SW17LS

It's completely different than the 6 speed or 8 speed that were talking about. Experience with that isn't applicable to this topic.

ls430lover

this thread is all over the place,

a cvt doesn't have gears and is like a big rubber band.
it design in the 450h is set up for fuel economy but in n means is close to a 6 speed in feel.

the 6 speed or the 8 speed are great automatics set up nice for power, shifting ease, and fuel economy

the 8 speed with the extra 2 cogs helps with fuel economy and the point was there are enough complaints about the 22mpg combine or 20 combines, the 2013 6 speed combined would be a little lower than the newer models with 8 speed

as far as hunting lexus and all the german manufacturers have done a great job with the 8 speeds and are great with down low power when needed and uses the extra ratios to cruise and get greater mpg, hunting 8 speeds are for a lexus vehicle with a naturally aspirated v6 shouldn't be . if you do a compare and contrast with the germans especially the 5 series as an apple to apple the 8 speeds are brilliant with no hunting, instantaneous kick downs, picks the right gears to maximize fuel economy... its usually a programming issue if the gs with the 8 speed is hunting alot for gears. in all fairness i had two gs loaners probably were 2013 because the trannys were perfect no hunting. when i took out the 8 speed in recently in the is200t it shifted well with no hints of bad programming

rjm

I've driven the 8-speed enough to know it's significantly less aggressive than the 6-speed. I prefer the 6-speed by far. Two extra MPG isn't that important to me. I'm looking for a driving experience that I can enjoy.

SW17LS

A lot of the quirks about the 8 speeds come when you live with them over time. I never recall test driving one and finding its shifting unusual, its always come to light as I've lived with the transmission over time.

Its not a big deal, but if I had the option to choose I would choose the 6 speed even if it meant a little lower fuel economy.

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

6-speed feels way better, isn't this the reason they went with this I remember an article in regards to this, where Lexus said they went this route because the 6-speed felt better and sportier.

1111GS

I had a 6 gear and now an 8 gear. Some claim the change is for smoother ride, better gas mileage... I see no change in the ride. If anything I hate it when going from zero to 30-40. Rpm ramps up and seems stuck. Improved mileage? If I remember correctly the paper shows ...1-2mile per gallon improved! Imo the 6 has a stronger sound when excellerated. There has only one owner here that I know speeds highly about his 8 gear. The rest prefer the old 6. You should check it out yourself. It may not be what you hope.

blacksun

Here is my opinion on the 6-spd. The transmission performs well in normal driving, but I think the ratio spread between 1st, 2nd and 3rd is too broad. On the highway, I typically need to drop to 2nd to get the engine in the sweet spot but because the ratio spacing is so broad it upsets the balance of the car. Similarly when driving around town, 2nd gets bogged down so I drop to 1st and have the same issue.

I'd really like two gear ratios between the current 1st (3.52) and 3rd (1.40) gears.

SW17LS

Fuel economy. Seriously, thats why the automatic transmissions on all modern cars shift weird, tall gear ratios.

chiefguy

The 8 speed is simply a better transmission than the 6 speed. And the awd is for sporty driving as well....it actually helps a lot in the rain/wet weather.

AL13NV8D3R

I have a 4GS RWD with 8 speed. I am also in the camp for the 6 speed. I agree that 6 speed shift quicker and seems to put the power down better. But after driving my 8 speed for two years i can say i am use to it now and drive just as fast in it than i can with the 6 speed. Just one thing 8 speed owners need to remember is to down shift twice before going full throttle and always drive in sport or sport+ mode to get the most out of your drivetrain. In the six speed all you need to do is put your pedal to the metal and car will down shift to perfect gear and take off like a bat out of hell. This is not true of 8 speed versions of GS.

SW17LS

In what way is it a "better transmission"?

I would absolutely disagree with that statement.

JDR76

This is a frequent topic on the 3IS forums as well. Some independent tests have tested the IS350 AWD 6 speed model as quicker to 60 than the RWD 8 speed model, despite the AWD having extra weight and drivetrain losses.

The 8 speed has one more shift on the way to 60 (hits 60 mph in 3rd) whereas the 6 speed hits 60 mph in 2nd, and many believe this is the reason why.

Afrosheen

I drove the RC F sport as a service loaner a few months ago, and I felt like the 8 speed was slower in that car than my GS F Sport 6 speed.

I had a G35 with the 5 speed auto before and despite snapping your neck every time you left a stoplight, it was pretty great. The 5th gear was pretty high strung, you could set the cruise control at 80 and hit a 10 percent grade and it wouldn't even shave 1mph off the cruising speed. The GS will lose 4 or 5mph in the same scenario thanks to the taller gearing. At the same time, it gets significantly better gas mileage on the highway because the revs are so low.

Pluses and minuses, it'd be nice if manufacturers gave us a choice but everyone seems to be in a race to cram the most gears in the transmission right now.

peteharvey

I haven't full throttled for a while so I can't comment on speed.
However, my 8 speed shifts imperceptibly, compared to my 6 speed whose shift is more noticeable...

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

The GS450h uses a Lexus Hybrid Drive eCVT unit which utilizes a dual planetary gear set. It's really just a power splitting device. All Lexus hybrids use eCVT.

For 2014+ GS450h models, the transmission was reprogrammed to have '8' predetermined gears vs the 2013's '6' to match the GS350.