souinds like you have hanging calipers, the brakes suck in those cars, but six times in 43k????? WOW your calipers have to binding. calipers are pretty cheap anymore, id get two new/or rebuilt ones, through them mammy jammies on, bleed em, adjust the rear brakes, and make sure nobody had used vice gripes on the front brake hoses to the caliper, cause they get crushed on the inside and wont release right. but as far as you downshifting the trans?????? must be a stick right??? cause believe me brakes are cheaper then a transmission. hope this helps in some way
