Down speeding is:

• A. Downshifting a transmission to increase engine speed.
• B. Upshifting a transmission to increase engine speed.
• C. Using low axle gear ratios to reduce engine speed.
• D. Maintaining engine speed with no change.

Answer: (A)

Downshifting to a lower gear raises engine speed. When you select a lower gear, the engine must turn more times for each wheel revolution because the gear ratio is higher in terms of engine RPM for that road speed. This increase in RPM gives more power available and also lets you brake the car using engine compression if needed.

The other ideas describe different actions: shifting to a higher gear lowers engine RPM, and keeping the engine speed steady isn’t what happens when you shift gears. The axle ratio concept isn’t describing the act of changing gears in the transmission, so it doesn’t capture what downshifting does.