Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General transmission question

Let me start off by saying I know nothing about transmissions so bear with me. There was a question in Popular Mechanics concerning automatic trannys. Question was: is it better to just come to a regular stop and stay in gear or is it better to shift into neutral after you stop and then back into gear when you're ready to go. The answer was to do it regular because the tranny parts still actually continue to spin in neutral and not when you stop normally. So my questions are: with a mtx, is it better to downshift to slow down rather than to just use the brakes and when you do stop, should you go to neutral or just keep the clutch in? Since I get alot of brake dust from my Greenstuff pads, I tend to do alot of downshifting. Am I shorting the life of my clutch, tranny, engine, etc? Thanks Tom

I always downshift when coming to a stop. Let the engine help with some of the braking. I'm not saying downshift to first gear from 50 MPH, just work your way down the gears gently and it really helps slow the car down & doesn't strain the tranny too much.

As for a stop lights, I've been told it's better to put it in neutral and keep your foot off the clutch. Keeping it on spins the clutch and causes pre-mature wear. I'm no expert, but I've read it couple of places as well.

There was a very good thread around here (do a little search) about that. After reading it I was convinced I should go to neutral on stops and before going into first, do the N-2-1 thing to let the gears spin a split second and catch up.

Also, about downshifting, better wear the brakes than your tranny.

For maximum engine and transmision life:

1>Use the brakes to slow down.

2>Downshift to acceleate after slowing down. Use double clutching and rev matching techniques to maximize transmision life.

I ready don't know why, but I've almost always done that--
go to neutral, 2nd, then first. Double clutching would seem to be relatively hard to do all the time. If I was driving a semi that has a boatload of gears and takes forever to get going, OK, but when I'm going thru the gears and I'm up to 80 before I know it, double clutching doesn't seem to be something I want to do.

I hear ya! I am just suggesting what would be optimal. I myself d-clutch when down shifting. I do a heal-toe situation. It isn't the easiest to do in the Contour.