How do you downshift?

[sigp220.45]

My Dad taught me to drive in a stick shift 1973 3/4 ton 4x4 single-cab Chevy pickup. I’ve since then owned a number of manual transmission vehicles, mostly trucks and Jeeps, but also a 1989 Fox body 5.0 Mustang. My daily driver now is a manual transmission Explorer.

My two boys learned on a stick shift and drive manual transmissions. (My pink-haired leftist daughter hates to drive anything, but I love her dearly anyway.).

Recently I was driving my son’s 5.0 Mustang and he was visibly uncomfortable with my downshifting.

So here’s the question: Long straight level road, you’re in top gear, you need to stop 1/4 mile ahead, other traffic isn’t a factor. Do you go down through all the gears, using the engine to slow you, do you put in the clutch and hold it in, do you put it in neutral and let the clutch out, or is there some other way?

I downshift through the gears, but I’m willing to change my ways. The boys put in the clutch and “rev match” if they don’t need to come to a complete stop.

100% of my minimal car knowledge comes from listening to “Car Talk”. They advise putting the car in neutral and slowing down on the premise of you’re either gonna wear out the brakes or the clutch, and brakes are cheaper.

What do you do?

 

[Tom S.]

Brakes are also easier to replace but done properly, clutch wear from down shifting shouldn't be excessive. In dire situations, I did both.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Some learn to single, some learn the "Double cluch" and yes the gas pedal can also help in "Power shifts".

A lot of is rythem or timing and if we got it right............

a old Willey's jeep going down a gravel road at 40 mph can almost stand on it's nose if you drop down two gears and let the compression and gears slow it down BIG time.

Just don't do it a lot of times.......................

 

[bigwheelzip]

Down through the gears, on manual and auto trans, on cars and motorcycles.


Sent from my motorola one 5G using Tapatalk

 

[Rustyt1953]

On my "throaty" muscle cars I would down shift just to hear them talk back.

On my imported economy models I would pop it into neutral and let the brakes brake.

 

[WuzzFuzz]

Listen to the way the big rigs did it when they did have manual shift transmissions...one gear at a time....

Before sync transmissions, then it was double clutch..

WuzzFuzz

 

[Justin T]

I’ll downshift if i’m close to the change point on the tach/speedo, but i’m not really an aggressive downshifter.

I learned on a three-speed column shifter, and the shift points were all pretty close together anyway, so it wasn’t really much of a thing for me.

 

[GypsmJim]

If its all the way ahead by 1/4 mile, take your foot off the gas and then let the car slow down by itself. When near, push in the clutch and use the brakes.

Downshifting is needed for massively heavy trucks, or kids with hotrods wanting to get attention.

On one of my main roads used buy local truckers there are many signs that say downshift braking is illegal. (the neighbors complain about the noise). The cops are diligent on that street.

 

[Truckman]

With all my previous manuals I used every gear, up or down...My present ride, a 2009 Dodge/Cummins 3500 C/C, was only available with the Aisin 6-speed auto, so I let it do its thing...I do leave the exhaust brake on all the time, so my brake life is still good...175,000 miles on the original brakes and they still look good at every inspection......Ben

 

[Ματθιας]

What kind of speed are we talking about? Top gear means different speeds for different cars.

I'm lazy driver when it comes to manuals. I'd take it out of gear and brake.

 

[Rustyt1953]

There are quite a few of these dotted across the Tri-State.

 

[yugolovr]

I would downshift to slow down. It’s the way my dad taught me, and with my last truck the clutch was cheaper to replace than the brakes. I think on my truck I made it around 150,000 miles before I put a new clutch in it. It wasn’t bad but the slave cylinder was. So I went ahead and replaced it.

 

[robvious]

learned on a 65 GMC with a 3 on the tree... you learn the vehicle and it becomes second nature to go up & down... in modern vehicles with computer control you will never be able to out guess the vehicle's computer... so I go thru the gears in my 67 Mustang.. and don't bother (most of the time) in my 2013 Mustang

 

[llowry61]

Combination of downshift and breaking depending on if I was coming to a complete stop or not. If a complete stop maybe down a gear, then neutral and brake. I never really thought about it when driving a stick, it was just second nature. My last stick shift was a 96 S-10 which I put 180k on before the timing chain snapped at highway speed in 2005. I have had automatics since.

 

[Onomea]

Been a long time since I drove a manual transmission, though I learned on them.

Re "rev matching" while slowing down, does this mean the boys hit the accelerator whenever they down shift to keep the RPMs up at where they were at time of downshift? I guess that would make sense if you were trying to maintain a high torque capability, say, going through a curve when you're having fun on a twisty road, but I don't get the point in the scenario you describe.

But, I also don't get the point in the scenario you describe of downshifting prematurely so that the RPMs jump way up there. With a quarter mile to go, inertial, the cars natural slowing down, can do most of the work, with the downshifts helping the brakes, or vice versa, as seems appropriate.

My cars have all been auto trans for decades. I will switch to manual for a long down grade, but never for enhancing performance or driving experience.

But I am not much of a car guy, either.

 

[ladder13]

Downshift a 1/4 mile away here and you get rear ended.

 

[Nevada Ed]

By the time I was 30, I was mellowing out and taking it a lot easier on my cars
plus with kids in the car you had to stop doing crazy things, so the little wife
would not get up tight.

However there were times when I would meet friends or other drivers and............

the gas pedal would hit the metal and stay there as I went up through the gears
and hopefully have a smile all over my face, in a short time.

Nevada highways and back farm roads are a young drivers dream, for a little fun, if you were raised on the ranch or farm and had chores when you got home from school.

We just had to make sure we did not do anything to make mom or dad mad or at best, just miss a meal or something.

 

[Absalom]

Downshift a 1/4 mile away here and you get rear ended.

I learned in Europe; same issue. You got to race up to the stop and then slam! No time for fancy shift work, it's over too fast.

Having spent the last four decades in semi-rural America, the first three in stick-shifters, I learned to appreciate the joy of leisurely driving and usually, when anticipating a stop from highway speed, let the engine slow the car, shifting into an intermediate gear like 3rd to assist if necessary, like on a downslope.

 

[ZGrand]

In my 5-speed manual '06 Mustang GT, if I'm cruising along in 5th gear and approach a stop, I'll let it coast down to about 35 MPH or so in 5th. I'll downshift to 3rd and let it coast down to 20 or so. Then I'll clutch it into neutral and come to a stop clutch out.

 

[Jessie]

With the condition you stated, flat and a quarter mile to stop, I’ll clutch go into neutral and give my leg a rest. If I need to slow down more without braking, I’ll just clutch again, put it in the appropriate gear and let the engine slow it down.
But normally it’s neutral and brake to a stop.