How many of you with the 6 speed auto down shift to most stops?

[geep81]

3rd is usually what I shift into and then brakes the rest of the way. Sometimes 2nd when feeling aggressive & thinking the light might change soon, but only like 10mph difference, not 20mph like you're saying you do - that's only when I'm beating on it.

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[CobaltFilly]

3rd is usually what I shift into and then brakes the rest of the way. Sometimes 2nd when feeling aggressive & thinking the light might change soon, but only like 10mph difference, not 20mph like you're saying you do - that's only when I'm beating on it.

Same here. Enough to be loud, but not enough to be agressive on the vehicle's sensitive parts. And never into first.

 

[Dory]

The auto does not have rev matching. You can feel the drag of the clutch packs when they close, especially at lower gears.

And rev matching does not compensate for the wear of the syncros in a manual car. It's there because it makes the learning curve for a lot of folks less steep.

I believe that is incorrect.

See here: Article

 

[TonyT930]

Ahhhhh... auto boyz tryna be manual men.

And the autos are quicker than u can shift

 

[geep81]

And the autos are quicker than u can shift

Holy crap did you really just come out of nowhere to start a fight about auto vs manual?

Did someone recently make fun of your automatic Mustang and you came here to take it out on us?

Get out of here you joker, nobody cares that autos shift faster.

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

Holy crap did you really just come out of nowhere to start a fight about auto vs manual?

Did someone recently make fun of your automatic Mustang and you came here to take it out on us?

Get out of here you joker, nobody cares that autos shift faster.

I mean, yeah, someone did literally make fun of autos in the post he was quoting lol.

 

[CobaltFilly]

Holy crap did you really just come out of nowhere to start a fight about auto vs manual?

Did someone recently make fun of your automatic Mustang and you came here to take it out on us?

Get out of here you joker, nobody cares that autos shift faster.

I drive automatics only now because dailying in a city BUT #savethemanuals because nothing beats the feel of a manual drive.

 

[TonyT930]

Holy crap did you really just come out of nowhere to start a fight about auto vs manual?

Did someone recently make fun of your automatic Mustang and you came here to take it out on us?

Get out of here you joker, nobody cares that autos shift faster.

No, actually it was the comment before mine. Address that. And F off

 

[Garfy]

I have aftermarket louder exhaust and I always pull the shifter to S and usually apply the paddles to downshift more aggressively than the default. I usually pull to 2nd gear once I’m below 45 and carefully brake and then pull to 1st after 25 mph in town approaching a red light to get all the snaps and crackles. I have never heard anyone else to this in any kind of vehicle, but I enjoy doing it. On the highway I barely use the brakes at all for red lights and just go down through the gears to make noise lol.

My GT has the A10 trans but I rarely downshift with it because for some reason, Ford programmed it with a sort of "rev matching" routine where I can downshift with the paddles from 10th to 7th or lower and it won't begin to decel for a few seconds until the engine's rpms are lowered. Unlike my Honda which immediately goes to the lower gear with no engine revving, I do downshift on it regularly. Contrary to belief that it will wear the auto trans to downshift, we have to remember that the decel is provided by the fluid coupling of the torque converter. The wear to the clutches in the trans is very, very minimal since it immediately engages and clamps because the TC is the item that absorbs most of the impact of the engagement. I've downshifted all my automatics from back when I had a C4 in my '71 Mustang with no ill-effects. If it's done properly, there's no real harm in doing so from what I've observed as a 44+ year Master Tech.

 

[Qcman17]

My GT has the A10 trans but I rarely downshift with it because for some reason, Ford programmed it with a sort of "rev matching" routine where I can downshift with the paddles from 10th to 7th or lower and it won't begin to decel for a few seconds until the engine's rpms are lowered. Unlike my Honda which immediately goes to the lower gear with no engine revving, I do downshift on it regularly. Contrary to belief that it will wear the auto trans to downshift, we have to remember that the decel is provided by the fluid coupling of the torque converter. The wear to the clutches in the trans is very, very minimal since it immediately engages and clamps because the TC is the item that absorbs most of the impact of the engagement. I've downshifted all my automatics from back when I had a C4 in my '71 Mustang with no ill-effects. If it's done properly, there's no real harm in doing so from what I've observed as a 44+ year Master Tech.

