[dass]

I drive a 2006 Indica turbo DLG and have been doing this regularly, but am very careful as to when i do it. While up-shifting from 3 to 5, it is always done when i am descending on a road and there is some amount of gravity forcing the vehicle down the road and down shift is when i have to break real hard real fast, like when i see a previously missed speed breaker. So far, haven't had any issues, nor have i seen any benefits, except that it means one less gear shift and pedal push.

[RajaTaurus]

My practice - If I am accelerating hard, to overtake or to attain cruising speed on an upward slope, I press on in 3rd gear to a speed enough for me to cruise and/or until I clear the slope and then when I am in cruising speed, I shift to 5th direct. If I had to still accelerate, then I go to 4th.
Similarly, when I am cruising and suddenly I had to accelerate hard, I downshift to 3rd, accelerate and then to 4th and 5th.
Like many said here, the 5th gear is overdrive, with a slightly negative gear ratio. You must be sure you are on a cruising terrain to go to 5th gear direct, or it definitely gives a jerk on the transmission. It is better always to go to 4th and accelerate to cruising speed and then shift to 5th gear.

[zulfi hansi]

I started doing this unknowingly when I was about 18 - I started driving when I was 13. The point is when I got my licence and was driving regularly I started doing this for the simple reason that when the rpm is right and when you are a teenager you tend to stretch to higher rpms in 2nd gear and there it is - your mind works the logic and you don't even know when you start doing 3 to 5, 2 to 4, even 1 to 3 given the right conditions. Just a few pointers, never do this when the vehicle is on a full load, not on inclines also, all these conditions are not conducive for this type of shifting. That said the pulse of the car (rpm) and your senses just need to be tuned all the time. Never (over)do it for the sake of it, only when its needed.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

... Never (over)do it for the sake of it, only when its needed.

Funny, when I upshift skipping a gear, it feels so unnatural, while gear skipping while downshifting has become second nature!

[prateekm]

Even I've got this (bad?) habit of sometimes downshifting from 5th to 1st especially on signals like the one at Vikhroli on the Eastern Express Highway. While upshifting though, I never skip a gear.

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Funny, when I upshift skipping a gear, it feels so unnatural, while gear skipping while downshifting has become second nature!

It works the other way round for me. While downshifting I feel one should not put too much stress on the transmission and gearbox, since it acts as a natural breaking and slows down the car acting through gears there is a lot of pressure on the them, even the engine goes up in rpm suddenly which also stresses the engine. Unless the engine rpm has slowed down for that appropriate gear to which you are downshifting. I have heard people actually breaking the gear wheels in the process, but mostly in cases where the break has failed and they had no option but to use this method to stop the car.

Originally Posted by prateekm

Even I've got this (bad?) habit of sometimes downshifting from 5th to 1st especially on signals like the one at Vikhroli on the Eastern Express Highway. While upshifting though, I never skip a gear.

Unless you have slowed down to 1st or 2nd gear speed. It is natural in cases where inherently the engine does not have enough power to pull through clutch slipping at very low speeds from 2nd gear, one needs to shift to 1st. Otherwise if you are using this method to slow the car, its a bad habit. Use only breaks to slow the car on signals unless its an emergency where the breaks are not effective in stopping the car.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

It works the other way round for me. While downshifting I feel one should not put too much stress on the transmission and gearbox, since it acts as a natural breaking and slows down the car acting through gears there is a lot of pressure on the them, even the engine goes up in rpm suddenly which also stresses the engine. Unless the engine rpm has slowed down for that appropriate gear to which you are downshifting. I have heard people actually breaking the gear wheels in the process, but mostly in cases where the break has failed and they had no option but to use this method to stop the car.



Unless you have slowed down to 1st or 2nd gear speed. It is natural in cases where inherently the engine does not have enough power to pull through clutch slipping at very low speeds from 2nd gear, one needs to shift to 1st. Otherwise if you are using this method to slow the car, its a bad habit. Use only breaks to slow the car on signals unless its an emergency where the breaks are not effective in stopping the car.

I am confused: are you advocating engine braking or using the brakes? Also the whole discussion is based on the premise that the engine RPMs are within limits that the gear-to-shift-into can handle.

If you understand the engine braking, you should also realize that shifting from fifth to third (repeat: at the right RPMs) will provide you with more/faster engine braking?


@PrateekM, from fifth to the first is probably taking it a bit too far, unless you shift from fifth to neutral and then at crawling speeds shift into first. Though the first gear is now synchromesh, it's best used at starting the car from standstill. The second gear should do the job well in all other situations. Also because of the RPM differences, it may not be wise to skip more than one gear, so if you are in fifth you may want to avoid shifting into the second.

If I were to brake from 60kmph to crawling speeds, I usually leave the car in gear (no clutch pressed), brake and bring the speeds down to thirty-ish, shift into third and release the clutch briefly (brakes still depressed) and the speeds soon drop to ~15kmph or so. Takes just a few seconds.

[prateekm]

I forgot to mention, I use a bike. Taking the example of the Vikhroli signal, if there is no traffic ahead and there is a red signal, I just let go of the accelerator. Then after some time when the speed has been reduced to 30's, I hold the clutch, downshift to 1st (or 2nd) and hold the clutch till the time I come to a complete stop. I guess this is a bad technique though.

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by honeybee

If you understand the engine braking, you should also realize that shifting from fifth to third (repeat: at the right RPMs) will provide you with more/faster engine braking?

If I were to brake from 60kmph to crawling speeds, I usually leave the car in gear (no clutch pressed), brake and bring the speeds down to thirty-ish, shift into third and release the clutch briefly (brakes still depressed) and the speeds soon drop to ~15kmph or so. Takes just a few seconds.

My answer to your first point is in your 2nd point. This is what was my discussion, thank you for putting it in an example, much simpler.