Do you hurt the tranny when using the manual side of the dual gate shifter,when using it as a daily driver by up shifting and down shifting the manual side.

 

from what I have been told no, but I'm sure if you shift too late too often I'm sure it could hurt it.

 

If you shift too late I'd be more worried about the engine.

 

I do it almost every time I drive my car. It's a fun shifter to work through the gears.

 

that too

 

If the TH400 is mostly stock it will up shift even if you leave it in 1st. It's a safety measure built into the trans.

 

Dual gates are fun and look cool. Before I had my 4 spd Vette I shifted the dual gate all the time. Since owning a V8 4 spd, I only shift every once in a while and like the idea that I don't have to.

 

Not true. It won't up-shift until you let it. However, it might delay the up-shift even longer (such as at WOT).

Maybe you're thinking of down-shifts. If you move the lever from 3 to 2, or 2 to 1, it won't down-shift until the speed is safe for the engine.

As far as the original question is concerned, when you manually shift -- up or down -- you are using different "circuits" inside the transmission and different mechanisms (bands, clutches) to perform the shifts. By definition, if two things are different, one will wear worse than the other. But I can't tell you which is worse. I suspect, however, that the manual shifting will always wear the transmission more, since you tend to shift up later and down sooner than the transmission would if left to its own devices.

 

If I leave my car in 1st gear it will up shift all on it's own. I'm not nuts and it's not the only TH400 that I have driven that does that.

 

My buddy had a '66 Chevelle SS 396 with a Turbo 400 and when he would wind it out in first gear it did the same thing. He blew it and we changed transmissions and it did the same thing, both did have shift kits installed. He liked it, layed down some major rubber and fishtailed even more than normal when it finally hit second.
They aren't supposed to upshift according to the manual , it's supposed to stay in first so low gear could be used for engine braking.

 

This WAS, in fact, a built in feature of the TH400 (at least the early Chevrolet ones) and was an override that would upshift into 2nd at a certain high rpm regardless of selector position. I'm not sure if the later ones (or BOP ones) operate this way. I also just had a conversation with a tech at Kotman's Transmissions who said it is actually better for the trans to shift manually. Go figure.

 

FWIW my TH350 with Dual Gate, it will not do that.

 

The dual gate has nothing to do with it and it's a TH400 feature only from what I understand.

 

I am aware of that, i stated it because we were talking Dual Gates and it seems some might not know what the shifter does (or doesnt do).

 

I'll have to try that, you guys just jogged my memory, I am pretty sure mine has always up-shifted at a certain point as well, whether I move it to 2nd or not.

 

When I had a TH400 built a 15 years ago they guy disabled that feature, so it can be removed. In fact it would need to be removed for a lot of drag racers. Can you imagine an engine that turns say 7000 rpm being forced to shift to 2nd at say 5500?

 

Of all the '70s and '80s GM cars I've owned, not one of them would automatically upshift if I held it in a lower gear. I'm not disputing anyone else's experience, just stating mine.