Yes. But brakes are cheeper than transmissions and engines. Use them
fluid braking down
Downshifting refers to the process of shifting to a lower gear in a vehicle to decrease speed or increase torque. This is commonly done when slowing down, going uphill, or to better match engine speed with road speed.
When downshifting, the transmission shifts to lower gears which increases engine speed and provides more power for acceleration or braking. It can help control speed during descents or prepare for a faster exit from a corner in driving. However, improper downshifting can cause engine wear or damage if done at high speeds.
it depends on what your using it for. in major competitions no. but for starting out its not bad. it cuts down on shift times so its good and you dont have to worry about downshifting but most cars used in rally are 5 speed or 6 speed and automatics are heavy so theres pros and cons
The purpose of the automatic transmission is that is shifts for you. You'll want to lock your transmission into your ideal gear for going up and down steep inclines to prevent it from downshifting, but, other than that, you typically let the computer do the shifting for you.
When you slow down in a vehicle without stepping on the brakes, the RPMs typically increase because the engine needs to work harder to maintain a consistent speed. This is due to the transmission downshifting to a lower gear to match the reduced speed of the vehicle, increasing the engine speed.
When your RPMs get down to 1000, you take it out of gear, press the accelerator to tach the motor up to 1500 RPMs, and drop down into the next lowest gear. Assuming you're operating this truck in North America, your transmission will either be an Eaton-Fuller or Spicer 10 speed unsynchronised transmission, and you must tach up to motor to compensate for the lack of a synchroniser gear in the transmission. If you drop your RPMs down to 700 - 800 before downshifting, you can skip a gear in downshifting, and downshift two gears.
Check the detent & test for downshifting if it's an automatic. o.k. doesn't appear to be trans. fuel tank pressure seems to be the cause too much or too little?
I have a 2002 Mazda Protege5 that we towed 5000 miles across the country (4 wheels down, tow-bar, etc) last summer behind our motorhome and another thousand or more so far this year. Ours is 5-speed, and I doubt you could tow the automatic this way.
Assuming that the machine has a standard mid or forward control set, and not a rear set, the shift pattern is (from neutral) Down, Up, Up, Up, Up. Downshifting to neutral would be Down, Down, Down, Down, 1/2 Up. (Of course, if this has a six-speed transmission, add an extra down and up.)
Probably a matter of where the engine's power band is set out, or you may simply be bogging the engine down at lower speeds. Try downshifting and keeping your RPMs up a little.
You need to downshift to reduce load and drag on the transmission. Ideally, you should downshift before or as soon as you hear the engine being put under a strain. Continuing to drive uphill without downshifting puts undue stress on the engine and slows the vehicle down under the load.An automatic transmission downshifts "automatically" (which is why it is called an automatic transmission).Note: Going downhill driving a manual stick, you don't want to let your speed get too high. You can downshift on dangerous hills or hills with curves to keep your descent within the speed limit.