downshifting the auto transmission

[Andrew C280]

for all us people that have auto benz I am sure it out numbers manuals, but I was wonding can you down shift the 4-3-2-D or will you break something ?

[kameraguy]

Good question, as i know a few of us do this regularly. I sure hope it's alright.

[Andrew C280]

because the engine has so much more proformance and almost like a manual when going into a corner I was wondering if i can go from 2nd to 1st with out blowing it up

ps. do we have a post for cars that we have beat ?

[ricerokets4life]

i dunno. i downshift often from 5-4 while braking. otherwise, i just use the kickdown button. its probably not the best thing for the car.

[kameraguy]

I would think downshifting from 2nd to 1st should be ok within reason. Like don't go downshifting with the revs at redline or anything! But for engine breaking for downhill, or possibly turns, I would guess it's ok. Extra wear and tear on the torque converter though, right? Which would probably mean it's not ok if you don't want to replace it sooner than later :p

[kameraguy]

Originally posted by Andrew C280
because the engine has so much more proformance and almost like a manual when going into a corner I was wondering if i can go from 2nd to 1st with out blowing it up

ps. do we have a post for cars that we have beat ?

bnzsport.com has the kill section for this stuff :cool:

[mayagman]

I imagine that manually shifting the car down using the gearshift is much healthier than flooring it to the kickdown switch. The reason behind this is, when you downshift using the stick, you can control which RPM range you downshift in... If you're at 2000, and you need more power, you can just keep coasting at 2000 until the transmission is locked into the lower gear, then floor it. When you kickdown, the short time between the gear engagement is spent thrashing the motor with high RPMs I think. It's much less of a jolt to the whole drivetrain to ease it into gear ahead of your corner, than to wait mid-corner/highway race to smash the throttle down. Also gives you much more predictable performance. When I need to pass or corner, I always choose to shift down nice and easy.

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by kameraguy
I would think downshifting from 2nd to 1st should be ok within reason. Like don't go downshifting with the revs at redline or anything! But for engine breaking for downhill, or possibly turns, I would guess it's ok. Extra wear and tear on the torque converter though, right? Which would probably mean it's not ok if you don't want to replace it sooner than later :p Down shifting to first on a roll! DONT DO IT!! YOU DONT NEED TO AND YOU"RE ASKING FOR PROBLEMS!

5-4 or 4-3 depending on what speed. But in my opinion, these tranny's especially b4 the auto shift style in the 2000's and up,were not really made for constant manual shifting.Tranny for C43,6000.00.From 600SL.

[SLAMMED_C]

I down shift all the time.. hold gears al the time.. the worst thing Ive noticed is poorer fuel economy. and the occasional harsh shift from the trans when driving norally.. but for those of us with the newer 722.6 trans it will relean your driving habits after driving normal for a bit.
And for those who wonder about downshifting while really high in the rpm band.. you can try it... but your trans wont downshift. its a safety feature built into the trans control module. it will not let you downshift from an extremely high rpm.

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by SLAMMED_C
I down shift all the time.. hold gears al the time.. the worst thing Ive noticed is poorer fuel economy. and the occasional harsh shift from the trans when driving norally.. but for those of us with the newer 722.6 trans it will relean your driving habits after driving normal for a bit.
And for those who wonder about downshifting while really high in the rpm band.. you can try it... but your trans wont downshift. its a safety feature built into the trans control module. it will not let you downshift from an extremely high rpm. Well keep downshifting and holding gears and we'll see how long the MB tranny lasts.The c43's come with the auto adaptive learning feature in the trannys as well.The units are from the 600sl.But they are also known for tranny failure.I believe due to abusive driving and not leaving tranny to shift for itself and MB telling people that they dont have to chg the fluid and filter.These trannys are pretty sensitive and expensive.

[SpEeDy230]

I would Imagine that it might not be good to do it all the time. Maybe occasionally but doing it at every light, I think it might put strain on the tranny.

[Superpnoy]

lol i do it all the time...i stopped though after a few times i over revved when i switched on 2nd gear...

[MBDragracer]

No problems whatsoever on the 95 C36 trans. AMG should have kept that trans around a little longer. Iron clad!

