Question about downshifting............

2167 Views 24 Replies 12 Participants Last post by Guest, Mar 31, 2002

Legend_Addicted

Discussion Starter · Feb 26, 2002

A couple of years ago I remeber talking to a mechanic, he told me that downshifting (manual) while ur going 90mph is bad for the engine b/c u make it work too hard? Hearing the 300zx post made me remeber wot he said. Was he wrong? or it's ok downshift (90mph or higher) if u hav mods?

Wot about automatics? I downshift from D4 to D3 but only in city streets while racing or if the light is changing from red to green. Would it hurt my engine if I downshifted from D4 to D3 while doing 80 or 90 mph on a freeway? Thanks.

Latin....................

1 - 20 of 25 Posts

tnelson

· #2 · Feb 26, 2002

if i remember right the owners manual says that the automatic on the L is at 6250(redline) at 94 Mph, and the GS is at 96 at the same rpm (this may be backwards I dont know).
BTW i have both cars. So downshifting in an auto at 90 is not very profitable, you will just sling your car past the peak horsepower, which is at 5500 if i remember right, so it would be kinda pointless in the auto at 90 but ok at 80.dont know anything about legend manuals, so i cant help u there latin. Hows that new 6 speed you just bought?
Hope I helped

Peace
Tnelson

Legend_Addicted

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 27, 2002

The GS I bought is an auto, I wish it was a 6speeder sedan. Now that would have been nice

.

FutureX 2001

· #4 · Feb 27, 2002

I like the Sedan as an Auto to tell ya the truth. I figure a 6-speed for a Coupe.. w00t... only umm... 2.8 Years to go for one.. YEAH lol

ILOVELEGEND

· #5 · Feb 27, 2002

Hey FUTURE!

Hey Future, How's your GS running?? I'll be in LA this weekend most likely - near cerritos. I'd like to see your ride!
lemme know!

DaTimez420

· #6 · Feb 27, 2002

yeah man, definitely downshifting with an automatic at 90mph is not a good idea. you would be revving at at least 4500 to 5000 rpm and wearing the hell out of your third gear. in pracical terms you shouldn't be going more than 50 mph at about 3000 rpm in 3rd gear even tho the manual states that it can be used to go upto 94 mph...true, but that's way redlining it! do that enough times and soon enuff you'll need a new transmission!

i remember when my transmission busted, all the drive gears worked except for my fourth automatic gear, so i was driving for a few months in only three gears before i replaced the transmission. i rode the hell out of that third gear, max i could safely hit on the highway without destroying my car was about 80mph and that was revving really high at about 4500 to 5000 rpm constant. it was sad cuz i could keep up with cars on the highway at that speed, but any faster wasn't possible cuz i had no fourth gear!!! by the time i finally got a new transmission in the car, that third gear was almost completely worn out.

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Legend_Addicted

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 27, 2002

Thanks DaTimez420, that's wot I thought, I wanted to make sure. Here's another question to ask ur mind, if ur on D4 and u floor it, doesn't that kick u to D3? So shouldn't that b something u shouldn't do? Thanks.

Latin....................

DaTimez420

· #8 · Feb 27, 2002 (Edited)

it all depends on the speed you are driving when you floor it.

one bad thing about driving in D4 when you are driving in the city or on slow roads is that if you are just cruising at like 30 or 35 mph, it has already shifted you into the fourth gear (no clue why because it's really too early to be in fourth gear, but it just does that, which is why you should be in D3 driving in city type roads). if you floor it anywhere from like around 30 to 50 mph, it'll downshift you automatically to the third gear which is good. because you have better performance and pickup in the third gear at those speeds than you would in the fourth gear. then it'll shift you to fourth gear again (flooring it, usually around 4500 to 5000 rpm or higher depending on what mods you have done to the car). now if you floor it going at like over 60 or 70 mph, it won't shift you back to third gear (maybe briefly for a quick boost unless you're at like 80mph or more) and you'll remain in fourth.

so the automatic downshifting from D4 to D3 is actually good. the bad thing that i don't like is how you can be going as slow as 25mph driving in D4 and have already shifted into the fourth gear, which causes unnecessary wear and tear on your fourth gear.

i try to get myself to drive in D3 when speed limit is 30 mph or less and even sometimes 35mph so i don't use my fourth gear at those low speeds. (plus if you are speeding at like 40 or 45 mph in a 30 mph zone and you see a cop, downshift to D3 because that will start slowing you down right away without being too obvious to the cop that you just slammed on your brakes!). i shift into D4 when i want to go like 40mph or more and not shift down again unless the speed really decreases to under 30mph. D4 is a good gear to be in most of the time unless you are at low speeds. wow, that was a lot longer than i expected this reply to be!