Yup and if the A10 is in Sport or Sport+ and you are on it a bit and apply the brake the car will rev match and downshift so I can’t imagine Ford would program that in if it hurt the transmission.

 

[sk47]

Hello; I have to take comments form a 44+ year master tech seriously. I only have an automatic in my truck. Somewhere along the line I picked up what seemed sound advice with regard to using the auto trans in lower gears on a long grade with a load. In a nutshell that it is better (less expensive i suppose) to heat up the brakes rather than the transmission. Made sense in terms of heat stress. I do sometimes put my truck in a lower gear on a down grade. The place i get my firewood in on top of a ridge. With a load I will keep it in 1st and use the brakes to keep the speed low. The grade is steep but not too long, about a half mile or so. So far, the brakes have held and the trans+engine do not take much load. I do miss a manual in a half ton pickup.


The trans in my truck is a lock up type. I do not know if it remains "locked up" during deceleration. If it does stay locked such would negate the idea that the TC absorbs the loads. I do know the trans has to lock and unlock in regular operation.

I guess for me it is what i consider extreme speeds of shifting down into 2nd and 1st which are the potential problems. I do not argue that the paddle shifters cannot be used to down shift, So i guess it boils down what we are comfortable doing.

 

[Paul McWhiskey]

The key phrase in what Garfy said is “If it’s done properly”. I would posit that what he means is that if no spinal injury occurs, the driveshaft and u-joints remain in place, the differential does not assume the role of a 1000 piece puzzle, and the axles or shafts do not become paint by number barber poles, and the rear of the car stays behind the front.

Other than the ridiculous down shift into 1st, downshifting “when done properly” is beneficial to the vehicle and the driver. I have driven manuals in all of my personal vehicles, autos in my wife’s cars, both in friends and professionally for a living, and never had an auto or a manual grenade.

It is a personal preference. Myself, I prefer to liken myself to Clyde Barrow, Dale Earnhardt, and Micheal Shoemacher. And we all know what they drove. Lol

Drive what makes you smile. You are not the fastest in every class or type of competition so it may help a bit to just accept yourself as you are and find satisfaction there.

 

[geep81]

No, actually it was the comment before mine. Address that. And F off

Fault of the website, people on ignore don't show up at all so you looked like you were talking to nobody to me. Sorry!

 

[Dory]

Other than the ridiculous down shift into 1st, downshifting “when done properly” is beneficial to the vehicle and the driver. I have driven manuals in all of my personal vehicles, autos in my wife’s cars, both in friends and professionally for a living, and never had an auto or a manual grenade.

I am a little confused about everyone's horror at downshifting into 1st gear as being a mortal sin. Back in 2021 I tried to get some guidance on the two types of downshifts into 1st gear for the 6 speed select shift auto and did not really get a good answer: What exactly determined if the exhaust crackles when slowing down and shifting to 1st? Having had 3 more years of experience in it and I am now able to pull it off with no issues 4 out of 5 times. If you "Do it wrong" the computer will downshift and rev match with a long audible decline in RPM. If you do it correctly it will downshift and go straight to pops and crackle kind of like the stall convertor is letting go somehow and is not stressing the clutch packs, yet is burning gas and making noises. even when I encounter the bad scenario at sub 25 mph down shifts it never sounds or feels like the transmission is angry or is incurring damage.

Edit: Also I am maybe going to Silver Dollar City Thursday and the last hour of the trip I will be going down through the steep mountain high speed highways. Last time I went I was in my V6 Impala and the engine was smart enough to downshift on its own and with the stock exhaust it was a glorious sound. I am not sure I can record video, but I will try to record audio on my phone as I descend engine braking with my loud exhaust.

 

[TonyT930]

Fault of the website, people on ignore don't show up at all so you looked like you were talking to nobody to me. Sorry!

Then why reply...

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