Is it harmful on A8 transmission to use paddle shifters going downhill and/or on windy roads instead of brakes?

 

Why would "down shifting" be bad either in an A8 or stick? Fine in either case.

 

No, not in general terms.
When I first got my 2014 A6 C7, I had fun in manual mode shifting up, and hard shifting down through the gears. Yes, it will slow you down. I now have two different techniques when driving my car. I use paddle shift 98% of the time. 1st,,,, When just driving in town, not wanting to drive aggressively, I only use 2,3,4,5, This will take me up to about 50 MPH. When I slow down, I don't paddle shift, I leave it in manual mode and let it down shift itself. Very gentle shifts. It will only down shift to 2 gear, which is fine for starting out again, non aggressively. You don't need to shift into first gear all the time. This technique shifts the trans less than half as much as in auto mode. It will start out from a stop just fine in second. With all of the issues I keep hearing about the trans and the drive shaft, this will be the least stress.
2nd,,,,, When I want to have a little fun,,,, I still use paddle shift, and I do get on it hard, banging gears up and down. Starting out in 1st to accelerate and then banging gears to slow down. You can't baby such a great car all the time, but also you shouldn't hit it so hard all the time either.
My other though, think about the stress on the drive shaft and gears going from very hard positive torque to very hard negative torque in about a second, over and over again.

 

My $.02. Upshifting is upshifting, the harder you hit the gas, the harder the clutches are working in the transmission. I don't worry too much about upshifting. It's pretty much unavoidable. IMHO, using the transmission to slow the car by downshifting (A8) is generating avoidable wear on the transmission. Eventually the transmission will need to be rebuilt. How much sooner than if you didn't downshift to slow the car on a regular basis? No idea. So, what is the most effective and least expensive means of slowing the car? The brakes. Generally, it is much less expensive to service the brakes than the transmission. Unfortunately, for me with CCBs, it's going to be expensive either way.

 

From my recent experience I agree. Our Corvette Club goes on a Corvette Run once a month, usually on winding up and down roads. And fast. I use the paddles for downshifting on turns and downhill. Usually thru 3, 4 and 5 gears. I now have a $2k bill forthcoming for repair of C8 trans. Definitely gonna use the brake pedal....can someone show me where it is??

 

I use the paddle shifters most of the time when accelerating, and occasionally when slowing down. The brakes were installed for a reason and as mentioned, are cheaper to replace than a transmission rebuilt.

 

Isn't the reason you downshift manually is to force the transmission to do some braking because you are afraid that the brakes might fade if used too much? I get that if you are driving a semi or a heavily laden truck. Unless I am worried that this run is too long and my brakes are fading, what is the real motivation to engine brake? IF I was going to do that a lot, maybe I should invest in a transmission cooler since it probably will generate more heat for the transmission? I do think that for most cases, I'd rather toast a set of brakes than a transmission. Out of curiosity, how much is a set of CCB brakes vs a transmission (R&R)?

 

I just use the Paddle Shifter the same way I used to use a stick.

I always keep the "R's" up, when I am upshifting. I use engine braking, as well as the brakes, when going down a mountain rode fast.

Anyone, who has come down Priest Rode, on the way back from Big Bear, knows about brake fade in older, heavier cars, like the Chrysler Laser.

With the Z51, it is not something I give a lot of thought, too.

 

So with the C7, what is the reason behind using engine braking? I would THINK the brakes can handle it but as has been said, if you think the brakes are fading, sure, use the engine braking to relieve the brakes.

 

Use that 2nd pedal, that's what it is there for

 

Very interesting. What driving mode do you use in M driving around town, non aggressively? I have an 2018 so I have 8 gears. Do you think you would use the same in town with 8 gears? Thank you.

 

Can your tell us what went wrong with your tranny, and at what miles?
Nice to know what is happening to others...

For those who are wondering, the Z51 has better brakes and tranny/dif cooling than the base cars, but people still manage to overheat them sometimes when driving really hard.

 

Pro, how are you bypassing 1st gear?. When i put my 2018 in M it downshifts all the way to 1st gear.

 

Not sure of the cost of an A8 tranny rebuild. The last time I looked parts for the CCB brakes (rotors and pads) were about $7k-$8k.

 

Vette should be ready by Tuesday. When pick it up I will reply with the repair details.

Thank you

 

Use your brakes
The thing is, the driver that uses the transmission abusively enough to harm the car...has moved on to abuse the next one long before his abuse actually effects the car... The abuser seldom keeps a over reved, abused auto transmissioned, abused unwashed, busted car, for very long.. The next guy is the one that's gotta deal with the "time bomb Corvette" the jerk left you with... Such is Corvette searching... always with ones fingers crossed... 🤨

 

Besides "the next guy", I'm not sure what the pros and cons are of manual downshifting if you don't have expensive brakes. Besides, you buy used cars and it's the risk you take for the lower price.

 

Only reason to downshift is for acceleration out of the corner. Brakes for slowing down, not the transmission. No reason for Corvette brakes to get soft especially street driving if they are maintained properly. So no reason to need engine braking.

 

my 2014 a6 also does the auto downshift in drive to about 20mph!!

 

I use sport mode all the time. If you have an A8, I would guess the same thing, first gear isn't really needed, maybe you would use up to 6th gear in town.