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is down shifting in an automatic hurtful to ur car my friend dose it all the time cause it make him reach a higher top speed is it hurtful to ur car and does it really make u go that much faster?

 
Rep Power: 334

Uhm. Yes.
It does make you go faster... but it does make you end up faster in the mechanic.

You decide which you prefer.

 
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^^^ Are you Sure?

"Down shifting" or leaving it in 2nd, or 3rd will only limit you to those gears...thats all... for example, if you were on the highway, and you had it in 3...it would remain in third gear... You would get the same effect by smashing the gas pedal. The only way it could be considered faster is it dosen't require the computer to tell it to downshift...as its already downshifted...
I guess....
And yeah, its hurtful... Its really not worth it

 
Rep Power: 812

well you kinda have to make it downshift due to how quickly it shifts. Turning a corner to get on the freeway ramp i'm at 25mph and already in 4th gear. stupid car. ya i try not to but the trans is so dumb it requires it.

 
Rep Power: 294

I do believe he is more looking at the - already driving in D and then forcing it into 3rd .. Which will practically redline you, but will give you a quicker acceleration due to that fact. Its a good way to throw your transmission and engine basically

 
Rep Power: 812

well the manual says if you need more power, just floor the gas pedal and it will downshift to a higher gear haha.

 
Rep Power: 279

what?!!! I've been doing that since day one, I have 101,000 miles on my car and the transmission is solid. I don't know about you guys but my car has never giving me any problems especailly with the auto tranny.

 
Rep Power: 334

He got my point.

HuH? WTF!?

And yes, if you just floor it, it WILL go down a gear. That's the purpose of it being an AUTOMATIC transmission.

 
Rep Power: 812

haha i'm sick, tired, and not thinking

 
Rep Power: 334

Hahaha! It would be funny that it said that in the manual. That's why I'm laughing. Extremely bad typo on the manual!

Don't worry man. Go to sleep!!!

 
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Well I have been doing it every now and then, when making a quicker turn, or sudden stops. Everything seems fine still, I don't do it all that often though.
But is it just as bad to upshift? Like starting car from 0 at D3, then shifts it up to D after speed is constant? I do that more often.

 
Rep Power: 812

ya its not good to switch from d3 to d unless you are on the gas and you then throw it in D so that it doesn't shift immediately.

 
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Thanx guys what i meant was like at a red light it rurns green u drop it into 2nd and bunch it then before it redlines put it to 3rd then agian before it redlines put it in drive and it ends up being in a faster top speed because it gathered up more rpms sooner so r u guys saying i shouldnt do it at all anymore???

 
Rep Power: 812

you really shouldn't need to do that tho. it works the same just by pressing the gas harder.

 
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If you wanted to do that... Maybe you should have bought a manual? Just a suggestion!
Try to leave it in DRIVE... it's there for a reason!
And I wouldnt worry too much if your only doing it every once in a while...

 
Rep Power: 334

The 2 and 3 gears (am I correct? I don't hava an auto) are there just for steep hills and... something else. Read the manual, people.

 
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my transmission just went out at 83,000 miles. its in the shop now. and my friends transmission just went out a month ago and he has a 02 civic just like me. I don't think the newer civics have as strong transmission as the older ones.

 
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mine is slipping at 48k haha. junk. the 2 gear locks the trans in second gear only, the d3 uses gears 1-3, and D uses 1-4.

 
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i only downshift to d3 when there is a sudden stop, where i just press the brake and downshift to stop faster, or when i'm going downhill(i live in a hilly area) just so that my brake doesn't burn ... mine is now at 180000 miles, and no prob with my auto (touchwood**)

 
Rep Power: 334

180000 miles?! Sweet! I want my tranny to last that long... but I think I already have to change the clutch at 40k, haha. I did learn manual on my car, so... much stress was given to it.

 
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Does it stress the components of your engine/tranny more? Yes. Whether it's harmful then look more into material sceince and mechanics of solids (i.e.fatigue curves) and then decide if it's harmful in YOUR opinion.

 
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huh?

 
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the manual says if you need to go faster, buy a faster car.

 
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^ hahaha, thats jokes

 
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if you do it alot and not just d to d3 then 101K seems un-likely

 
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If i'm driving around town and not on the free way i tend to leave it in D3 because thats where the shifter locks at when i pull down from park. So i drive around in 1-3. Doesn't become a problem untill i'm going over 60 then the RPMs are a tad to high so i just tap it forward and the car shifts into 4th. There is no reason to bounce back and forth from 2. Although when merging on the freeway and sometimes when i know i'll need to pass someone quick i drop it into D3 before and then pass.
My thought.
They wouldn't put a D next to 3 if you couldn't drive in it. They wouldn't let your shifter slide down to it without hitting the release button, if you couldn't drive in it.
As far as making you get to higher RPMs when accelerating, it's not needed. When i punch the gas my car doesn't shift untill the redline. So if your holding it in 2nd gear then your actually going slower because your going to bunch off the rev limitor a few times before you shift into 3rd. slowing your overall acceleration down.

 
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^^^ I do the same thing as you i think. Hope it's not too bad!
I don't think I use 2 all that much .. i only use that when i'm driving on thick snow.

 
Rep Power: 284

hahaha. i am willing to bet my car that you are the one doing that in your auto, not "your friend". lol

just admit it, its better than lying