Me and my buddy both have tCs and he shifts his automatic from low gear to high gear all the time. I was arguing with him that shifting with an automatic will mess up the transmission but he said that its the same thing. So whats the verdict on this one? Will shifting in an automatic kill the transmission?

 

It causes unnecessary wear on the engine and will kill the transmission a lot faster than normal. Just leave it in D.

 

^^^ What he said. It's true, had a corolla and used to do the same. In the end I had to fix the tranny.

 

Yup shouldnt be done much normally. I use 3 sometimes when I feel in a racey mood. Great for when the race starts at a roll, I use either 3 or 2 depending on the speed. Wastes more gas too. I feel autos can be just as effective as a 5spd if driven this way in autoX.

 

just a waste of time, energy, and extra wear on tranny. why don't you also race him and have him manually shift his auto...

 

hmm, i would say shifting through the gears in a manual is a waste, and cannot be the same since manuals have a clutch.....automatics have the lag when shifting, and theres no sense of total control going through the gears in an auto....shifting all the time will wear your tranny much faster, and a lot harder....not worth it in my opinion....

 

leave it in D unless you're engine braking. there's a reason it's an automatic.. so that you don't have to shift. i know cause i drive an auto.

 

if you want to shift get a 5spd!

i love my auto which is why i leave it in D

 

jsut let him find out the hard way.

i have an auto and i only use the low gears if i feel like my car is struggling on hills. and also if i try to speed up a little to switch lanes.

does he have an aftermarket exhaust? i gotta admit, it does sound better if you "downshift" and"upshift" with an auto. maybe it's a habit for him.

 

Wow.... that'll kill your transmission too.... Step on the gas a little harder... it'll downshift, jeez.

The only time you need to downshift is for engine braking.

 

The guys saying it's bad are right. If you want professional confirmation go to any performance transmission site and they usually mention what you are asking in their FAQ section.

 

leave it in D..

 

what about for turns? i find 2nd the best gear for taking turns, especially freeway onramps. you can't just "step on the gas a lil harder" because that makes you go a little faster, which is usually a little too fast early on, in a full 270 degree onramp.
keeping the car in 2nd allows you to take advantage of the powerband in the higher RPMs IMO. of course this is only while cornering and powering thru the turns =P

:bangs head against wall for having an auto:

 

I would say this is fine. The ability to control downhill speed without riding the brakes, climbing steep hills, towing, etc. are some of the reaons an auto allows you to choose lower gears.

I know we don;t tow with our cars but I am speaking of autos in general.

 

Seriously, leave it in D. It's an adaptive ecu and throttle.... it learns. I've taught mine to downshift properly.. It downshifts properly on onramps so i can accelerate just fine.

 

I was at my local track and I tried shifting it and it made absolutely no difference. None faster, None slower.

 

Well ok i manu. downshift my car and upshift. And it does make a diff. because of the fact the doing it auto norm. only goes 5.7 rpm, doesn't work the whole gear .. but manu. shift u shift at 6.4 meaning your using the whole power of the gear.. " yeah it may be bad for the tranny .. but hey that is why u have 4 year warrt.. lol.. "

 

When i floor it, i see the rpm's go up above 6k so i have no clue what you're talking about...

 

cool...do tell do tell...i wanna teach mine too.

 

It takes time... just give it a lot of throttle off of lights and on on-ramps