BTW, the MBAutowerks w202 rocket (the white C55 Kleeman) has the original C43 trans and rear end. That car blows low 11-second E.T.s all day long with absolutely NO drivetrain problems at all. At least when it comes to AMG 202s, they did not cut corners when it came to the drivetrain or the engines bottom end - for very obvious reasons.

I wouldn't go abusing your trans but would use paranoia sparingly on other weaknesses in our 202s. Just a thought.

[MrSpace]

I use my touch shift to downshift and slow down

I can go into first no problem, I did not try it at high rpm but I think the computer wonT' let me choose the lower gear ifit can'T engage it

Etienne

[MrSpace]

oh and me too when dricing normally sometimes it shifts harder after a while driving hard, that's because of the adaptive trans, I'm getting used to it:P

Etienne

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by MBDragracer
No problems whatsoever on the 95 C36 trans. AMG should have kept that trans around a little longer. Iron clad!

BTW, the MBAutowerks w202 rocket (the white C55 Kleeman) has the original C43 trans and rear end. That car blows low 11-second E.T.s all day long with absolutely NO drivetrain problems at all. At least when it comes to AMG 202s, they did not cut corners when it came to the drivetrain or the engines bottom end - for very obvious reasons.

I wouldn't go abusing your trans but would use paranoia sparingly on other weaknesses in our 202s. Just a thought. I'm sure it has the original Tranny, But with strenghthend internals though!

[speedybenz]

I use my 1999, C43 tranny like a manual on the weekends. I am constantly using 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears and shift to each gear by hand. Several times during the day I will run into the rev limiter

I have had my C43 for about 1.5 years and have had no problems.

I change my ATF fiuld aften and it always looks to be in good shape. As I have said before I use Mobil 1 ATF with good results.

Jeff

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by speedybenz
I use my 1999, C43 tranny like a manual on the weekends. I am constantly using 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears and shift to each gear by hand. Several times during the day I will run into the rev limiter

I have had my C43 for about 1.5 years and have had no problems.

I change my ATF fiuld aften and it always looks to be in good shape. As I have said before I use Mobil 1 ATF with good results.

Jeff Well there it is,If speedy does it,then I'll assume it's ok as long as good tranny fluid is used and changd often.;)
PS which reminds me do get mine done again. Speedy how many Quarts of fluid does the c43 tranny use including the torque converter?

[speedybenz]

coolcarlskic43,

I never completely change all the fluid at one time. I just remove the bolt on the trans pan with a 5mm allen socket. About 4 qts of ATF flow out. When the flow slows down I sometime crankover the engine some to pump more fluid to the pan to get the full 4 qts. Then install the bolt and add the 4 new qts of ATF.

This method takes like 15mins, so I do it fairly often, usually around 3000-4000 miles. But like I said the ATF look almost new when I drain it so I am sure it could go longer. Just being safe as I do drive the car hard on weekends.

So if you follow this method after 3 changes you have basically new ATF fluid.

Jeff

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by speedybenz
coolcarlskic43,

I never completely change all the fluid at one time. I just remove the bolt on the trans pan with a 5mm allen socket. About 4 qts of ATF flow out. When the flow slows down I sometime crankover the engine some to pump more fluid to the pan to get the full 4 qts. Then install the bolt and add the 4 new qts of ATF.

This method takes like 15mins, so I do it fairly often, usually around 3000-4000 miles. But like I said the ATF look almost new when I drain it so I am sure it could go longer. Just being safe as I do drive the car hard on weekends.

So if you follow this method after 3 changes you have basically new ATF fluid.

Jeff Wow! Sounds good!But you do shift often right?

[speedybenz]

When I drive the C43 I am always using the tranny like it is a manual. Around town I leave it in 3rd gear and shift down to 2nd to get really going.

So yes I shift a lot.

Jeff

[Brabus]

I'm about to change my tranny fluid... what about all those warnings about using the MB special fluid?

[coolcarlskic43]

Originally posted by speedybenz
When I drive the C43 I am always using the tranny like it is a manual. Around town I leave it in 3rd gear and shift down to 2nd to get really going.

So yes I shift a lot.

Jeff And you autocross your car as well huh? Wow!

[Renn 208]

Originally posted by coolcarlskic43
And you autocross your car as well huh? Wow!

Actually, I don't think he dodges cones very much:p There aren't enough 90mph corners;)