8-speed manual mode
03-15-14, 02:16 AM
#46
It's manual enough...Anyone who ever owned a 2IS would agree. In that car all you could do with the paddles was to limit the gears, and the car still shifted whenever it chose to. If you're in 2nd, going full throttle and pull the paddle at any time, it wouldn't do a damn thing, just waited till redline to shift by itself. So yeah, this new IS is definitely as manual as they get for being auto, with a safety feature for idiots (or normal forgetful people, or just the average folk) called upshifting at redline, so it protects itself this way from being over-revved. Yes, it can get in the way sometimes and be annoying, but the car is aimed at the mass market which, as I said, is full of people who aren't car people and just don't know (or care) how to treat cars. They would kill the car if given an opportunity. And by the way, in the aforementioned scenario where you're coming into a turn and want to set the car into a lower gear while breaking so it's ready once you come out of the turn, you should aim to be around 5k rpm or there about while going thru the turn. If you're at redline or near it during your turn, you're doing it wrong...For one, if you were driving a manual car, you would run into the risk of locking up the rear wheels, and for two, you lose time because then you have to shift again right away. So if you downshift and the car hits redline, you should've stayed in your current gear for the speed you were going. Another thing, the car will actually make some beeps if you downshift at the wrong speed and make you wait till the speed drops to be safe for the engine, so you wouldn't be at redline anyway regardless, maybe someone can complain about that too! This whole discussion is becoming redundant with the same thing stated/ranted about over and over, knowing well enough the car doesn't do what you're asking. While the rest of us are enjoying what it CAN do! My car doesn't even hit the redline, it shifts 100 rpm shy of that. So I don't even get the rev limiter sound. No complaints, I'll shift 300 before that so I feel like I chose to do it "manually"! Every car out there has some limitations for some people. To me the new IS has none that I can't fix for myself. And like the guy before me said, it's manual enough not to downshift. However, I would prefer it to downshift if I go past the pedal bump (button under the gas pedal). My 335i did just that and it was useful. Sometimes you're in M and you need to drop to the lowest gear asap to get going...That's when it becomes annoying that it doesn't downshift for you ever. I guess to each their own after all...I, for one, have owned enough manual cars to no longer care about ever driving another one. My last car had a racing clutch, that's definitely not a relaxing drive. So the IS does everything I could wish for (just needs 50 hp more! or 100.)
Last edited by TheShaddix; 03-15-14 at 02:24 AM.
03-15-14, 03:10 PM
#47
I agree - no need to further rehash the same information over & over. It's honestly just a matter of preference and opinion. There is no "right" or "wrong" about the way it was designed to shift.I fully agree with what you stated though - the car is for mass market appeal and is NOT a track car. While I would love to be in more control, for reliability reasons, it's probably better than Lexus design the shift behavior the way that they have. Obviously a lot of research, thought, and planning went into it from Lexus' engineers - so I didn't mean to sound like I just hating on the IS or just complaining without a reason. I apologize in advance if that's the way that I came across.
If only sir! I know that myself, along with several others, would love to see a new engine (maybe something that can deliver a bit more power & be more efficient). It would just THAT much closer to being a perfect car for me and be THAT much closer to totally dominating this class.Let's pray for an engine update to come along within the new few years!
~ Im2bz2p345
03-16-14, 02:02 AM
#48
As stated by others I'm done with this horse beaten subject but I will reply once more to clarify a couple things as it looks like a case of misinterpretation on a couple points.
Thanks for the clarification. I was indeed responding to the bolded quotation as I saw "enter redline then quickly downshift". You did say, "as I braked" at the end so its my fault for not seeing that part and assuming you meant brake->then downshift. To me it read like... downshift+brake at same time into a turn - hence my distrust of that scenario.
With the clarification you provided, I agree. And yes, I know what engine braking is.
My turn for rushing my 2-3 AM post and not being clear enough and deserving to get dinged. I broke my points up so it sounded like different statements. Second gear in this car is very fast, hence why I think Lexus over compensates for upshifting in this car, so if you are going fast enough to be in 3rd gear I find downshifting into 2nd puts me at the top end of the gear. So I wasn't trying to say a higher gear has more power than a lower gear though re-reading what I wrote it does indeed come across that way and I deserve to get dinged for that. I was poorly attempting to say that downshifting into 2nd took me to the upper end of gear 2 where all the power is used up. And since the car will upshift for you in 1st and 2nd I find it to be more trouble than its worth. If you downshift from 3rd into 2nd and RPMs rise up close to redline, the (auto) upshift could disrupt the power you were aiming to achieve and that is far more disruptive than simply staying in 3rd gear. Yes it's a bummer but meh whatever... this is a daily driver car for me.
The amount of things this car doesn't do right is vastly outweighed by what it does do right.
This is a mountain/canyon car. While we are on this subject, I don't consider any of the competition (335i, S4, Q50, ATS, etc.) track stars. Some may do better than the IS on the track, but I still (personally) would not pick any of the cars in this class as a weekend track car.
