is manually shifting an auto necessarily dangerous?

[belber095]

i've heard a lot of mixed opinions on this, so i wanted to see if any of you had some input, since you're all so great and all
is shifting from 1st gear, to second, then into drive/3rd bad for the transmission?

 

[1997gtRioRed]

no but whatz the point? it shifts best by itself.

 

[belber095]

no but whatz the point? it shifts best by itself.

just more fun when you're on the open road haha

 

[Tony]

not bad just pointless, lol. you wanna 5 spd dont ya belber....


me too!

 

[the.greg]

When I had a 98 gt automatic, I would put a water bottle in the cup holder and pretend it was a shifter and I was rowing through the gears...

But seriously it wont hurt anything, but its pointless from a performance aspect. Also do not rev it up in N and then slam it into gear to do a burnout, this will negatively affect longevity of the trans, although Ive seen many auto guys do it

 

[sn95jones]

just more fun when you're on the open road haha

I'll chime in here, Down shifting an automatic transmission is really only meant to be used on steep inclines. From my past experience if you talking about using it to to have fun with it then I suggest you don't. An automatic transmission is not built to be able to take a beating by manually shifting it..
I've gone through 4 transmissions doing this. I'm simply suggesting not to do it but it's your choice whether or not you do it.

Maybe some other guys here can chime in and who know's I could be wrong but I've had past experience from doing this.

 

[Tony]

yea the rpms would prolly rev higher and the torque on the tranny when changing gears in full throttle might wear it out a little faster? i'm not 100% on that but i can see it happening.

 

[sn95jones]

yea the rpms would prolly rev higher and the torque on the tranny when changing gears in full throttle might wear it out a little faster? i'm not 100% on that but i can see it happening.

This...

 

[belber095]

not bad just pointless, lol. you wanna 5 spd dont ya belber....


me too!

yessir! gonna have to learn to drive stick too i guess.. lol

When I had a 98 gt automatic, I would put a water bottle in the cup holder and pretend it was a shifter and I was rowing through the gears...

But seriously it wont hurt anything, but its pointless from a performance aspect. Also do not rev it up in N and then slam it into gear to do a burnout, this will negatively affect longevity of the trans, although Ive seen many auto guys do it

i've seen one of my friends dropping his trans by revving up in neutral, and that was after i told him not to haha. thanks for the clarification though!

I'll chime in here, Down shifting an automatic transmission is really only meant to be used on steep inclines. From my past experience if you talking about using it to to have fun with it then I suggest you don't. An automatic transmission is not built to be able to take a beating by manually shifting it..
I've gone through 4 transmissions doing this. I'm simply suggesting not to do it but it's your choice whether or not you do it.

Maybe some other guys here can chime in and who know's I could be wrong but I've had past experience from doing this.

i'm not planning on down shifting, but i'm looking into getting a ratchet shifter, and it'd only be worth getting it if i could blow through the gears using it. it's got a safety mechanism to prevent you from shifting into neutral or reverse when you're using it manually.

thanks for these responses though guys. i'm gonna keep looking around and see if i can find some more info on it.

 

[belber095]

yea the rpms would prolly rev higher and the torque on the tranny when changing gears in full throttle might wear it out a little faster? i'm not 100% on that but i can see it happening.

in the past when i did this i'd always let off the gas a little before shifting, but then i realized that it might be worse to do that since the pressure in the tranny would drop without the throttle being pushed? i'm not sure though.

 

[sn95 bullitt]

Originally Posted by tonynot bad just pointless, lol. you wanna 5 spd dont ya belber....

"Originally Posted by belber095"
me too!
yessir! gonna have to learn to drive stick too i guess.. lol

Its easy. you can learn in like 6 hours.

 

[belber095]

Originally Posted by tonynot bad just pointless, lol. you wanna 5 spd dont ya belber....

"Originally Posted by belber095"
me too!
yessir! gonna have to learn to drive stick too i guess.. lol

Its easy. you can learn in like 6 hours.

yeah i don't expect it to be hard. just don't have or know anyone with a manual car

 

[KillNThrill24]

When I had a 98 gt automatic, I would put a water bottle in the cup holder and pretend it was a shifter and I was rowing through the gears...

But seriously it wont hurt anything, but its pointless from a performance aspect. Also do not rev it up in N and then slam it into gear to do a burnout, this will negatively affect longevity of the trans, although Ive seen many auto guys do it

LOL i used to do that too! and i would pretend i was hittin the clutch and take my foot off the gas and everything to simulate it before i got my car and actually learned how to drive it ha.

and yeah i did the N thing one time and wont ever do it again it just doesnt work like launching a manual lol

 

[belber095]

LOL i used to do that too! and i would pretend i was hittin the clutch and take my foot off the gas and everything to simulate it before i got my car and actually learned how to drive it ha.

and yeah i did the N thing one time and wont ever do it again it just doesnt work like launching a manual lol

y'all are making me wanna try that now.. haha

 

[RichV]

My dad had a 80's VW Rabbit growing up... That bad boy took so many neutral drops from me and my brother... I'm suprised that tranny took the abuse.

I don't think 'playing manual' will ruin the tranny like you guys think. I don't beleive they are that fragile, my 86 AOD took many manual shift strip runs while on the juice. That damn tranny was bulletproof, I was trying to kill it so I'd be forced to go to a T5. Neutral drops are definitely not good for any automatic, unless it's a rental car.

 

[belber095]

i'm not ever going to try to do a launch on an auto. that just sounds bad lol. but i'm only going to be doing this shifting business after i get that ratchet shifter ^.^ that'll eliminate any possibility that i shift into nuetral or reverse by mistake when trying to get back in drive

 

[Ferocious]

i'm not ever going to try to do a launch on an auto. that just sounds bad lol. but i'm only going to be doing this shifting business after i get that ratchet shifter ^.^ that'll eliminate any possibility that i shift into nuetral or reverse by mistake when trying to get back in drive

What ratchet shifter are you talking about?

On most of them, it does the opposite. It lets you go from Drive to Neutral or Drive to 2 without pressing anything. Unlike the stock auto where if you are in Drive you are locked in.

 

[Ferocious]

Oh & if it's an auto, treat it like an auto. The only time I ever shift mine is if someone is bugging me and I feel the need to downshift and floor it...

 

[Twista]

Just get a 5 speed

 

[belber095]

What ratchet shifter are you talking about?

On most of them, it does the opposite. It lets you go from Drive to Neutral or Drive to 2 without pressing anything. Unlike the stock auto where if you are in Drive you are locked in.

Oh & if it's an auto, treat it like an auto. The only time I ever shift mine is if someone is bugging me and I feel the need to downshift and floor it...

i'm looking at b&m's hammer ratchet. i want it more for looks than the ratchet action.