I was just wondering whether it's good to downshift to first gear on a manual transmission while the car is still moving. I've heard that your not suppose to and thats how i learned but heard else where that you can.??????

 

no its not good really....i wouldnt only do that when stopped

 

You can physically downshift into 1st, but in the owner's manual it says NOT to downshift into 1st gear above speeds of 15mph in order to avoid damage to the clutch... so if I ever need to downshift to 1st I do it at or below that speed.

Don't know if you'll ever need to downshift into first other than to get attention when pulling up to a stoplight

 

Downshifting into first from a roll can be done, but it's much less "necessary" to do so with current transmission gear ratios and EFI engines (that don't spit back and buck if asked to lug way down low like carbureted engines tended to do).

The trick to doing this from any speed above about 4 mph is double-clutching and revving the engine slightly while you're "clutch out" passing through neutral. Understand that if you get it "wrong" it's the synchros that will still hate you for it. The clutch should be far more able to stand this abuse. Ford may figure that lots of people don't understand the transmission internal parts so they just say "clutch" because more people would understand that instead.


Norm

 

How can downshifting into 1st with the vehicle rolling damage
the clutch which should be disengaged while shifting.
Unless you have some way of downshifting into 1st
with the clutch engaged that actually does damage
the clutch?

Easy on the downshifting as it puts undue wear on the clutch.
The brakes are designed to stop the vehicle and are much easier
and cheaper to replace as opposed to the clutch assembly.

 

I don't downshift if I am coming to a stop, I coast, but I do downshift one gear when turning corners. Like from 3rd to 2nd or from 4th to 3rd.