Is it bad to engine brake (tiptronic)? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Wondering if I'm doing something bad to the transmission by downshifting to slow down rather than use the brakes in my tiptronic.

I only use manual mode when driving spiritedly. Brakes are cheaper then a Triptronic trans, why over work it?

Assuming your taking about street driving, the real question is what's wrong with your brakes? You have the privilege of having one of the best brakes in the world at your feets. Why would you avoid them and put more wear on one of the more expensive parts of your car? In 15 years of existence and nearly 100K miles, my car has gone through exactly one set of rotors and brakes. If you drive with your eyes, most of your braking can be reduced by simply lifting off the throttle rather than mashing the pedals. Win win for brakes and transmission. Your car has plenty of other mechanical weak spots, you don't need to create new ones.

To answer your question no it does not hurt the Tip to downshift instead of using brakes. The ECU will not let you over rev or downshift into an over rev situation that would cause damage. I do it all the time and have been for five years with no damage.

Perfectlap nailed it. Brake.. downshift. Tip or manual.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wearing the transmission during down shifting seems unlikely as an Automatic transmission has a Liquid coupling and by its very nature eliminates wear and buffers any shock loading. I would think its easier on the transmission than a manual shift. Granted I don't know the inner workings of the Tiptronic but doesnt that make sense and hence the downshifting is not a problem. In the Manual I downshift and engine brake a lot but I'm more worried about distracted drivers rear ending me so I apply a little brake for the tail lights so they get the message that I'm slowing down.

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The Tiptronic heats up more when using manual mode. There is definitely an affect on the trans using it that way.

I'm still at a loss as to why you would do this? If your sole purpose is to slow down or stop, why not just use the brakes?

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I use the transmission to slow and maintain the speeds all of the time. My sister use to use the brakes near her home and she would be lucky to have her brake last more than a year and many times they would only last 10 months. She now uses the transmission often and her brakes last several years before requiring replacement and the rotors are rarely warped anymore.

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It is the same as downshifting with a manual to slow down, I used to do it with manual trans all the time. It is a matter of preference to the owner, those who want to brake can use the brakes.

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It does not heat the trans up enough to cause damage, if you check the manual you will see that Porsche says it is ok to downshift the trans to slow down.

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Is that on the same page as IMS bearing longevity?

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The IMS bearing longevity chart came out as an addendum to the owners manual. You didn't get yours?

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I find braking to where I can grab third at about 3.4k rpm then easing off the throttle is the most effective way to slow the car with a bit of brakes for the last bit. As you have mentioned my only worry is people not seeing me brake from behind.... However, I usually have some distance between me and the next car back so I don't need to worry about that 🏼

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That's how I drive too. I shift the car out of gear and let it cruise to a stop or a freeway exit and apply the brake as needed. The brakes have been lasting very long this way.

My Tiptronic seems to aid in slowing the car down on its own by dropping to a lower gear as the car decelerates.

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Another member posted this elsewhere, very useful for dealing with tailgaters: Front and Rear Fog Lamps If you have no manual, you probably don’t know you own these, but you do! Next time you’re in your Boxster at night, turn on the headlights, then pull the knob out once. See the fog lamps light up in the front? Now pull it out a second time. See the additional lights in your tail lamps? You’ll have one or two light up… some people have wired both so it looks uniform. If you only have one light up, nothing is broken… that’s how they do it in Europe. If BOTH rear fog lights light up, then you have a secret weapon for tailgaters. Much like riding your brake pedal to get them to back off, you can just turn on your headlamps and pull out the knob twice and pop it back in when people are tailgating you and they’ll think you are slamming on the brakes.