Downshifting AT
 

So I just purchased an AT FRS last friday and i really enjoy the car. and with the paddle shifters ive started to downshift as well as use the brakes when i come to stops and i was wondering if that would put wear and tear on the transmission over time.

If you don't downshift, it will for you. So no ( at least not more than stock). It rev matches and that is the most important thing.

well of course it downshifts for you but i meant more than stock. as in using the engine to slow the car down as well as the brakes.

i'm curious why you think you need to do any of this

just use the brakes man, you're driving an automatic

I have an AT also. I down shift in manual mode sometimes. It's fun, it rev matches, and is unlike any other auto I have driven. I also drove my car very gently for the break in period.



Edit: If you feel that you are being harder on your car, you probably are.

It will be fine, especially with rev matching. Why else have the paddles? When you need engine braking, use it. :party0030:

awesome, thanks for the help :thumbup:

I downshift mines all the time even in "D"... There is absolutely no harm in doing so!

Just don't downshift all the way to 1st gear when you're traveling over 10-15 KM/H. I usually manually downshift to 2nd and that's as far as I will go.
The car will downshift to 1st automatically as you slow down while applying the brakes... (Safer that way for the transmission) :thumbsup:

:happy0180:

Higher RPMs will be more wear and tear on the whole drive train. The ECU will basically shifts down when RPMs fall to a point near where the engine would stall if nothing was done. If you're very aggressively down shifting all the time and causing the RPMs to spike to say 6000 then long term this is going to be more wear and tear on the whole drivetrain.

If your not going crazy with it then there should be little to no effect.

I personally love the feel and sound of a quick double tap of the paddle as I enter a turn. The RPMs jump giving me lots of torque to accelerate out of the turn.

Do you know if there is a quick way to go into neutral? I know that you can put the AT directly to neutral, but was wondering if there is a quick way to hold it there. When I am at a stop, on level ground, my manual tranny cars I have just put in neutral.

Why would you need to put it in neutral? The reason for neutral at a light is to allow the driver to not have to hold his/her foot on the clutch. An AT doesn't have a clutch.

I know that an AT does not have a clutch. I was wondering if any knew of a quicker way.

actually they have several clutches (clutch packs to be exact)

the paddle shifters actually protect against from a lot of dousche-bag aka reckless shifting duplication from owners.

just stick to driving how it was designed mang. :happy0180:

step the f up and get a MT then come back.

Not shifting to neutral heats up the transmission fluid and increases idle consumption. I always shift to neutral at stops in an auto.

Anyways to the OP's question, the transmission autoblips so there should be little to no wear on the transmission. Some automatics drag the rpms up with the clutch packs, but that doesn't apply here. Engine braking saves wear on your brake pads and as long as you don't go too high it won't hurt the engine at all ;) Besides all that nonsense, it's fun, so why not.

A lot of good info, Im glad I can still downshift without hurting the engine(:

and @gwascopter, stop being so condescending. We all have reasons for settling with the platforms we bought. And both are exceptional anyways, so just be respectful. Both transmissions have a certain purpose behind them. I dont believe MT is better than AT and vice versa.

I rather use my brakes than put unnecessary load on the transmission and engine. Brakes nowadays last a phenomenally long time.

It's not an unnecessary load at all; as long as you downshift properly within the revs... These engines are meant to be rev'ed... lol

You obviously never took a car to a track....

Regarding te OP, rev it like you want, the tiny amount of extra wear won't be noticed for many owners yet....

As a matter of fact, I have taken my car several times to the track/autox/drifting. I was answering his questions about daily driving habits of the AT. /golfclap

He can drive his car any way he pleases. Race it like a Pseudo-MT all you want I understand. I only stated my opinion about saving brake pads on a daily driven car which some feel is a precious commodity. The transmission and torque converter can certainly handle it but so can brake pads. Let the AT do it's job, it doesn't brake the bank to change the brake pads every 2-3 years daily driven.

Most driving instructors will actually tell you to use the brakes to slow the car down, then downshift to be in the appropriate gear to accelerate out of the turn.