AznJason

iTrader: (5)

I think I vaguely remember that if you're going above some speed (which seems to be 109, 113, and 109) it'll actually switch to 5th. I'm sure someone can find that post somewhere, but the car's not stupid.

350FSport

iTrader: (1)

This is only from my observation but I believe S mode auto-shifts at higher rpm than standard D mode, more acceleration friendly, less gas-tank friendly. It would be interesting to see what those shift points are.

509IS350

iTrader: (5)

Thx this post. idk not know this info

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Lotta confusion here...

Ok, first, the car is an automatic. ALWAYS. 100% completely.


When you move the stick to S (and are going less than 109 mph) you will see S 4 in the display.

this does not mean the car is "in" 4th.

It means the maximum gear the AUTOMATIC transmission will use is 4th gear.

It'll remain fully automatic between 1,2, 3, and 4.

If you paddle up to 5 that doesn't mean it's in 5th, it means it will now shift fully AUTOMATICALLY between 1,2,3,4, and 5.


The reason it "defaults" to max 4 is because it's the highest gear that isn't an overdrive gear.



And no, putting it in S mode does not change your shift points, the only thing it does, besides impose a max-gear-limit, is turn off the "learning" behavior of the ECU/TCU.

The best acceleration/performance if you're just wanting to floor the car (ie a drag strip) will be if you just leave the car in D. leave ECT in normal mode while you're at it too.

350FSport

iTrader: (1)

Was wondering what ECT mode "PWR" does. I didn't even see it until about a week ago.

I have found the best way to go fast in a straight line is to paddle down to 2 in S mode, then let it get to about 6500rpm's before allowing shift to next gear

Reason I don't do 1 is because first is so short anyways I just floor it and wait until 2nd gear gets close to red. Also, I can't really barely get to 4th before I have to slow down anyways.. No roads around here where ~ 80mph won't get you a souvenir from the local police dept

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

It changes the overall shift behavior in a way that is helpful in part-throttle or on/off throttle situations, but actually slows the car down in WOT situations since it shifts at a lower rpm than leaving it in ECT-Normal.

The exact details of this have been posted in several threads if you want to search for em.



From a dead stop your method is demonstrably slower than just leaving it in D and flooring it. Using the paddles as you describe does nothing in this situation except potentially slow down the 2-3 shift or bounce the car off the rev limiter (which would also slow it down).

350FSport

iTrader: (1)

You are taking away all my fun with your facts! (good to know though)

IS25Heaven

iTrader: (8)

If you go fast enough, it'll go into 5th. I know from experience. hahahah

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

So S-6 is slower that D-Normal? I remember reading on several occasions that they would have identical results in a WOT situation.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Well, S-6 is effectively identical to D, other than it'll turn off any additional ECU learning while it remains in that mode.

I suppose if you have it trained for really passive driving and don't want 1/4 mile runs to be part of the current "learn" (even though they'd be learned back out fairly quickly) you could use S-6 at the drag strip, but you'd get the same result speed-wise as just leaving it in D.

is350idlh

I've noticed leaving the car in pwr mode when passing slower cars on the road seems the fastest. When I blow by slow moving traffic in D and normal ECT it seems kinda slow to act

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

Okay, so hypothetical situation: you're a passive driver, and the ECU has learned your slow accelerating ways, if you come up to a red light and the BMW 330 next to you is revving and wants to get owned (we're assuming an IS350), your best chance would be with S-6 as opposed to D-Normal (with TC off in both cases of course), right? Or is the behavior identical at WOT no matter what the ECU has learned?

is350idlh

I have a similar question...let's say instead I'm at a roll around 30-40 mph...what would be best at allowing the right gear downshift from a roll? Just curious...thanks

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Behavior would be identical for racing the BMW (though if you're in a 350 you'd embarrass a BMW 330 no matter what you did, it's a horribly slow car). WOT is WOT and S-6 should shift exactly like D at WOT.

AFAIK the only difference would be that the aggressive launch/race would not be "learned" into the ECU behavior for normal driving if you were in S-6. Though honestly one such incident is unlikely to majorly change its behavior anyway, and the event would be learned back out in a couple hundred miles anyway if you went back to driving passively afterward.




Floored from a dead stop (the 1/4 mile race scenario) the fastest is D (or S-6 I guess) and ECT-Normal, as proven via datalogging and track results. ECT-Normal actually shifts at a higher rpm than either other ECT mode at WOT.


Part-throttle and from a roll is another story...and is the one place that ECT-Power is genuinely useful for performance.

Here's a post showing exactly what ECT-Power does:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/3305550-post10.html

Note the mention that S mode turns AI-Shift control off (as I mentioned earlier)

So basically from a roll, if you're in 4th through 6th gear, being in ECT-Power will cause the car to downshift further and more rapidly if you then floor it. That can be helpful for passing but useless when running from a stop.

The second and third item in the chart show how ECT-Power is useful for on/off throttle driving in some conditions.

is350idlh

Awesome...thanks Kurtz!