NVThs1

I only use mine in the warmer months. I am in Chicago so I drive lame in the winter. With having the Stasis exhaust, the shift points are more pronounced. They actually sound funny and off when you hear it. So I like to run up the revs with the paddles. It sounds more super carish. I use the paddles over the shifter all the time. Mainly because I will track the car every now and again and you want both hands on the wheel. I agree with those that say the automatic shift is great and in these days high end cars can outperform manual shifting. I never owned a manual personally, but I get the allure of it. I just know it is a dinosaur now when it comes to modern sports cars.

Boost Addiction

Because transmissions are sooo much cheaper than brakes.

fEArmE

Downshifting to slow down the car will damage the transmission? Please educate me.

Superfly_A6

I find it slow, jekry and blah ...
if its a DSG, its another story.

Silent Drone

I sold gears 4-8 on ebay cause I don't need 'em.

Boost Addiction

Forcing a downshift to slow down wears the bands or other friction materials in the transmission, just as braking wears the friction materials there. Brakes are always more efficient and less costly than the friction materials in automatics, especially complex ones like the ZF 8-speed your car has.

If you think about it it, this makes sense- to slow down, friction is typically needed. And friction always means wear. You can choose where to put that friction, and wear: either in the brakes, which were designed for that, or in something else, which really wasn't.

Friction also means heat, and transmissions are much more susceptible to heat-related failures (cooking the trans fluid, etc) than brakes, which are designed to absorb and dissipate tremendous amounts of heat.

It's OK to let off the throttle and coast, but deliberately downshifting to force the car to slow down is a wear factor for the transmission.

There's probably a case to be made that engine wear is also exacerbated with this kind of use, but that's somewhat harder to quantify.

For context, if you are a lessee, you'll be out of the car before this kind of abuse likely crops up as broken or worn parts. But for people who care about their cars long term, constant manual downshifts just to slow down the car as a replacement for braking is a recipe for making friends at the transmission rebuilders.

Oscar2

Your analysis presupposes that 'friction' is the primary mechanism being used to slow down on a downshift. But it's primarily the engine compression stroke doing the braking when you downshift. The transmission only has to shift the gear (which is what it does for a living).

DB22

Transmissions are like hearts, they only work a certain number of times which is why you should not reduce its lifetime through exercise. Transmissions operate with a similar philosophy.

Oscar2

raj99

Ha Ha...this was too funny. So I suppose going for runs, playing soccer and working out should be major a major "No-No" and we should endeavor to be more like