Manual shifting my 4Runner all the time

[lightspeed]

You probably floor it everywhere and drive it like a race car, I'd suggest getting a more performance oriented car as the 4Runner is not that at all.

Not really -- but there's a spectrum of driving styles and I drive with the flow of traffic, albeit at the faster end of that range. One can drive fast but not recklessly. It may seem counterintuitive but you can drive fast and still be courteous, just as you can drive decisively and still be unaggressive.

When I bought the 4Runner I knew it was sluggish from test driving.
But I needed a 7-seat family-hauler that was also a capable off-road truck for weekends. So I bought figuring that a change in my natural driving style would fit more with being a dad of 2 young kids anyway. But also the rumor of a TRD supercharger comforted me somewhat.

In my experience however, the answer to the sluggishness (for me, not speaking for others) is to drive it in manual mode. No supercharger needed. In this mode, I'm fully satisfied with performance. In fact I don't want better acceleration because then I'd need better brakes and better suspension.

Speaking of those, the brakes and dynamics were given mediocre reviews in the press but in my experience the brakes are as good as the mighty Brembo's on my old G35, and the suspension is also remarkably excellent -- without breaking the laws of physics -- there is a decreasing-radius turn at the bottom of a steep incline in my office parking garage, I have taken other trucks down there but never as smoothly as the 4Runner -- I assume this must be the X-REAS. Roll and braking dip far more benign than other trucks also.

Anyways, thanks for all the great advice/ comments, glad to be among you guys!

 

[03_4x4Runner]

I downshifted my 03 4th gen all the time in the mountains and big hills where I live. I never put it in drive or 5th unless I am going to be on a road with a speed limit above 35. I am in the habit of just putting the trans in sport mode form the get go and only use 5th as needed. Never had a problem after 11 years when I traded it on my 14. I do the same with the new one. I would be going through a lot of brakes if I did not and with all the hills where I live it would be shifting in and out of overdrive every half mile. . On my new 4runner I found that if I am going down a big mountain in 5th it will downshift itself to keep the speed from getting to high. It kind of surprised me the first time it did it.

 

[emelianenkov]

I shift mine manually

 

[4ShoreRunner]

You gotta watch that, in my experience.

I was downshifting a lot too- especially while towing my boat. 4th to 3rd, 3rd to 2nd, and then just using the brakes to stop- just like i would do with a manual tranny. Why did I stop doing this?

Numbers don't lie! The Scanguage revealed that my downshifting practice was introducing A LOT of heat into the tranny that sometimes took several minutes to dissipate. Much bigger and faster temperature spikes than the tranny was seeing while accelerating, even up steep hills.

Heat is bad. I let the brakes deal with it now! They are more than up to the task and I would rather put the stress on components that are easy to replace.

My .02 FWIW.

ANTMAN! I was thinking about your post as I was driving into work this morning (mostly because I often think about you on the way to work ) but in reality because my new DD is a 2001 Corolla 5-Speed.

My vehicle before the 4Runner was an 87 Wrangler with the carbed 4.2L I-6 and dual flowmaster exhaust. I pretty much always downshifted when coming to a stop vs. throwing it in neutral and using the brakes because the garbles from the exhaust sounded amazing.

Now I'm downshifting in the Corolla out of habit but in reality think I should rely on the brakes instead of the tranny to slow me down. As you say - brakes are cheaper than transmissions.

Thoughts when driving a true 5-speed car?

 

[jcoleman]

Now I'm downshifting in the Corolla out of habit but in reality think I should rely on the brakes instead of the tranny to slow me down. As you say - brakes are cheaper than transmissions.

Thoughts when driving a true 5-speed car?

IMO, a proper (or close approximation of) rev-matched downshift is not that hard on a clutch.

That being said, it's still cumulative wear on your clutch and brakes remain cheaper/easier to replace. If the satisfaction you get downshifting outweighs that probably minor impact on your clutch, then have at it!

 

[jcoleman]

Regarding the OP's premise of manually shifting his auto being faster than letting the trans do it's own thing, I'd love to see a true comparison of actual acceleration.

I'd wager that while manually shifting might feel faster, leaving it in D and flooring it is likely as fast, if not faster.

 

[1engineer]

ANTMAN! I was thinking about your post as I was driving into work this morning (mostly because I often think about you on the way to work ) but in reality because my new DD is a 2001 Corolla 5-Speed.

My vehicle before the 4Runner was an 87 Wrangler with the carbed 4.2L I-6 and dual flowmaster exhaust. I pretty much always downshifted when coming to a stop vs. throwing it in neutral and using the brakes because the garbles from the exhaust sounded amazing.

Now I'm downshifting in the Corolla out of habit but in reality think I should rely on the brakes instead of the tranny to slow me down. As you say - brakes are cheaper than transmissions.

Thoughts when driving a true 5-speed car?

Downshifts are no issues with a 5 Speed. Lots less moving parts you have to cool, clutches, etc.

 

[Antman]

ANTMAN! I was thinking about your post as I was driving into work this morning (mostly because I often think about you on the way to work )

Creepy... but understandable.

Yeah, what 1E said- Manual transmissions are a whole different ballgame. Downshift to your little heart's content.

 

[Jeremy556]

Now I'm downshifting in the Corolla out of habit but in reality think I should rely on the brakes instead of the tranny to slow me down. As you say - brakes are cheaper than transmissions.

Thoughts when driving a true 5-speed car?

The transmission is not slowing you down, compression of the engine is what is slowing you down. The only way that will cause engine damage is if you shift into too low of a gear, causing the engine to spin faster than red line (rev limiter doesn't work in that direction).

With a manual trans, as long as you rev match, you won't hurt anything. The transmission doesn't know or care the difference whether being spun by the engine or the wheels.

Auto trans will unlock the torque converter and cause fluid temps to rise a bit, but not out of normal operating range, nor is it anything to worry about. The transmission will even down shift on its own in drive.