potential damages of mis-shifting
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Originally Posted by SpitfireS,Aug 28 2007, 10:36 AM
Your car at speed is a reservoir of kinetic energy.
Allthough downshifting into a gear that will not get you into a rev range higher then you are mechanically allowed to.. letting the clutch out a bit quickly without a rev match may accelerate the engine faster then it is able to on its own.
IOW the engine revs up from 3000 to 8000 rpm (for example) in a split second driven by the kinetic energy of the car.
IOW, for a very short time - 10-ths of seconds - you are doing (for example) 10000 rpm.
That MAY put some stress on retainers.
IMO!
So, downshifting like that should always be done with a proper rev match.
Let the engine accelerate (rev up) by you pressing the throttle.
While I DO agree that shifting down abruptly will put more stress on the drivetrain, the engine internal speed is the same as normal acceleration.
Therefore, the pistons/rings/valves/retainers, etc. doesn't get any more stress from "over-accelerating" to 8k than just normal 8k rev.
my $0.02
Dan
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