I've never had any problems with downshifting, but I actually pop the gas right before it drops down to the next gear.. It feels hard on any car I've driven to just drop it down, but if I pop the throttle all most exactly as the trans is shifting down, ( you know, during the slight moment of hesitation as the tranny does its thing) it makes a very smooth transition as opposed to the jerky wanna spin a main bearing motion. I've found that it takes alot, if not all, of the stress off the drivetrain. Give it a try. I did it on my 84'z28 for all most a year daily beating the original 189k mile 700r4.