may not think of it.

 

I shift down to 2nd on long steep hills. Saves breaks. The auto shifts down nice and smooth no problem. I don't think it's going to hurt the tranny because it is just an occasional thing. If I was downshifting to slow down all the time I would be more concerned about wear.

I haven't had the need to use taking it out of OD to downshift much. Maybe once or twice. Same thing here, not worried about wear on the tranny since it's just done occasionally.

 

Good info for 2nd. gens but not for 1st.

 

I take my truck out of overdrive on some hills that I know my transmission will be hunting for gears (you know switching from 3ed to 4th and back to 3ed) that is what overdrive is for. If you are that concerned about saving your breaks, go buy some at auto zone (they have a lifetime replacement warranty on all of their breaks as long as you don't wear the breaks to the metal. Just get the duralast gold (ceramic) The stopping power is far greater than stock and you will not get any break dust on your clean wheels.

If you have an auto just dont take it out of drive while moving, your transmission will burn up. Parts are still moving in there and the oil is not. Over time it will be $$$$. And the reason you bought a Toyota is not to incur repair costs. Just drive is and make sensible mods.

 

here are the responses ive been looking for. now that i know how to change my own pads and rotors, im not really worried so ill only throw it out of overdrive when passing cops a tad too fast