As the title states i have a question about down shifting. In Manual mode is it better to downshift yourself when you know you are coming up to a stop or is it better to just brake and let the computer downshift for you? I know if your tac hits 1k rpm the computer will downshift. I have done it that way a few times and it feels much smoother than when i do it myself. Maybe its i am still learning the car but i honestly dont know. I know i have seen a few things relating to this but i dont know if this question has been addressed specifically. If this has please feel free to redirect me. TY in advance!

EDIT: had a misstype

 

I downshift manually 95% of the time. Its all about timing, you need to let this engine wind down; if you try and stop to quickly, and downshift to catch up it clunks around alot.

 

The transmission does it pretty well by itself, so you can let it manage this. The only time it would be better to manage it yourself is if you want to do a quick stop, the transmission usually downshifts too late so you end-up trying to accelerate while is second gear which leads to very poor acceleration.

But leaving the transmission do it itself does not feel natural so we all end up downshiftiing ourself... Especially in sport mode, I like to downshift a little earlier, when the car revs up a little (around 3K RPM) to rev-match, it sounds a little more aggressive...

 

When your in manual mode the car is letting you do all the work, the only time it steps in is if your going to damage the car or put yourself in a dangerous situation (stalling). You should be doing all the work in manual mode.

 

Did you ever drive standard? When you are stopping to a traffic light or a stop, do you actually downshift thru all the gears or go directly to 1st?

With the SST if you do the downshifting yourself, you are actually going thru all the gears... When the transmission does it, it's more like 6-3-1. So it's only 2 shifts instead of 5 this means less your clutches will last longer... Unless there's something I don't know that would allow to go directly from 6th gear to first gear?

 

^ agreed, there is little to no point in downshifting to a stop. Unless your disobeying traffic control devices and not coming to a full stop?

And seriously if you stall an automatic you're a dumbass, no offense intended if you have done so...

 

Actualy, when you downshift and are in manual mode, it downshifts for you 6-5-4-3-2-1, but disengages the clutches on the first downshift and then goes into the highest "safe" gear for the speed you are rolling at so that if you press the gas again, it reengages the clutch, but won't stall from going to slowly...

I let the transmission disengage most of the time actualy (kinda like going into neutral, or holding the clutch on a manual/standard car).

 

i noticed this car doesnt engine brake at all, i downshift sometimes when i feel like it but its not really necessary

 

I haven't paid really close attention to this but I'm pretty sure in normal mode its going through all the gears as its coming to a stop not skipping from 6th to 3rd. The only time I know it skips gears is when it downshifts under acceleration.

 

oh, it does. I live on the side of a mountain, and regularly use 4th gear (when the engine is cold) to allow engine braking to maintain 40mph on the mountain. When the engine is warmed up, I have to use 3rd to do the same.

It's mainly because of the emissions aspect of the system. It allows more air into the engine than the throttle position normally would to cut down on the amount of unburnt fuel entering the exhaust, and thereby extend the life of the catalytic converter. The side effect is reduced engine braking.

The engine braking is still there even with the emissions systems in place; just not as strong as a car that does not allow air to by-pass the throttle body.

 

Ya I mean it has some but my CVT Gts had much more engine braking

 

When i was experimenting when i downshift while braking i depress the brake and downshift (obviously) through the gears. When i do this i can feel the car going through all the gears. When i just brake it feels like the transmission just goes into neutral and the clutches disengage as long as i stay on the brake. Thats why this is mildly confusing to me lol. Logic tells me if i do the latter it should be easier on the engine and clutches IF the car is doing what i think it is doing. Guess this means i will have to go spend more quality time with the car today! (sarcasm on) Such a hardship it is driving about on a perfect day LOL.(sarcasm off)

 

i feel like its doing exactly that, and when you finally take you foot off the brake it decides what gear it should be in.

 

I would think that using the brakes for braking rather than the engine is a smarter long term solution. But somehow the engineers that programmed the SST computer disagree with me. Every time I go downhill and the car senses accelaration it automatically downshifts, must be a safety thing but it drives me crazy.

 

I doubt using engine compression to be harmful for the engine. My Honda ATC200 (3-wheeler) had over 25 years when I got rid of it and it was still working perfectly even though we use engine compression EXTREMELY often on that type of vehicle.

The SST has behavior similar to the one of a manual transmission rather than an automatic, that is why you have this downshift which helps you take advantage of engine compression.