Shifting Question

[perrero69]

Okay last week my dad rode wit me in my cb7. I was going down a hill and i wuz goin to stop and i did it in neutral..... HE F**ing flipped out. hes all like "you want to beak your car dis and dat" so is it true? can u mess up ur transmision if you stop on neutral? or i always have to stop on 1st. sum 1 say sum thing

[accordoholic]

No if it is in neutral your car will just keep rolling.

[Ralphie]

na thats how i learned...the dude who showed me said instead of downshifting and all that when u go to stop just throw it in n and come to a stop and then pop it back in first. I mean the right way to do it might be to downshift ya know but ive always done that but i tend to mix it up. depends on whats im doing.

[The G-Man]

You will not mess anything up. The only real reason to downshift is so you can save your brakes. I also do not know about you guys, but when downshifting I never go back into second when stopping, it is just too low. Only time I do back into it is when making turns.

[cats_on_ice]

So i'm gonna assume you have a 5spd, that being said, I'm afraid your dad is baked...or something. Coasting in neutral does nothing except make the brakes do all of the stopping.

leaving it in 2nd or whatever as you stop will help you slow down and make it so the brakes don't have to work quite so hard, but that's it.

I'm 17, and my dad doesn't like it when i coast in neutral because "I'm not in control of the car as much." I say is that it's waaay easier to replace the brake pads than the transmision. I'll leave aggressive down shifting to race/rice drivers, people who like fixing their cars, and semi-trailers.

$0.02

*DISCLAIMER*This post was written by a cat, ad therefore should not be read by anyone*

[NAiL05]

When i had my auto I always threw it in neutral at those long lights. Plus you dont have to step on the brakes as often then when light turned green popped it back in. It doesnt harm anything...Downshifting would harm it a lot more. Your dads just trippin.

[The G-Man]

I think he has a 5 speed. Anyways makes me glad to drive a manual, because if it is flat enough at lights I can just let off the brakes and not go anywhere.

[NAiL05]

I think he has a 5 speed. Anyways makes me glad to drive a manual, because if it is flat enough at lights I can just let of the brakes and not go anywhere.

Yep that is true also Plus gets 10x better gas mileage than the auto

[Ralphie]

i want a manual

and na i dont ever put it in n with mine unless i rev on someone or ya long lights but not to stop.

[crazyvtec93h22]

you put less stress on your tranny when you put it in neutral instead of down shifting

[Thomas_LX]

Another benefit of not downshifting is the life of the clutch. I had my 86 Accord for like 8 months and downshifted all the time, but I chewed thorugh the cluth like termitres through wood. When downshifting solely to slow down you have to bring the clutch up to the same RPM as the wheels (not technically but work with me here) so there is obviously friction which results in loss of clutch longevity.

When I took my car in to the transmission shop the guy just about laughed at me when I told him I downshift... his exact words were "We love people who downshift..."

[Ghostyman]

Downshifting =

As has been stated ad nauseum, shift to neutral when you're coming to a stop.

Brake pads are cheap.

[d2privat11]

When I took my car in to the transmission shop the guy just about laughed at me when I told him I downshift... his exact words were "We love people who downshift..."

ahahahahah, man that is a great line to tell people.

[FishyMan]

I've heard diff't things. Downshifting doesn't really do anything bad right if your doing it correctly?

I mean if your jittering and about to stop, of course through it into N and just hold the brakes. But I heard 2 fold about this. 1) downshifting = bad 2) the opposite, it's not bad

I"m wierd, I shift it to a higher gear as it coasts (off gass), say 3rd to 5th then back to 2nd when RPMS low enough (usually a few seconds or b4 it shakes lol) then N. But other tiems I just let it jitter (in whatever gear) then DS into 2nd or 3rd (a few secs) then N.

I can see it being really bad if ur at 40 ish and in 4th and as you brake, u instantly down it to 2nd or something? Doesn't RPM shoot up, sometimes even peeling?

I"m a NOOB> sometimes i feel the SURGE when I DS, perhaps I did it at the wrong speed.

Maybe someone can enlighten.

[92DX]

Down shifting isn't always bad in all situations. For example, say if your going on an off ramp or making a turn, just rev match the downshift(heel and toe) this way you dont shock your clutch and be able to accelerate out of it faster.