I did not know the car will beep at you for trying to downshift at the wrong time. While some here may find that invasive I think that's pretty cool.
But ya I'm done with this thread. This car doesn't do everything right but what it does do right is pretty fantastic. If it did have an extra 50HP and at least 30τ it would completely destroy the competition because the ride and handling is superior.
Hi Slust,
Thanks for your follow-up. So I think that you may be confused on what I stated. What you quoted in bold above is something that I never once said.
You may be referencing what I stated here:
"If the car was a true manual and I was full in control myself, I would keep the car in 3rd even if its getting closer or is slightly in the "redline" area that so many people are scared of. I would then quickly shift into 2nd as I braked, hit the apex, and left the corner."
So let me clarify a bit: If you're near redline in 3rd gear and you are approaching a turn, you would start slowing down (via brakes). Once the car slows down enough (therefore dropping your rpm's significatly as well - so you are no longer even close to redline at all), you then downshift into 2nd and use the engine's rpm to slow you down further (this is referred to as "engine braking"), you then use the power of the lower gear (2nd gear in this case) to carry you around the apex & to unleash immediate power as you exit the apex.
It would be quite stupid if someone who is approaching redline tried to downshift into a lower gear without reducing their rpm (via braking) first. If you were to do that, you're just asking for trouble and could potentially damage your clutch/tranny. Most automatic cars (even if they have a "manual" mode with paddle shifters) won't allow you to do this.
Thanks for your follow-up. So I think that you may be confused on what I stated. What you quoted in bold above is something that I never once said.
You may be referencing what I stated here:
"If the car was a true manual and I was full in control myself, I would keep the car in 3rd even if its getting closer or is slightly in the "redline" area that so many people are scared of. I would then quickly shift into 2nd as I braked, hit the apex, and left the corner."
So let me clarify a bit: If you're near redline in 3rd gear and you are approaching a turn, you would start slowing down (via brakes). Once the car slows down enough (therefore dropping your rpm's significatly as well - so you are no longer even close to redline at all), you then downshift into 2nd and use the engine's rpm to slow you down further (this is referred to as "engine braking"), you then use the power of the lower gear (2nd gear in this case) to carry you around the apex & to unleash immediate power as you exit the apex.
It would be quite stupid if someone who is approaching redline tried to downshift into a lower gear without reducing their rpm (via braking) first. If you were to do that, you're just asking for trouble and could potentially damage your clutch/tranny. Most automatic cars (even if they have a "manual" mode with paddle shifters) won't allow you to do this.
With the clarification you provided, I agree. And yes, I know what engine braking is.
The amount of things this car doesn't do right is vastly outweighed by what it does do right.
This is a mountain/canyon car. While we are on this subject, I don't consider any of the competition (335i, S4, Q50, ATS, etc.) track stars. Some may do better than the IS on the track, but I still (personally) would not pick any of the cars in this class as a weekend track car.
But ya I'm done with this thread. This car doesn't do everything right but what it does do right is pretty fantastic. If it did have an extra 50HP and at least 30τ it would completely destroy the competition because the ride and handling is superior.
03-20-14, 04:28 PM
#49
Im2bz2p345, you will find most folks do not even know how to drive a manual trans vehicle let alone know the difference between manual shift mode in an auto and shifting in a manual. Fact is less and less manufacturers are making manual trans anymore, except BMW - people are lazy they want everything the easy way and don't want to learn to drive they want a go button and a stop button and they even get those confused and mow down farmer markets. The percentage of drivers who know how to drive a manual trans are probably below 25% and the number who actually drive one probably single digits. There's good and bad, I personally hate downshifting and having some idiot fly up on my bumper at a red light because he/she didn't see brake lights. I wish it held the gear until you chose to shift but it's for people who don't know how to operate a manual trans, idiot proof.
03-22-14, 06:36 AM
#52
Were you finally able to take your IS out to the track over the weekend in order to test out the G-Force Artificial Intelligence function while in automatic mode? I'm definitely curious to hear how your lap times compared when you were in automatic and manual mode.
03-22-14, 06:00 PM
#53
03-24-14, 04:12 PM
#54
Intermediate
Thread Starter
There's good and bad, I personally hate downshifting and having some idiot fly up on my bumper at a red light because he/she didn't see brake lights. I wish it held the gear until you chose to shift but it's for people who don't know how to operate a manual trans, idiot proof.
08-05-14, 09:53 AM
#55
so my car is in for its 10,000 mile service. I put in a request to get this looked at and fixed. By fixed, I mean I wish to be able to hit the rev limiter. The shop foreman or whatever he's called is saying that there is no setting or adjustment for this so there's nothing they can do. I suggested an ECU reflash as I'm sure the logic is built into that, but nope, they won't even consider it.
i'm rather annoyed, but oh well. if I do ever autoX or track this car, I may have to just run in full automatic mode. There would be nothing more annoying than a double upshift as I'm trying to get out of a corner.
i'm rather annoyed, but oh well. if I do ever autoX or track this car, I may have to just run in full automatic mode. There would be nothing more annoying than a double upshift as I'm trying to get out of a corner.
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