Downshifting with AutoStick. Does it hurt?!

[CanadaCraig]

Hi Guys!!

Most cars that I have owned have had a manual transmission. And I don't recall ever really gave it a second thought when it came to downshifting. As long as I knew I wasn't going to cause the engine to crowd the redline - I figured everything was A-OK.

But for some reason - I hesitate [in my mind] when it comes to downshifting via the AutoStick because I can't get it out of my head that I'm 'hurting it' somehow. Hurting what - you ask?! Well... the transmission. Am I being silly?! [Or perhaps even just STUPID?!] I'm not sure WHY I feel this way - but I do.

CAN you [or should I ask - DO YOU] treat the AutoStick just like you would a manual transmission?! [So to speak]

ALSO [and in keeping with this topic] in a car with a manual transmission - I would often just leave the transmission in 2nd or 3rd gear even if the engine was revving around 4,500 RPM or so. [Like one might do if they were waiting for a chance to enter a freeway] But - here again - I won't do that with the AutoStick.

Am I the only one who can't get it into his head that it's perfectly safe to AutoStick your way through the gears and that it's NOT 'hurting' anything?! [That IS true - isn't it?!]

Can anyone relate to this?! lol

Thanks,
Craig!!

[GoofyTimL]

Well, with and SRT8 you don't have to worry about Autostick disabling MDS!

Personally I don't think it hurts anything as long as you don't threaten the redline! With the SRT8 you also should have the tranny action that takes you to the appropriate lower gear on the first bump. In my case that's true for the Heritage Edition, but not the '05 regular 300C.

If I had a manual I would drop gears coming to a stop, but I don't do that with the automatic... probably mostly because it's easier since I don't have to engage a clutch pedal with the other foot. On a manual it's easier to "pump" the clutch and shift gears vs. holding the clutch in for a long time whilst stopping.

I do use AutoStick to downshift in steep downhill and curvy situations simply to avoid the automatic's response if I reduce acceleration and the tranny's shift algorithm wants to upshift, etc.

[NautcaSprt6]

Well I hope it dont hurt the tranny cause I use auto stick all the time and down shift practically all the time.
I love down shifting and then my exhaust sets of car alarms

[Trojan]

I drive mine like a stick, save's my brakes to. Nothing like slapping her down a gear and punching it. Or diving into a corner and downshifting. She's built for this.

[srt8danno]

There should be no harm done to the tranny in the least…..unless you want to red line it all the time. I’ve played around with the autostick for downshifting and it works like a charm. If I’m at a light I may play with the upshifts, but if I’m next to someone who wants to have a little fun I don’t use the autostick. I don’t want to run the risk of a miss-shift and hit the rev limiter. The best thing I would say is go out and play with it –you won’t break it.

[GoldNnasty]

It also helps back off those tailgaters

It probably does take off life expectancy of the tranny. You have to pay the piper one way or another.

It sure gets the peoples attention coming up to a stop with the engine reved up!

IMO -- You paided for it, drive it your way

[kevenj]

Originally Posted by GoldNnasty

It probably does take off life expectancy of the tranny. You have to pay the piper one way or another.

There is nothing detrimental about using autostick; why / how would shifting manually have any bearing on the life of the transmission? C'mon guys think this through! If you over rev the engine by not shifting soon enough there could theoretically be a detrimental effect on the ENGINE (but there's a rev limiter to protect that) but not the transmission. Only difference is you are telling the computer when to shift the transmission when you are in autostick, rather than letting the computer decide when to shift. The transmission does not have some magic "manual" mode, the only difference is in the contol... driver telling the computer vs. full computer control.

I've ALWAYS shifted my automatics manually, but this is the first one I ever had that specifically provided for this; on all my others you just had to click through "1", "2","D", and "OD".

[4u2nv]

I too always use my autostick. Ever since I got my exhaust that is. I love the sound of it. I usually shift at a little higher RPM's then being in auto and I down shift a lot. The rumble is just impressive to me. I very seriously doubt it is causing any harm. I never even come close to the red line. The perfect sound from my exhaust is at about 3K RPM's I think.

[JGarten]

Downshifting frequently also trains the transmission to seek lower gears sooner on deceleration vs. coasting in a higher gear. IMHO this has two benefits: your always closer to the optimal gear for puttin' the hammer down and it helps hold your speed on downslopes (very similar to what it does while cruise control is operating when it overspeeds the setting when coasting).

[joey]

If you like using the shifter, you should consider getting the Superchips Flashpaq. Flashpaq allows you to take more control of the shifts with the shifter.