I have heard that it is easier on the drive chain to manually down shift when going up a grade than to "floor it" and let the tranny downshift on its own. Right or ????
(454 on a P-30 chasis). I currently manually downshift when I can no longer maintain 2600 RPM and upshift again when I reach 3000 RPM.


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Gary & Edie
North Idaho
1988 28' P-30 454

You do the same thing that I do. I don't like to bog the engine down. I'm not sure if it helps with the heating problems to shift down a little early

The firmness of the shift is determined by the throttle position. If you manually downshift at a light or medium throttle, it will be easier on the driveline.

Shifting to a lower gear earlier will result in a lower trans fluid temperature and avoid detonation, too.