Questions about downshifting

[ChinoCharles]

I will be so disappointed if I don't blow my clutch before my warranty is up.

Just say no to first gear. First should be used to get you to second... that's it. Other than that, compression downshift your little asses off. ROFL

[TrancosRt]

I don't downshift 2 gears "directly" (at least at full speed). I usually don't need to gather speed fast, so it is not necesary to skip 2 gears. When braking, I start loosing speed (rolling and maybe some braking) to gain a rolling green light rather than a full stop. If I need to stop, I downshift according to the speed (usually 4th or a 5th at 4th speeds (about 35-40mph) to 2nd).
The only time I might downshift for speed is 5th to 4th in the highway and when driving on the right lane and someone turns making me speed down from crusing speed to 15mph and up again rapidly...

[eTiMaGo]

As mentioned by several others, as long as your engine RPMs don't go too near or above the redline when you downshift, then there should not be a problem. This is where a tach is certainly most useful

Be sure to move the stick smoothly and not too fast either, so that the gears can "mesh" together better, this should preserve the life of the gearbox.

[stuffy]

i can't see much need for downshifting more than one gear at a time on city streets or even on the highway,
if i want to pass a car, i just drop it down one gear and that is sufficient

if you are downshifting more than one gear at a time and punching it, you might want to consider giving your passengers (if you have any) a barf bag.

[mutatio]

Originally Posted by Yaris TTE JWRC

No im not taliking about u taking a turn that u will brake first then switch to 2nd, im talking about non braking, double downshifting to gian extra speed when going straight. ANd what do u mean by forcing the gears??? i have never felt that before, the only thing i felt is that i can never shift the stick in to 1st whenever im over 10MPH and when u try to shift form 5th to R. the shifter wont let the stick to shift in ,in those two cases, but never felt that i have to force the stick in to any gears, im not getting what you are trying to tell me sry

the following basically covers it. :)

Originally Posted by 07WYarisRS

If engine or car speeds are too high for that gear it's going to grind or over rev the engine and cause damage.

[Biggie™]

Originally Posted by stuffy

if you are downshifting more than one gear at a time and punching it, you might want to consider giving your passengers (if you have any) a barf bag.

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!

[ChinoCharles]

I was thinking the same thing... I've dropped from 5th to 3rd a billion times and my tranny is still in there. 4th to 2nd is a little rough, but at about 35 MPH its doable...

[spkrman]

Originally Posted by Biggie™

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 yea... I live in an extremely flat IL... 1 little "steep" hill, which would probably be referred to as "my driveway" by many... and I found myself not being able to just hold the gas in the normal stop/go easy driving position... when the a/t shifted into third the car just couldn't accelerate without downshifting.

[Pars]

I think you guys have a point, cause come to think of it, with my new Yaris, I don't double downshift as much as my old 98 Civic. I guess there's ample mid-range power in the Yaris, so bring the rev's to the higher range doesn't return a significant increase. Interestingly enough, the Celica GT still had ample power after 6000rpm and the GTS was just getting started once you hit 6000rpm.

It's too bad the Yaris doesn't have more usable power at the extreme revv's (over 6000rpm), but I bet a more fancy exhaust system and some engine tweaking could untap it. It would definitely make for a more fun ride.

[Pars]

Originally Posted by YamilR

Go ahead do whatever you want, If your doing 80MPH on a highway, not on a little street like your talking, why in the hell you want to go to 3rd to gain more speed? Who told you that downshifting gears gives more speed, it will give you more power to the engine but no more speed, but go ahead keed driving with a "passion" that's what get people killed

Your right, going to 3rd at 80mph on the Yaris is stupid. I was getting it confused with my old 98 Civic, cause dropping to 3rd at 75mph on that car was one of the sweat spots.

[Yaris TTE JWRC]

man, after reading everyone's reply, i will say it is about 50/50 of people saying that it is okay and it is not okay to muti gear downshift in order to cain more speed as when is needed, so i dont think theres an answer to this question from all of us, or maybe there is, but just because we werent knowledgeable enough to know the answer to the question of either if it is okay or not to down shift muti gear to cain the speed as when is needed

[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.

[Katana]

Originally Posted by Yaris TTE JWRC

So guys, my question is will the engine, and tranny be damaged after years of double gear downshifting ? or is it okay to do that?, i love the pick up of the speed of double gear downshifting, but i just dont want to damage my car if i could only know please.... all you PRO manual drivers tell me if u ever break an engine or tranny of you cars from you pass by double gear down shift

No no, I am doing it for years and I have faced no problems.

[Yaris TTE JWRC]

Originally Posted by Katana

No no, I am doing it for years and I have faced no problems.

Hey buddy, nice shory clear answer, thats what kinda answer i want from every one, anybody else???

[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.

[stuffy]

thanks for the sermon biggie, but you seem to have missed my point,

no one should be driving aggressively on city streets, it is dangerous and puts people's lives at risk,
in real-world situations, there is little need to be downshifting more than one gear at a time. that's my point.
i dont' have a problem if you enjoy driving aggresively, just keep it on the track,
you may think that you are a great driver and fully in control of your vehicle but the reality is probably very different.

more importantly, if you enjoy driving like that.....

why are you driving a yaris?

[bigsky2]

Well said, stuffy.

[Yaris TTE JWRC]

Originally Posted by stuffy

more importantly, if you enjoy driving like that.....

why are you driving a yaris?

Yaris can be quick, and it is not slow on the road, there are lot of cars slower than the Yairs. you dont have to have a high performance car like the Impreza, 350z, Evo, or an IS300 to enjoy driving like "THAT". Im not sure if you know the SUZUKI Swift super 1600, it's just like the Yaris, small, compact, lightweight, 1.5L, 16V, 1500cc, with only 100 and some BHP, but the world rally car version of that car puts out great 218BHP simply being turbo charged and intercooled, still with its 1.5L, that car goes quicker than the Impreza, Evo, 350Z, etc because of its lightweight class. What im saying is that Yaris is not slow, and can even go beyond, so if you dont enjoy driving a Yaris then you should be driving something else