hjones4841

I live in a hilly area - 100-300ft elevation changes in areas of town that I frequent. Not long after I got my CPO 2011 LS 460 in December I started downshifting to S3 or S2 and let the engine do part of the downhill braking instead of using only the brakes. My thoughts: saving brake pads. Bad idea for the extra wear on tranny and engine? I never let the engine get over 2500-3000 rpms.

In previous domestic cars, I never got much over 25k miles out of a set of front pads. I just imagine that Lexus pads are at least twice what I used to pay.

Thanks for your opinion.

Nospinzone

I wouldn't do that. The wear and tear on the transmission could end up costing you much more than brake pads. A pair of Akebono ceramic pads are only about $60 shipped from The Place for Brakes. Do a search of this forum for Akebono.

robert1408

S2 and S3 at 2500-3000 revs doesn't sound hard on the trans at all to me. That's a speed range of only 20-45 mph maybe. To see what happens if you don't downshift, find Harry Chapin's old song about 30,000 pounds of bananas.

JDSTL

My dad always said "transmissions are expensive, brakes are cheap".

I admittedly did it occasionally in my LS as well as that transmission provided very little engine braking in "D" if you just let off the gas.

I'd try to avoid it if I were you.

pmiller

I always downshifting when I drove my 5 speed 1983 VW GTI. Never done it with an automatic car. I'm with others. I'd rather replace brake pads. I recently replaced all the rotors and pads myself. Don't think I could do transmission work. I'll leave it in D.

is150

iTrader: (10)

I'm with everyone else. I'd rather replace my pads and rotors than the transmission.

SW17LS

I only downshift on steep, long mountain grades where to me its a matter of making sure the brakes aren't overheated and faded by the time I'm halfway down rather than trying to preserve brake life. On the mountain trip I take a couple times a year the only time I use engine braking is going down one grade, its 7% and about 7 miles long.

slimjimtel

In my IS350 down long downhill stretches out of Asheville, NC or Blowing Rock, NC where you have to ride the brakes to keep from speeding. I would pull the stick over and let the car ride in 4th. There is nothing wrong with this as the RPMs never got too high, I would still have to hit the brakes occasionally to keep my speed down. IF you rode your brakes down the entire way, they get hot, smell and can potentially warp the rotors from the excessive heat.

My LS600 gearbox is different and doesn't seem to work this way. HOWEVER, I can set my Radar Cruise and the car gears and brakes to maintain the set speed. It's pretty cool. It does rev up, but never over 2500RPM and will brake when needed. Normal cruise control is worthless in this situation as it will just keep increasing your speed and go over your set speed, then you need to brake, cruise turns off and your back to ridin' the brakes.

hjones4841

Thanks for the info, friends. I will go back to using the brakes instead of downshifting. I was thinking that the Lexus transmission was pretty much bullet proof, but you are correct - wear is wear and every time it shifts is more wear.

jlawr

I may be naïve. I thought downshifting puts wear and tear on the engine, not the transmission. I also thought the LS engine IS pretty bullet proof. If I were going down a 7% grade, I would definitely downshift to ensure the brakes don't over heat.
There's a famous case of a little old lady who went off the Haleakala Mountain on Maui and died 'cause her brakes gave out from over heating. There are signs recommending downshifting there.
Just sayin'