I love the Steptronic! I live in the mountains of Utah, near Park City. As I leave the house I have a long, 1.5 mile or so downhill drive to get to a main road. I like to leave the tranny in 2nd all the way down to save brakes.
the first question is... does this have any deleterious effects? Engine is usually cold at this point.
What about shifting into Steptronic mode while driving- does one need to let off on the gas, or just shift the sucker? What about downshifting to help slow down on long mountain stretches.
Is there a trade-off between brake wear and transmission wear that needs to be considered

?