Hey all, I just had a quick question regarding the sportshifter.

We all know about the debate of downshifting vs braking, saving the transmission/clutch vs saving the brakes.

My question is, does the sport shifter experience any of these problems? I imagine it would still wear out the transmission in the same manner as a manual, but would it would it have any other detrimental effects?

I guess my main concern is, should I make it a habit to downshift when possible with the sport shifter, or should I just brake like normal?

All opinions welcome

 

Sports shifter = manumatic = automatic with easier shifting than a traditional auto but basically still the same. In otherwords, there's no clutch for you to wear out. Since it's a manumatic, just drive like you would with an auto and it's fine.

 

You can rev match while downshifting...don't know if it will actually help the transmission any since it's an AT, but it does negate the sudden engine braking that occurrs when you downshift. I do it myself everytime I downshift now, it's especially helpful in setting the car up to power through a turn. It's also very useful when you're downshifting to gain power...it gets your revs up higher which is where the rotary needs to be to make the most power.

 

How rev match an auto?

 

You can't rev match in full auto mode...only in tiptronic mode. Incidentally what it is you're doing is you're taking advantage of the 1 or more second lag time it takes to get into the next gear from the moment you push the lever/paddles. The next gear doesn't engage for about a second, and in that time period, you can freely rev the engine. Just simply downshift, and press on the gas. You'll see your revs jump, and then you'll feel the lower gear engage. You'll learn by feel over time just how hard to press the gas to match revs to make it smooth.

You actually get a bit of this effect when you're upshifting, although I believe it's called power shifting...since tiptronics require you to keep on the gas when you're shifting up, sometimes the engine will suddenly just rev up just before the next gear engages.

 

I never engine brake unless I'm on a race track and want to use the engine braking effect to trail into a corner.

For a very simple reason:

Wear out a set of brakes: about $600 for pads and rotors

Wear out an engine and transmission doing engine braking? Priceless

At the very least: Wear out your clutch? twice the cost of the brakes.

 

I also wonder if downshifting hurts gas mileage vs just braking normally...

 

"I also wonder if downshifting hurts gas mileage vs just braking normally..."

Worrying about gas mileage with this car is kind of pointless.

 

I wondered this too but because the accelerator isn't being depressed there should be no gas being used. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

you use more fuel if you coast to a stop in neutral than if you leave it in gear and just brake. The engine should use next to no gas when the gas pedal is not being pressed.