I have read a bunch of things about our gears or synchro's going bad but one thing that sparked my interest was one person stating that he/she always downshift to lower speed (like when exiting the off ramp) like it was the correct thing to do.

I downshift and stay in appropriate gear to take curves but just let my car coast most of the time when exiting the offramp (and then shift into the appropriate gear if needed) and coming to a light with no one in front of me. Would downshifting at times like this just create excess wear and tear on my engine/drivetrain?

 

You're car wears out more under acceleration and cold startup than it does exiting an offramp. Staying in gear is safer is case a runaway elderly driver is headed straight for you; every second counts when getting out of the way. If you are smooth and can revmatch (NOT double clutching - there is no need to "double clutch" with today's machinery) then you can make the transitions a lot smoother and less prone to wear. Normally, I just let my car slow down in fifth until RPMs get low enough that I need to put it in a lower gear to accelerate again.

 

I wouldn't necessarily use the word 'excess', but the wear and tear is certainly greater over the long haul than if you use the brakes alone.

 

brake pads are cheaper to replace than syncros but like Evotexas said - I always leave it in gear coming off the highway but coast.

 

I let the rev's coast down too, just wondering if letting it be completely in neutral was any worse. I guess it's not that big of a deal, with the exception of the runaway grandpa.

 

being in neutral just makes it take longer to slow down and therefore makes you use the brakes harder.

 

i usually only downshift in a race situation in any car. Otherwise i pull the car out of gear and use the brakes to slow myself down... If i'm at around 3000rpms give or take i'll usually coast in gear untill i feel i can effective stop without laying on the brakes, then pull it out of gear or if the revs get too low...

 

being in neutral at anytime (while in motion )is very dangerous,you have to brake much harder,and its not good for engine(just like you wouldnt run 14 miles and then suddenly stop and sit down),and your totally vulnerable to losing traction as well as a greatly decreased reaction time
its just a big a moving mass of metal w/ no power to the wheels,plus this is a race car and thats just not right to drive it like a hyundai

 

Like Monkey and Jackie Stewart said,

Brake pads are cheaper to replace than transmissions.

 

This is the best answer. Downshifting is only done to really slow down a car on a hill to help the brakes. It does cause more wear on the clutch and a shock to the drivetrain. Ask yourself this, when you downshift, what happens to the revs? It goes up quick big time due to the lower gear ratio.

 

You should rev match if you want to downshift and save the syncro/clutch.

 

u should rev match whenever downshifting PERIOD... if your not already doing that then stop downshifting and use your brakes and wear those out.

 

learn heel/toe. downshifts are fine, just dont do anything stupid like drop it into second going 60

 

I agree completly I can't even remember the last time i downshifted without rev matching or heel-toe, it just becomes habit and is so much better for the life of the car

 

Thanks for all the replies. I guess every one has their own theories, all good of course.

Good point. I was just referring to when there is nobody around.