Does driving @ low speed in hi-gear & skipping gears harm the engine?

I've done a 6th to 2nd downshift by accident once, meant to be going down to 4th. I think I was doing about 60mph, and I did get all sweaty from the engine sound I heard. She was all fine though thankfully.
 
hah to true when my dad drives my car he nearly stalls it changing into 5th at 2.5k revs im like jezuz there isnt enough torque to do that ;)
 
I do it every now and then. Most common ones that i do is 1 -3 if it's a downhill road. And again 3 -5 if it's a downhill road.

And thats about it.
 
I only do 3-5, usually when on a dual carrageway or motorway. Get onto the slip road in 3rd, accelerate to slightly higher in the rev range than you would normally, into 5th and keep going :)
 
KatanaDV20 said:
Dont ask me where I got my habit from but I find myself on 5th gear even when trundling around town @ 30mph.

Also I tend to skip gears. So as I pull away this is the gear-chage sequence:

1 - 2 - 5

I dont even use 3 & 4 (except when I need power while entering a highway or to overtake)

My rides nothin special but its v reliable - a 2004 Nissan Almera 1.5SE with 5 forward gears.

Im not much of a tech-head when it comes to cars, engines and such but I got a feelin OcUK GD is populated with car-nerds :D

Are my habits harming my engine? Im trying to break them but they've become so ingrained its an automatic reaction now lol. I have to say Ive never had an engine go balls-up on me but Im still wondering if Im damaging the internals :confused:

Thanx..
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Just make sure your shifts are smooth mechanically sympathetic ones and you'll be fine.
 
Can't say I've ever skipped a gear changing up but changing down gears I do blip the throttle so the revs match up leading to a smooth down shift and then pull away from there or continue to engine break if traffic builds up ahead.
 
RichIbizaSport said:
Can you not get automatic gear boxes in lorries? 14 gears sounds like a lot of hard work.
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Yes, many modern HGV's are automatics these days.

My Scania for example has a clutch pedal that you use when pulling away or when coming to a rest, otherwise its essentially an automatic. That said, I tend to drive it in manual mode - selecting when to change gear myself as opposed to when the transmission wants to.
 
Don't if moving up the box, but have done on moving down the box.

I suppose that's the bit of boy racer still left in me :(
 
Do this in my 330D, from say 2nd to 5th/6th depending on gradient at 30-35mph, usually means i shot to 30 and decided to just cruise :D
 
RichIbizaSport said:
Can you not get automatic gear boxes in lorries? 14 gears sounds like a lot of hard work.
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Its not.

Because you dont use all 14 of them
Unless you are loaded up and on a hill you would never, ever use first, or even 2nd.

In an 8 speed in a 18 tonne rigid you only really use 3 gears unless you are loaded right up and thats 4-6-8, if its a split box pull off in 4th with the splitter in the up position before you move, across and down for 6th, back across and down for 8th.

In a 5 speed car it would be 1-3-5 for me, in a 6 speed 1-3-5-6, in the astra its that anyway as half the roads I'm on in never going fast enough to bang it straight into 6th without it chugging.
 
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Matt82 said:
Nothing wrong with it, just don't pin the throttle at no revs in fifth expecting the car to accelerate. Labouring the engine like that is likely to do more harm than good. Other than that, as you were sir
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Yea I make sure I dont do that, very smooth shift from 2 to 5 and I hardly need any power since the roads are flat and the car just hums along. Ive gotten so used to the smooth & quiet bass rumble that driving at 30mph on 3rd or 4th seems very noisy lol.

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BTW guys whats meant by "mechanically sympathetic" its been mentioned in your replies! Does it just mean "not stressing" the engine or something?
 
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