Best way to downshift?

[mcomet]

If you check the back of your boxster manual there are recommended specs for what range to downshift in. Downshifting to a very high-rev will slow your car down, but at the expense of transmission longevity. Rev-matching helps so that you don't put the strain on the tranny. Even so I don't usually downshift unless the gear I am in is at 3k or lower. I believe the manual says for downshifts that is generally the limit of what you'd want to do. ie:3k start = 4k in new gear. Doing downshifts higher might be a bad idea.

Also if you were to accidentally go into the wrong gear and be WAAY to high (above redline), that is known as "over-revving" and will be recorded in the computer as it can cause damage to the engine. Usually a tech will check for over-revs as part of a PPI when buying the car...anyhow...I digress...

I tend to blip the throttle late, once in gear. If you wait too long the revs will drop and you won't be rev matching anymore. I tend to ease off of the clutch in a downshift in case I am off, otherwise I am going to very quickly slow down the car. heh. I tend to downshift and rev-match all the way quite a bit...it's fun so why not. Usually down to 2nd...by the time I am in first I am just braking to a stop light. That said I down shift to be in the proper gear for power, not for "stopping". ie: I don't downshift to slow the car down.

comet