I agree with everything DaveGS4 and 1SickLex said. And if you've driven The Tail Of The Dragaon (like they and I have) you'd know how great e-shift is!!!!

 

Looks like I’m in there with Sick – I shift pretty much the way I’ve shifted manuals I’ve owned before. I do downshift regularly and almost always start in 2. Wish I could access 1st though via e-shift. Good explanation of e-shift, Sick.

IMO, the gate shifter has a screwball pattern for 1 and 2 – and on mine, it’s not smooth - and it’s difficult to move from 2 to 1. I seldom gate shift.

 

I've only had my car 2 weeks now but I'm already in love with E shift. Didn't take long for it to be intuitive to me, it's a well engineered system.

My wife could care less, and she just drives it in auto mode, but for me...I seriously think I might have to reconsider stepping up to a 430 in a couple years, because I would miss it. It's one of those things that, if you've never had it, no biggie. But take it away...

That would suck.

 

I have a vague suspicion that the e-shift went away in the GS430 NOT BECAUSE OF EMMISSIONS, but instead because with the GS400 they found that with as much torque as the engine put out, the e-shift was causing extra wear and tear and causing the 5spd auto to fail prematurely on some vehicles. I think they examined the failure/wear rates on the GS400, then thinking that with the GS430 putting out even more power, the problem would get worse. The emmissions idea sounds like a great cop out for Lexus PR. That way they don't have to admit that the 5spd is marginal in its torque handling of the 430s extra output.

All they did on the 430 was punch the engine out a little, in addition to a few other tweaks. I can't see this affecting emmissions that much.


Anyone else with me here?

 

my point of view on this

i can live without e-shift..

but its not just a plus to have.. it's a GREAT plus

and its sucks that they took it out from GS430

 

Not me.

 

Me either!

I've got close to a year on my SC setup now on the stock tranny with just a trans cooler and valve body work. For 6+ months now I've been pushing 350+ lb/ft RWTQ through it without a problem. Seems like the stock tranny will hold up fine with just a couple more lb/ft of TQ.

 

E shift - Gotta have it, but wish the shifts were a little faster. Sometimes, I feel as I have to wait hours for it to shift

 

E-shift is an electric switch and so is the gear lever as far as D-4-3-2 is concerned. There is no reason why E-shift could strain he transmission any more than the moving the shifter though it is easier to do it more frequently. Although it may have been dropped for emissions reasons, I would be suspicious of other reasons like marketing differentiation or transitioning the model range away from it before the 2005 model comes out. Just because Lexus says something in their PR release doesn’t mean it is the whole truth.


I always use E-shift. There's no reason not to; all that selecting it does is arm the buttons. You can then decide when you need them. I use them all the time.

 

I wish my car has E-shift. It's good to drive with an option between gate shift and e-shift.

 

I couldn't live without. I would never purchase a car with out. I thinks it's the greatest thing to have...

 

Frankly I was mad that the 98-00 GS300s didn't have E-shift, but the GS400s did. I just didn't want to spend that much at the time. Then when I was ready for the V8, the GS300 gets E-shift, but the GS430 doesn't.

I had test driven the GS400, IS300, 540i, TL, and A6. I believed the Lexus product to be superior. But the Touchshift in my E430 blew all of my prior thinking out the window.

The Benz will let you shift into 1st gear and you don't have to move the gear lever into a manual mode. It is ready to work when you are. I would rate the manumatics listed above as such:

1. Mercedes-Benz
2. Lexus
3. BMW
4. Audi
5. Acura

I can't speak for any others so there may be better ones available, but from my experience, this is how they stack up.

 

Having driven loaner ISs, eshift, to me, is welcome but not necessary. Gateshifting works fine for me, esp since I'm used to manual tranny to begin with.

What I'd REALLY like is a 6 speed manual in my GS!!! Figure about 0.5 sec improvement 0-60 IF it's a nice, slick box plus the fun of 3 pedal dancing!!! Sigh..........won't happen though.

 

Since im mostly stuck in traffic from rush hour commutes in the greater los angeles area in california, i rarely use the e-shift. I just let the tranny do the work for me. But on occasions i will drive around in 3rd lookin for some fun like how others have mentioned

 

I use it ocassionally but since I have no rev or boost limiters so I have to be careful downshifting. My ECU instructions tell you not to use at all My car only has a 4 speed so it goes through all 4 gears, but 1st is pretty damn useless.