just cuz the revs are high doesn't mean ur burning a ton of gas. down shift and get it up around 5-6k RPMs and look at the gas mileage meter. it says 60+

 

I have a Journey and it feels better to have more control with the manual mode.

 

downshifting with the paddles and/or shifter in DS was designed into the transmission. paddles come with the sport for track-type driving. will the trans hold if you do it all the time, that would depend on how it was engineered and build. but, i will say that they 'designed' it to be driven that way, that's why it rev matches and is setup for it.

I use the paddles a lot when slowing down for a turn, keeps you in a higher gear and you accelerate more out of the turn.... my little way of brightening my day.... i could see it being harder on the clutches, but if it doesn't hold because of that, hello warranty.

 

My transmission just failed. Car is going to be in the dealer for the next two weeks. The good news is that I will be out of the country while the car is in the shop getting a new tranny.

 

I forgot to ask but is it fairly easy to break these new transmissions?

 

what failed? how many miles? how did you drive?

 

Are you for real for realz?........

 

There is really not much advantage to engine braking on an automatic like there is on a manual. And because we have rev matching, it almost seems pointless because the car will be expecting you to accelerate on downshift. Just slam on the brakes!

 

Brakes are a lot cheaper to replace than the tranny.

 

I do this on a daily basis , and I do it so to not press on the break (I hate stepping on the break)..Plus it does cope well with the rev matching not like my mom's BMW 325 which downshifts and up shifts like a mule. Plus its probably because I've gotten used to downshifting in my older manual cars so I like the control

 

I do it occasionally no biggie.

and for the person who said Big Rig's do it is absolutely correct. called the Jake brake. used engine braking and adds backpressure to the exhaust to help slow the truck down faster. most city ordinances don't allow it because it is in fact quite loud

 

I just made it over 31 K miles. I drive pretty aggressive most of the time. During spirited driving I use the paddles. I also use them for breaking and getting to the higher rpm range while in corners. I have occassionally drifted out of some corners while using the paddles. The transmission failed and the dealership first thought it was a sensor. It starts as soon as you start getting the Slip, VDC, and SES lights on. I know for a fact that the torque converter shouldn't be banging into gears. Up or Down for that matter. That has significant damage to the tranny. When the Service tech went with me for the test drive, he witnessed the engine rev all the way past 8k RPMs before he told me to take my foot off the gas. He said that the engine could've blown up. I already knew that but he needed to witness the **** that I have been going through. I bought the sport model for the simple fact that I thought that It would handle what I could give to it better than a journey or an AWD. What gives?

 

Of Course, DIY Brake job for the fronts and rears is a little over four hundred dollars. That includes changing the rotors also. The Transmission is going to cost around seven thousand dollars after all is said and done. The tranny will be covered under warranty.

 

Just because semi-trucks use the technique known as jake braking doesn't mean it's going to be as effective on a car. Our car can stop from 60-0 in 110 feet...this is the ideal way to slow down, plus it is safer for cars behind you if you press the brake pedal since it shows them you're slowing down.

I know you're thinking, "I can tell whether a car is slowing down even if they don't have brake lights that flash"...however, not everyone is a great driver and I believe most of the enthusiasts on this forum are above-average drivers...which I can't say for most of the people on the road.

Downshifting is awesome and fun, but I don't think racecar drivers use downshifting as a means for "braking faster"...they use it to take turns at the optimum RPM's so they can punch it out of the apex...they don't say to themselves, "Hairpin turn coming up, I better downshift to slow down!"

 

I guarantee that the gas you waste over the 50k miles of doing this will cost more than the extra 5k miles you'd get out of your brake pads.

Will it "hurt" the motor/tranny? Not really.

Will it cause more wear on your motor/tranny? sure.

Will it waste gas? Definitely .

Is it fun? Sometimes.