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Legend_Addicted

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 27, 2002 (Edited)

Thanks, and it was good damn long reassuring answer, but it was great

lol. On the manual it does say to drive in D3 in cities b/c of stop and go motion and it also that u can drive as if it was a manual, it also said u can drive on D3 up to 70 or 80 mph, but I think the will put too much stress on the engine. D4 does shift early and I can c how it can tear the tranny up after too many stop lights.

When going 90mph and u floor it, it does give u more power (try it u will see, and it doesn't revv up either). Myb autos have a secret D5 lol. Don't tell anyone DaTimez420. Thanks again everyone.

Latin........................

kopper187

· #10 · Feb 27, 2002

LATIN_RAVER_LEGEND said:
A couple of years ago I remeber talking to a mechanic, he told me that downshifting (manual) while ur going 90mph is bad for the engine b/c u make it work too hard? Hearing the 300zx post made me remeber wot he said. Was he wrong? or it's ok downshift (90mph or higher) if u hav mods?

Latin....................

If I were driving at 90 (in 6th) and wanted to speed up, I would downshift into 4th, but I would double-clutch it to rev-match the shift. I always drive that way and I doesn't hurt the car.

If you tried this in a ford escort, you might push the revs to high and straing the motor. But, our cars are designed to handle hard driving so its not an issue.

jose3030

· #11 · Feb 27, 2002

Re: Re: Question about downshifting............

koper187 said:
If I were driving at 90 (in 6th) and wanted to speed up, I would downshift into 4th, but I would double-clutch it to rev-match the shift. I always drive that way and I doesn't hurt the car.

If you tried this in a ford escort, you might push the revs to high and straing the motor. But, our cars are designed to handle hard driving so its not an issue.

4th?

Hmm..

I'd only do it in 5th...

kopper187

· #12 · Feb 27, 2002

Re: Re: Re: Question about downshifting............

jose3030 said:
4th?

Hmm..

I'd only do it in 5th...

That sounds more like it

I was thinking GS-R

Shad_93LSCoupe

· #13 · Feb 27, 2002

I agree w/DaTimez. I hate it when I'm cruising at 25 or 30 and notice I'm in D4 and already in 4th gear. I have to start getting used to shifting into D3 while in the city.

Can someone please explain to me what double-clutching is? I have an automatic, so it's useless to me at this point anyway, but I'm curious.

UnSeEnLeGeNd

· #14 · Mar 29, 2002

is it okay to down shift from D3 to D2? does everyone ride in D4? auto owners

502 MotorSports

· #15 · Mar 29, 2002

UnSeEnLeGeNd said:
is it okay to down shift from D3 to D2? does everyone ride in D4? auto owners

Don't do it....you will end up hurting your Legend....besides, this car has a pause once shifted manually...so not worth the trouble

Dali

· #16 · Mar 29, 2002

I've always driven around in D4 when in the city, maybe I should try D3. When I drive my favorite road, there are sections where I downshift from D4 to D3 which puts the RPMs right in the sweet spot of the motor to attack curves and hills. Other than that i "set it and forget it" The auto is pretty resonsive so a lot of times it knows what I want and I get it. Sometimes it doesent drop out of 4th gear when I want it to so i just slide it into D3 and its all good.

DaTimez420

· #17 · Mar 29, 2002

yeah...however the only bad thing is when you're driving around the city in D4, most of the time you're in fourth gear when you should really be in third and only going about 25 or 30 mph. I try to get into the habit of using D3 as much as possible in city, but I tend to forget a lot of times and use D4. If only their transmissions were a bit smarter!

FutureX 2001

· #18 · Mar 29, 2002

This is interesting to me, on the Generation 1 legend, S3 is ONLY used when you need the extra boost for passing or fast launching, D4 is used on the freeway when you don't want overdrive, but need to let your car shift into the higher gear as to not over-rev the engine. And the "D" gear is used for standard fuel conservation, overdrive driving....

So, I tried to carry over the same practice to my G2, then I discovered there is only D3 and D4 (no standard D). I like the more responsive power of D3. So I usually drive around in D3 in the city. However, I have the idea that D3 causes the car to waste a lot more fuel (because this was the case in the G1's S3 mode)....

How's it work on the G2?

LEGEND

· #19 · Mar 29, 2002

FOR ALL G2 AUTOS...

when normal driving from a stop...does anyone notice a slight drop in the RPMS even after it is in 4th already...like a few seconds after it shifts into 4th while still accelerating. Kinda of like a second mini overdrive built in the fourth gear. LOL...or maybe its just my car...BTW, my car gets up to about 102 in 3rd gear before it shifts into 4th...seems to take forever when i watch the RPMs slowly rise.

DaTimez420

· #20 · Mar 29, 2002

how is it possible to get 102 in third???? it can only reach 94mph max according to the manual and that is pushing it....when my fourth gear went out max i could hit safely (and revving at like 4500 to 5000 rpm) was like 80 something and that was pushing it too...?

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