It’s not our fault. We were simply handed down a bad habit. Although it may seem to be the natural thing to do, and it certainly sounds great in sports cars, down shifting to slow down is bad for your car. By down shifting to slow your car, instead of using your brakes, you put more wear and tear on the clutch, transmission synchronizer rings, and the engine crankshaft. Clutches and transmissions are expensive to repair. The average clutch replacement is $900 to $1,800. It’s not uncommon for a clutch replacement in a high performance sports car to cost upwards of $2,500. Compare this to the $250 to $300 cost of replacing brake pads, and it’s not hard to figure out that replacing the binders is a lot more economical than running through the gears.
