mxt_77

^^^ /me wonders if you use the same approach w/ women.

rioyellows2k

Probably not the best Idea to make a mechanical issue any worse.

Kaiser

I hope it is to skip gears 'cause I do it ALL the time.

I used to always run the pattern up and down - but that just doesn't work for when you need to downshift 3 gears in a hurry on the freeway etc - and now I've just given it up altogether. Usually it is along the lines of 1-2-5 (like when I'm turning onto the 40mph road that I drive home on - I'll use 1 and 2 to get up to speed and then just drop it straight into 4 or 5 to cruise at 40-45mph.

Wildncrazy

When you downshift from 6 the tranny automatically "selects" 3rd gear if you don't force it in another direction so unless you are going from 6 to 1st at 50 I'd say skipping gears when downshifting shouldn't be a problem.

marcucci

The only negative to skipping gears is increased wear if you don't rev-match. This holds true for ANY gear change where revs are poorly matched.

Poorly matched gear changes I think are the biggest cause of Honda transmission problems as I've been able to correlate this in some of the fried Honda trannies I've had to work on.

Tx_Phantom

I've been wondering about this for quite some time and quite honestly, alot of the talk on here is just a little technical... Rev matching, syncros, sleeves, blah blah blah...

Can someone speel this out in plain English?

I mean if I am cruising at 35-40 MPH in 4th gear and I downshift in a normal non-abusive fashin into 2nd to slow down, is that going to cause any damage?

Doug0716

A very good technical breakdown can be found on howstuffworks.com.

Rev matching: (double clutching)
Doing this isn't required on a vehicle that has syncros, as that's their job, however it does reduce the workload (and therefore wear and tear) on the synchros.

If the synchro on a specific gear goes bad then it may be hard (with extra grinding, as I found out is common in the ford ranger 5 speed transmissions) to get into that gear... or the transmission may block out that gear completely in some cases.

Hope this helps.
-Doug

Wildncrazy

Well, speeled out in plain English you need to match the revs of the engine to what it will be when you downshift and let out the clutch in the lower gear.

It doesn't have to be exact but the closer it is the easier it is for the gears to mesh and the less strain on the engine and transmission.

If you are cruising in 4th @62 mph and want to downshift into 2nd you can. You couldn't downshift into 1st at that speed because you'd probably blow then engine as that is a much higher speed than you can go in 1st gear. You will always be limited to the speed range that is normal for whatever gear you are selecting.

To downshift into 2nd gear @ 62 you would pretty well have to (blip) rev the engine to red line because that's how fast the engine would be turning if you were in 2nd gear @ 62.

You would depress the clutch, rev the engine and then let the clutch out (fast, but not really a pop) so that you minimize the engagement shock.

Now if you just engage the clutch without the blip of the throttle the car would jerk because the rear tires would break loose. The clutch might slip as well. You hope the tires and/or clutch slip because otherwise all that shock is transmitted directly to the engine and drive train which can break things.

Doug0716

Heh, oh yeah, mine was going with the "non-abusive" shifting as mentioned.. if you're going to be going to try to kill your car on the downshift then the synchros can't really handle that...

And ummm... why downshift to slow down... that's a job for the brakes :-P

CRDMS1

Stating the obvious here, but...brakes are wear components and FAR cheaper to replace than your transmission. Unless your brakes go out suddenly, I can't think of a situation where engine braking is preferable to using the brake pedal.

For every day driving, please use your brakes to slow down and your drive train to speed up. Your car will thank you by lasting longer without major issues