In an automatic, is it better to ride your brakes down a big hill or to downshift?

 

By downshift you mean switching from D to 2nd? It will slow you down but will just ride your RPM up. If I know that I'm coming to the top of a hill, I let off the gas when I'm almost to the top and just cruise down it with no throttle.

 

Yeah, it puts me to about 2.5k rpms, but almost right at the speed limit. If I just coast down, by the end of the hill I am about 25 over.

I guess my real question is does shifting to a lower gear like that put stress on my engine that is worse than the stress put on my brakes?

 

doesn't really stress it, considering it's built to handle 5000 rpm - 6000 rpm

all it does is burn more gas. most mechanics have told me just use the brakes, they are there for that and don't waste the gas lettng the rpms hang

 

Ok, sounds good. Thanks

 

itll save your brakes, but isnt really worth it if youre not doing it like everyday. if you only do it every once in a while, theres really no point as you should just use the brakes

but be aware though, that you may wear down your belts if you downshift like that all the time. i know if i start doing that, ill eventually start to smell the belts burning from all the friction, inside the car itself, even with the windows up. itll start to smell as if youre spinning the tires

 

when the engine is slowing the car down it really doesnt use much gas...

 

i'd rather stress the brakes than the internals of the tranny

 

+10,0000

its not greatly expensive to replace brake pads or even calipers, espically compared to the cost of a tranny rebuild. whether it hurts it or not.

 

exactly....use your brakes!! same goes for idiots in manual trannys that downshift through every gear to come to a stop....put it in neutral and use your brakes