Rotor Cleaning

[m@Robertson]

Of course a mechanic would say that,

Creating transmission wear to save on brake pads is the opposite of paying a mechanic more money. You are just trying to force a point with a snotty retort, as usual.

ask any enthusiast driver (who knows how to downshift properly) instead.

Yes lets. Personally, I have thousands of laps as a driver run around race tracks all over California, across a period of several years. The "enthusiast" move can be summed up short and sweet. Its something every newbie driver hears in classroom instruction, before even being let onto the race track as a passenger:

"Smoother is faster".

You blow the smooth part by engine braking.

Downshifting just to add engine braking during the deceleration phase would be an unnecessary and potentially dangerous drain on your adhesion budget.

Exactly. But its worse than just that because you also scrub off hard-won momentum, and have to pay to regain it again. It is dangerous as you say because you are no longer best-case for the vehicle's tire weight distribution. Which is why anyone who knows anything about performance driving knows you only brake before the curve and stay off deceleration entirely during your transit of it.

 

[6zfshdb]

I find these last few posts Interesting. At the risk of further derailing the OP's thread, my 2022 GMC Sierra pickup has a 10 speed auto transmission. When using the adaptive cruise control on a downhill grade, if the speed exceeds 10mph over the cruise setting, the transmission automatically downshifts 3 or even 4 gears to maintain the set speed. These last posts imply that this can cause damage. It seems strange to me that GM would design a system which is harmful to the transmission. The vehicle is also equipped with auto braking which could be used to scrub off speed but GM chose to downshift instead??

This feature is an option and can be turned off. Perhaps I should do so.

 

[None]

Creating transmission wear to save on brake pads is the opposite of paying a mechanic more money. You are just trying to force a point with a snotty retort, as usual.

Where did I say that I create transmission wear just to save on brake pads?
As usual, you turn your reply into personal attacks, just assume the things I say and don't care to read what's actually written.
Do I ever call you names or assume your personality?
Do you like someone doing that to you?

Yes lets. Personally, I have thousands of laps as a driver run around race tracks all over California, across a period of several years. The "enthusiast" move can be summed up short and sweet. Its something every newbie driver hears in classroom instruction, before even being let onto the race track as a passenger:

"Smoother is faster".

You blow the smooth part by engine braking.

You should learn to read more carefully, here's what I said:

I use as little brakes as possible on my rides, even on my cars & motorcycles.
Brakes, who needs them, they only slow you down.

I find these last few posts Interesting. At the risk of further derailing the OP's thread, my 2022 GMC Sierra pickup has a 10 speed auto transmission. When using the adaptive cruise control on a downhill grade, if the speed exceeds 10mph over the cruise setting, the transmission automatically downshifts 3 or even 4 gears to maintain the set speed. These last posts imply that this can cause damage. It seems strange to me that GM would design a system which is harmful to the transmission. The vehicle is also equipped with auto braking which could be used to scrub off speed but GM chose to downshift instead??

This feature is an option and can be turned off. Perhaps I should do so.

Computer on your truck likely can do way faster calculation to shifting than any human can possibly do.
Likelyhood of damaging the transmission is lower than human operation.

 

[PCeBiker]

,.. It seems strange to me that GM would design a system which is harmful to the transmission.

A lot of car companies are now making transmissions that come with transmission fluid that is good for the life of the transmission.

What they don't say is that by not changing your transmission fluid, your transmission will wear out WAY faster.

As long as the transmission wears out after the warranty has expired then people are inclined to buy a new vehicle instead of replacing the transmission.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I find these last few posts Interesting. At the risk of further derailing the OP's thread, my 2022 GMC Sierra pickup has a 10 speed auto transmission. When using the adaptive cruise control on a downhill grade, if the speed exceeds 10mph over the cruise setting, the transmission automatically downshifts 3 or even 4 gears to maintain the set speed. These last posts imply that this can cause damage. It seems strange to me that GM would design a system which is harmful to the transmission. The vehicle is also equipped with auto braking which could be used to scrub off speed but GM chose to downshift instead??

This feature is an option and can be turned off. Perhaps I should do so.

Interesting point. Seems like GM's top priority here is to keep a heavy truck from running out of brakes on downhills at the expense of some extra transmission and engine wear. Reasonable trade-off from a safety and liability perspective, and who will know how long their engine or transmission would have lasted otherwise?

