Downshift Or Brakes?

[agrats84]

I travel 18 miles one way to work on single lane roads through the country. I go over a pretty large mountain and try not to use my brakes as much by downshifting into 3rd and pumping them and never riding them. It's about a 3 mile downhill. I don't run the RPM's up at all, but do you think doing this twice a day will hurt anything? I just hit 24K miles and have the original brakes, but was wondering if it really makes that big of a difference in the long run.

[Knowklew]

in my opinion, brakes are cheaper to repair/replace than a transmission.

[music]

I'm assuming 6-spd?

[BlackSilver]

I use tow/haul, which introduces grade braking automatically. Even dragging a 7-ton trailer I only need to occassionally feather the brakes on most downhill grades. One route I regularly run has about 11 steady miles of grade, mostly 3-5% but some up to 7%. I might momentarily feather my brakes about 25 times over that whole route. Many cars I follow are almost continuously showing brake lights.

[Harvey Halabookie]

in my opinion, brakes are cheaper to repair/replace than a transmission.

+1

[jro909]

brakes...i don't even downshift in manuel trannys unless its an emergency

[[email protected]]

I use brakes also, I just can't stand to rev my engine that high that long, it makes me cringe.

[vettelovralexand]

I am personally one for engine braking. I'd rather keep my brakes from overheating while going down a mountain. That is scarier to me than hearing the engine rev a little bit.

[Beer Belly]

We camp occasionally at a campground on top of a mountian, at the base, from a dead stop, you gotta climb a 13% grade for the first 1 1/2 miles....I downshift on the way up.....and I downshift on the way down....only towing a 4,000 lbs. camper, but I don't look forward to using that run off ramp due to brake failure

[uh6tdrvr]

The higher reving engine will work better to help reduce speed. On a Real down hill you cant use just breaks....well unless you want to try out the run off ramp to the side. Why big trucks have exhaust breaks?? Its so their wheel breaks DONT fail. Breaks fail from overheating!

[KMGZ400]

I am personally one for engine braking. I'd rather keep my brakes from overheating while going down a mountain. That is scarier to me than hearing the engine rev a little bit.

 

 

x2 im the same way... with some of the steep hills around me its pretty scary to have your brakes fade

[kdixer]

I assume you have the 4spd in your 09 ext cab. Downshifting to 3rd should be just fine. Alot can go wrong from overheating brakes. Wheel bearings, axle seals, brake fluid break down and brake component warpage are just a few. The engine can handle it no problem. There is no more combustion chamber pressure durning engine braking than there is during a WOT run up to 5k or 6k rpm's and peopel do that all the time.

 

The only thing I used to do with the 4spd I used to have was to downshift to 3rd via acceleration just before I crested the hill and then move the shifter into 3rd. Tha eliminated the bump from downshifting via the shifter. But I highly doubt the tcm will let you do anything that will damage the transmission so you should be just fine downshifting however you choose.

[music]

I assume you have the 4spd in your 09 ext cab. Downshifting to 3rd should be just fine.

 

If that's the case, definitely no issue w/ 3rd on the 4-spd. It's the "direct drive" gear, and can be used all day long (in fact, I do when towing). However, I don't see any engine braking from a gear that tops out somewhere near 140 mph. Downshifting to 2nd will rev the engine more, but I don't do that to "slow down brake". I do, however, use 2nd to help keep a constant rate of descent by downshifting when going slow, and using lighter brake pressure (absolutely do not want hot brakes with that much weight).

[jandersinc]

First of all pet peave!

 

Brakes on a vehicle are "brakes". When you break something it "breaks".

 

My thoughts are brakes aren't covered under warranty, your engine and transmission are. Wear out the ones that won't cost you anything to replace.

[jro909]

it would take a hell of alot to fade the brakes out on an unloaded truck...if your pulling a heavy load, yeah sure engine brake but if your just driveing about use the brakes...yes the engine and trans are under warranty but what happens years down the road when the effects of your driving habits have come to the surface?