does anyone know the limits that you should run with gears on a 6cylinder auto transmission before any damage is done to the auto trans? cheers

i've heard that:

1st gear - max 75kmh
2nd gear - max 115kmh
3rd gear - max 135kmh
Drive (D) - as fast as the engine can go

anyone have other better rule of thumb speeds?

My old falcon used to hit 90kph in first bouncing off the rev limiter, boy were they crazy days; but seriously, the harder you drive, exponentially the quicker you break things and wear them out (not to mention need to service them).

Talking to an automatic transmission specialist the other day, i asked him if its a problem down shifting manually in the falcon auto: "Its not a terrible thing to do every now and then, but there is one single bearing (or set of perhaps?) that will spin to roughly 7,000rpm when you downshift, this bearing is the one that wears out the hardest and when it goes its time for a new transmission."

I flogged many auto transmissions, so much so that when i downshift for corners its almost hitting the rev limiter, its great fun i totally get that, but cos they break so easily and they just dont handle punishment, its really not worth the $800 bill when you break it, just to maintain a stockie car.

In the next few months im going to buy a low k 5.7L manual VT or VX SS, they can be had for $12,000 with 80,000km's on the clock. Why not have the real thing i say?

Oh and the power drops off as you get closer to red line.

Good way to tell if your shifting at the right rpm, is if you change up and feel a 'surge' of power, then your changes are too high