Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

You want the car in 6th going 10 mph.

Before you suggest this is silly I'll point out it's exactly the kind of thing you wanted to make sure you could do in the IS-F. Which you can. But not the 350.

Because the paddles aren't shifters.


Likewise, you can't use the paddles to DOWN shift either.

Because it's an automatic.

The only thing you can do is forbid the transmission from using gears above X.

This can sometimes SEEM like you're downshifting, but you aren't.

That's part of why it seems like the paddles are slow.

When you hit the paddle you're not, ever telling the car to change gears. You're just changing which gears it's allowed.

After you change the range then the automatic transmission might command a downshift itself if you've just locked out the current gear it was using though.


So instead of "slap paddle->car downshifts" like with the F you instead get:

Slap paddle to lock out 4th (for example) while doing 60 in S-4.

Allowed gear range changes from 1-4 to 1-3.

Automatic transmission now realizes it's not allowed to use 4 anymore and then commands a shift to 3, the highest now-allowed gear.

anthrax144

Another example would be when going downhill. If you let off the gas the car thinks you want to maintain your current speed and shifts to a lower gear to hold that speed. There are times I would rather coast and pick up speed. If you put it in S and try to shift into 6th gear, it won't do it. Stays in 5th or even 4th to hold your speed. I end up putting it into N.

chikoo

It does that for 2 reasons

1. The car is always in the right gear for the given speed. So if you ever need to accelerate all of a sudden, then the car does not have to downshft. End result: car is amazingly responsive

2. Engine braking is achieved, just like a true manual. If you want to coast, put it in N, just like you would with a manual transmssion.

By the way, if you do want a car that would coast freely when you take your foot of the gas pedal, you should try the ES350 or the Mazda3.

chikoo

Agreed that the shifting is slower than the IS-F.

But how the downshift is achieved is not a reason to not like it. Whether it does it as a result of a direct action or an indirect order, the end result is that the gear change happens. Now if they only make it happen faster, which i am sure they will in a couple of years, it will be better than sliced bread.

Gymniac

I think I get it now. But is this an "industry standard?" I've been driving my automatic Acura TSX in "Manual mode" for years thinking I've been changing gears "manually" for instance. Or do Acuras have different logic?

In all the reviews of the ISx50 I've read, one thing that stuck to my mind was the apparent sluggish-ness in "gear changes." Is this because the EPU have to spend extra time "selecting" the right gear from the range? How does it decide which to pick?

And how is this differently done in an IS-F?

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Not a standard at all- some are true direct shift, some are gear limiters, some do rev matching and some don't.

Leave it in D and the transmission shifts just fine (IMHO)

The paddles are slow because as I describe, they're not really shifters... they just change the parameters the automatic is allowed, which can sometimes (but not always) cause a shift.


In M mode the paddles are direct shifters in the F- just like a true manual without the antique clutch pedal in the way.

When it entered the market the IS-F was the fastest shifting production transmission in the world.

chikoo

So true....on my IS250, the auto transmission has been by far the best shifting I have ever experienced, in terms of smoothness, quick and always being in the right gear.

mitsuboost

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to revive such an old thread but does anyone know what would happen if I were to swap an 09+ ECU into my 06 IS350? Will I be able to use the paddle shifters without having to put it in S - Sport mode? like the 09+ IS?