 

[PCeBiker]

,.. Seems like GM's top priority here is to keep a heavy truck from running out of brakes

Especially if it's hauling it's maximum payload.

 

[m@Robertson]

I find these last few posts Interesting. At the risk of further derailing the OP's thread, my 2022 GMC Sierra pickup has a 10 speed auto transmission. When using the adaptive cruise control on a downhill grade, if the speed exceeds 10mph over the cruise setting, the transmission automatically downshifts 3 or even 4 gears to maintain the set speed. These last posts imply that this can cause damage. It seems strange to me that GM would design a system which is harmful to the transmission. The vehicle is also equipped with auto braking which could be used to scrub off speed but GM chose to downshift instead??

This feature is an option and can be turned off. Perhaps I should do so.

This is normal on auto-cruise control type settings, which is a pretty gentle process. Think on it: Its the safest, gentlest way to decelerate an auto automatically. It doesn't cause damage though. Thats not the point I was making above. What it does is cause wear - even if only by a small degree - on a system that is MUCH more expensive than a simple, cheap set of brake pads. So a few years down the road, you will be much happier replacing brake pads than you will rebuilding your transmission. You want to stave that expense off if you can.

I leave cruise control on going down a hill and let it downshift too. But what @None was pretending was that a performance driver would do such a thing when tearing around/hauling ass ... and nobody who knows what they are doing will do that, in part for exactly trhe reasons @Jeremy McCreary stated, and it is one of the first things they teach you in Ricky Racer school. You are actually still in the classroom when they do.

But you don't need to care about any of that. Just remember that if you can, wear out the cheap, easily replaced parts first. Duh... right?

 

[m@Robertson]

Interesting point. Seems like GM's top priority here is to keep a heavy truck from running out of brakes on downhills at the expense of some extra transmission and engine wear. Reasonable trade-off from a safety and liability perspective, and who will know how long their engine or transmission would have lasted otherwise?

When you are looking at a truck pulling a boat (or some similar heavy load), if its traveling down a long grade the only safe way to deal with that is to downshift and let it coast down. Otherwise that is one of the few ways you can cook your brakes 100% of the time on a passenger vehicle versus a race car on the track. But what @None was claiming was different.

Where did I say that I create transmission wear just to save on brake pads?

Go back and read what you said.

As usual, you turn your reply into personal attacks, just assume the things I say and don't care to read what's actually written.

Do I ever call you names or assume your personality?
Do you like someone doing that to you?

You argue about nothing. You claim build experience but seem to have drawn all the wrong conclusions from your experience, if in fact you have what you claim. I don't dismiss someone's opinion lightly. But after your behavior here on this forum and on others, you have earned that dismissal.

You should learn to read more carefully, here's what I said:

Computer on your truck likely can do way faster calculation to shifting than any human can possibly do.
Likelyhood of damaging the transmission is lower than human operation.

That is a false characterization. It is the level of disingenuousness I expect from you. In this case you are conveniently deflecting attention in a different direction. Unless you have gone back and altered your post, its all still visible to read. This sort of garbage makes for time-wasting throttle forks that give nothing positive to the community.

 

[None]

Go back and read what you said.

I quoted what I said, can you not read?

You argue about nothing. You claim build experience but seem to have drawn all the wrong conclusions from your experience, if in fact you have what you claim. I don't dismiss someone's opinion lightly. But after your behavior here on this forum and on others, you have earned that dismissal.

What are you talking about? What build experience do you refer specifically? what are my conclusions? What specific claims have I made?
Can you even provide any evidence of the claims I made?
You provided nothing as evidence, but accuse me of my opinions, my behavior, as if your own opinion without evidence is valid?

That is a false characterization. It is the level of disingenuousness I expect from you. In this case you are conveniently deflecting attention in a different direction. Unless you have gone back and altered your post, its all still visible to read. This sort of garbage makes for time-wasting throttle forks that give nothing positive to the community.

As if computer do not calculate faster than humans?
I did not change my post, can you even specify which post you are referring?
If you failed to read my post and assumed things that I didn't write in my post, is that my fault?
Calling my post garbage is what you do, without providing any evidence to support your claim.
Dismiss whatever you like, without supporting evidence, any claim one makes is just BS.

 

[AnnaHu]

Try to use alcohol to clean your bike, and you'll do much less damage to your bike.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

For the really tight spots, I like to fold a thin rag (aka old t shirt) and pinch the ends. It’s kind of like flossing your bike. You really can get in more nooks and crannies that way.