Manually shifting your auto

haha yea, I stopped downshifting on the ranger because the auto selection was on the wheel and I almost threw it in reverse once. Somehow going into that turn I downshifted as much as I dared before and got down to about 45ish, the trailer still got up on one wheel but I made it through. Talk about sweat'n balls.

 

True, but how much damage are you doing by downshifting before it becomes necessary as opposed to riding your brakes for miles? I can usually downshift at the crest of the hill and there is virtually no pull on the drivetrain for another several hundred feet.

Some where in the ball park of 1.5 million miles on 13 different vehicles in the past 12 years, and I have yet to do anything to a transmission other than replace a clutch (Honda Accord at >200K and Subaru Legacy at >190K).

 

In Tennessee I used engine breaking (Downshifting) to control my decent from the mountain we were staying on. Now being back home my brakes are soft, this was with the compression breaking. I could see the hazzards of using only my breaks for the entire 10 days. Enough for me to miss a stop sign and cause thousands of $$ to fix mine and no telling how many other vehicles as the stop sign was on a busy street on the inside of a blind curve.

 

That would definitely have me pulling over for a breather afterwards. The closest I have come to that was losing a hitch ball at 75MPH driving through Pueblo, CO. My friend looked in the rear view mirror and said, "...is the trailer supposed to be beside us???"

Luckily the tow chains held, and I slowed it down with the bumper.

 

exactly.

 

Damn, that'd have me even more worked up than the trailer on one wheel. It's good you got it under control though, I always wondered how that'd work if it fell off the ball....

It was pretty funny though, my buddy fell asleep before that, and the whole truck jerked back and forth when the trailer came back down on one wheel and woke him up. He was was like "what the F#$# was that?" haha good times.

 

i manually shift all the time but don't have the need to use it for engine breaking here in ohio. now tennessee is a different story. i will use engine braking but only for a short time to keep the brakes from overheating.

 

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I downshift on one hill I drive down often, just because it pops me right at the speed limit, and it's a huge speed trap in town. I was wondering about upshifting too, if I can train the ecu to rev higher before shifting thatd make me happy.

 

I did this after about 1200mi on the truck through about 3500.. it definitely seemed to train it to my more aggressive driving style and shift later. I still do it occasionally, but it's learned me so well that I dont' really need to

 

I guess one thing I should point out - you should never use your transmission to slow you down instead of using your brakes. If anything, they should work in unison. Toyota designed the 5 speed automatic transmission in the 05+ Tacomas to downshift if that is the learned scenario under braking conditions. My truck downshifts on its own now when I go down particular hills.

I rarely use downshifting to hold a gear longer than usual, and I don't recommend it. I usually end up doing it because some one is doing 45 MPH in the fast lane (that does not justify road rage).

 

There's one hill on a winding road I travel once in awhile where I will usually drop down into 3rd to save from riding the brakes the whole time. That's the only time I do this.

 

Yea, my truck automatically downshifts too. I drive down a hill every day on my way home from work. I coast till I hit 45MPH (35MPH zone) then hit the brakes for a few seconds and then my tranny downshifts for me.

 

I live at 8200' in Colorado's Rocky Mountains and drive down to Boulder (elevation 5400') several times a week. Dropping 2800' through 17 miles of curvy narrow canyon roads is not possible without shifting your auto from "D" into 4th and 3rd to slow the truck down. I've seen plenty of vehicles burn up their brakes and hit the canyon wall, or an oncoming vehicle, or ditch it in the creek. Never had a problem with any of my vehicles' transmissions. When I asked my mechanic this very question, he said "That's what the ability to shift into manual gears is for."

 

Sounds like you live in Nederland. I used to live there.

 

Yep in Ned. 007Tacoma, then you know first hand that the Canyon is no place to sit on your brakes. Use the gears and let the engine do the work. It can handle it no problem.

 

Especially at the narrows just before Boulder Falls (heading into Boulder)... I have seen boulders the size of my truck fall into the road, and that is not when you want your brakes to fail you.

 

You should check out my gallery - I was up there last year, and I took pictures at 4th of July trail and the reservoir.

 

Bottom line..brakes you can fix yourself..trans cost a lot for repairs and its not something most people can do..give your tranny the care he or she needs and just use the brakes

 

still no proof that it does significant damage to your trans...

I would rather be alive (with working brakes) than save money.

 

That's exactly where people get into trouble. Last week the canyon was closed for 8+ hours after a dump truck loaded with asphalt rode the brakes until they burned up. Result - No more dump truck, no more driver, no more brakes.

My reply to those who say use the brakes - "they're cheaper to replace".

Brakes weren't designed to be in continuous use to slow down a vehicle. They can't handle that kind of heat. The gears of your engine can handle hills better than brakes and give you more control of you vehicle at the same time.