Questions about downshifting

[stuffy]

DUDE!!! 106 HP<---- You need to drop 2 gears to go up some hills in a Yaris!!!

This is about the funniest thread I have ever read on the internet!

lol, maybe i got a special one with 206 hp because i have never had to drop it down two gears going up hills to maintain my speed, and that includes some fairly steep grades.
if i'm going 100 km/h in 5th and go up a hill, i drop it into 4th and wow! i'm still going 100 !
likewise, if i'm going 90 km/h in 5th and want to pass a car, i drop it into 4th and give it some gas and i've increased my speed enough to get past the car quickly and safely.

it is a funny thread, especially for people who think we should be racing our 106 hp cars on public steets.
i'm also not interested in running my car at the redline continuously for no good reason.

[Biggie™]

Originally Posted by stuffy

it is a funny thread, especially for people who think we should be racing our 106 hp cars on public steets.

Racing a Yaris on public streets = normal traffic! 106 HP = SLOW!


The questions people need to be asking are how would down shift hurt my car and why do racers heel toe/rev match when down shifting.

1. Downshifting 1, 2 or even 3 gears wont have any adverse effects on your transmission or engine. IF you do select a gear that causes your engine RPMs to raise above your car's red line, it can and will blow something up. Over revving the engine does cause damage, and is what needs to be avoided when downshifting in to ANY gear, even 5th to 4th.

Now to put the nonsense of why you wouldn't ever need to "down shift two gears" to bed. The Yaris is geared for maximum fuel economy. So when cruising down the freeway at 65 mph running relatively low RPMs, you are well below the cars maximum power output. By dropping 2 gears you are raising the engine's RPMs to a point deep in the power band, making the car accelerate at a much faster rate than if only dropping 1 gear.

Now, if you are an 85 year old woman, you might ask yourself why would anyone need to accelerate that quickly? Well, there are two reasons, one is some people enjoy driving a bit more aggressively than your average 85 year old women and the second reason is you only have a car spouting out 106 hp. Even dropping 2 gears will only allow you to accelerate like a 106 hp car, when you are used to driving 300 hp Supras or a 200 hp IS300 you become accustom to faster response without a downshift. I understand this is a strange concept for the elderly or those that think 30 mph is FAST, but they are valid reasons none the less.

2. I could go in to great detail about the necessity of rev matching a race car and the technique of "heel toe", how it is used to maintain control and stability, why race cars running straight cut dog box transmissions can ONLY down shift by rev matching down through every gear and why cars like the Yaris that utilize synchronizing gears don't need to down shift through every gear. I could, but I wont... What's the point? As stated above, as long as you don't over rev the engine drop that bad boy from 5th to 3rd as much as you want.