Shifting between modes

[Marcelostinger]

Is it ok to change modes when the car is moving? Does it hurt the transmission when you down shift (using paddle shifters) to slow down the car? Tks!!!

 

[nhcowboy28]

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

If it has hurt the car to change modes while driving then my car would of been toast a while ago. There is no way you can hurt the car doing that. Now on the downshifting. Downshifting while driving is fine, the car won't let you shift before it's ready but it can sometimes act a little weird.

 

[ChaneRZ]

It’s good to go.

 

[Marcelostinger]

If it has hurt the car to change modes while driving then my car would of been toast a while ago. There is no way you can hurt the car doing that. Now on the downshifting. Downshifting while driving is fine, the car won't let you shift before it's ready but it can sometimes act a little weird.

I always apply the brakes before down shifting, same way you do in a stick shift, hate to stop the car just using the brakes . On the other hand don't want to ruin the trans, tks!!!

 

[vipeboy2000]

of course any extra shifts under load which includes downshifting for engine braking is gonna be extra heat going into the trans and torque converter and bands which is a tiny bit of wear each time... I follow the mindset of, if there is a reason to shift down to get the revs where i want them, aka i am driving sportily on a mountain road, no question i'm gonna be manually shifting and not worrying about it, but under normal braking conditions, i just use brakes... pads are way cheaper than a transmission rebuild and less overall stress on motor mounts etc..

downshifting, changing modes, none of that on it's own will hurt anything.. might it make a difference if two people got the same car and one drove using engine braking constantly and one never did after 150k miles?? maybe.. but i say drive how you want to unless you are just wanting to eek the longest life out of every component... but if so, it's probably the wrong vehicle I definitely drive it like i stole it when accelerating and in the twisties haha
just as an example, we have two e39 wagons and we refreshed the entire suspension on both at around 160k miles.. the 525 which is underpowered gets driven much less aggressively and the bushings are still tight at 215k miles, the 540 we drove way more aggressively and the new bushings are already worn at 202k miles.. but it's about smiles per gallon.. or rather smiles per dollar i guess ha.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

Sometimes for a bit of excitement I like to go down the "mode rainbow" while cruising on the highway. I know "sport" is on the far right and "custom" or "smart" is on the far left. I do this with my hazard lights on just to mix things up a bit.

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[5tinger]

No worries about brake fade. 4 piston Brembos up front + 2 piston rears..