yellowstang98

equalling hard on the all mighty WALLET

not stock 26

that it is

stonemonk9

I use the motor to downshift all the time. It wont hurt anything really like Silver says aslong as u match the engine rpms with the speed ur goin and the gear.

04ShakinSteed

I agree. If you aren't a moron when you downshift, you'll be ok. I mostly do the neutral thingy like MD said, but occassionly, I downshift

1{}D{}{V}{}DGT

what stone says it shouldnt really hurt anything unless ur goin to like 90 and u down shift to like 2nd which would be pretty hard

Guest

low rpm downshifting won't hurt the motor, but it still does put wear and tear on the valvetrain.

downshifting at a higher rpm, using my car as an example (yes it's not a mustang, but i can't use something I don't have...)

Let's say if I was sitting at 60 in 5th gear (around 3000 rpm) and dropped it to third (5500 rpm - vtec engagement), doing that constantly would start to put excessive wear and tear on the valvetrain, the springs would start to get soft and the retainers would get hard and brittle, all this will cause the valves to eventually start floating.


valve float= bad, especially on an interference engine.

not stock 26

hes got a point (excesive wear on engine)

Soaring

At moderate to slow speeds, downshifting is preferred just before you touch the brakes. I have been doing it for 45 years without hurting any engine or transmission. Yes, I have an 03 Mach1 so I know what you guys are talking about.

foxtrot

Key word moderate......self control....how fast do you want to come out of the turn or stop should determine it.....I coast a lot to lights that I know I have to sit at.....why bring the RPMs up to get to the light? When going around a turn and want to perform match the RPMs down a bit to accelerate out and hit the Apex!

Go speed racer go....

MikeHawke

.......if you're braking slowly and let the rpms fall almost to idle before down shifting, i think you will be fine. I have been doing that in every car i have owned for 20 years and never had a problem.