So i have been searching and reading posts about manually shifting the 4L60E.

Does it hurt to upshift manually?
Does it hurt to downshift manually?

I know that i like to ride out first and second sometimes for fun, but i am always worried about downshifting manually. Someone please help me out.

Later,
Fred

 

Man..to be honest with you, i have heard so many different opinions on this subject, i dont know if its bad, or not bad. I have heard alot of people who know what there talking about say that it's not that bad to upshift the car..but never downshift. Than i hear other guys who have some experience say dont do either one. I have heard of some people who ruin there transmissions from shifting them manually. But my friend has like a 96 Z28..he shifts it manually all the time..upshifting and downshifting, and he didnt need a tranny rebuild until 122K miles...I think he got lucky, but ya never know. Me personally? i just let my car shift on its own..i've gotten to know my car to the point where i can actually control when the car is gonna shift, with the throttle..i know how much gas to give it to make it shift at about 3.5K in 1st and 2nd..and so on..I also know how much gas it takes to make it downshift, i can give it just enough to make it go from 3rd to 2nd..or from 3rd-1st. I feel more comfortable this way than i do manually downshifting my car.

-Travis

 

3rd to 1st??
I thought the computer was programmed to not allow the car to downshift to first over 20 mph. Do you have a shift kit or something? Whenever i get a hard downshift its always into 2nd gear.

 

I read a long thread on this once and the conclusion was its ok to shift up but not down. But if you want to be able to shift up or downshift at any RPM, just get a TransGo Shift Kit. They are pretty sweet, just look into it. Very muscular shifts also, makes the A4 a bit more fun to drive. I also heard you can chirp 1-2 and 2-3 shifts with it. Just $90.

-Dustin-

 

I have heard mixed reviews on shift kits also. Can anyone shed some light on this situation?

 

I have heard from everyone but one person that they are ok on your tranny. One transmission builder on this board says that they are not good. I believe they are fine for the transmission and I have heard this from very very reliable veterans on this board, many magazines, and a few transmission company's.

-Dustin-

 

No i dont have a shift kit or anything...What gears do you have?? I have the 2.73's..and if i'm doin like 35-40, and i stomp it....it will downshift into 1st...it makes the 1-2 @ about 56-57mph. I'm not sure what gears you have, but i dont see why your car wouldnt allow a downshift into 1st at anything over 20..even with the 3.23's, if your doin like 25 and you floor it, it should downshift into 1st..

 

If you like your tranny the way it is.. working.. dont mess with manual shifting.

 

If you like your tranny the way it is.. working.. dont mess with manual shifting.

 

I would add the Trans-Go modified Performance Shift kit & Corvette servo. This will give you the added oil volume, capacity, & pressure needed to manually upshift this unit & live. As for downshifting, you will have to match the engine rpm's by giving it throttle when you backshift the lever, just like "double clutching" in a manual transmission, once the engine & transmission are matched, then you can let off the gas to deaccelerate. Do not backshift & not give it throttle, as this will tear up the unit.

 

I personally like to downshift my car manually. I figure GM is smart and wouldn't have the gears that way on the column if it wasn't alright to shift um. If I have to get my trans rebuilt 4,000 miles before I would have by downshifting oh well. I also have a shift kit, haven't got a burn from 2-3 but have got a little chirp. I don't think I am running enough power for that.

 

Best post in this thread! It amazes me that everyone doesn't drive like you (and I) do!

Did you ever notice that if you floor it very quickly you get a quicker reaction time on the downshift, especially 3-1? Maybe it's just my imagination.

Manual shifting probably doesn't do much harm; the designers see to that. Torque management and overspeed provisions are good example. Some FWDs even prevent reving the engine past about 3500 in neutral to protect the drivelline on a 5000 "drop".

Manual downshifting a lot might cause more wear on the bands/clutches, but some autos are programmed to downshift for engine braking on hills for example. Saturn for about 13 years, for example.

My favorite is the shift alogrithm in the Cad STS and C6 which chooses a gear when you are cornering aggressively based on lateral g and throttle application and holds that gear (without exceeding rev limits) whether you are on or off the gas. When you quit throwing it around, it goes back to normal, at least in the STS. Haven't driven a C6 yet.

Sure, manual shift it if you wish, but if you want to go fast, let it shift itself. If you've modded the engine, mod the shift points too.

My $.02.

 

Well i'm glad to hear that i'm not the only one who thinks like that! Man, its so ironic that you mentioned flooring it very quickly gets a quicker downshift. Just yesterday i was thinking the same thing! I too thought that it was probably just my imagination, but now you mentioned the same thing. I think it may be true, because our transmissions are electronically controlled if i'm not mistaken, so maybe it registers that were goin from crusing, to WOT quickly, so it responds with a very quick downshift. I would like to find out for sure about this though, because it could very well just be our imagination. I'm also very interested in the STS thing you were talking about, i was thinking before that the only downside to automatics were that in turns its usually in 3rd or OD..and was thinking how much better it would be if it was in 1st, or 2nd. I would love to drive one of these, and experience this for myself, it sounds awesome!