On the newer IS, you can press the paddles without moving the shifter to S, is there a way to do that with the 06 model?

 

Only '09+ models.

 

The paddles are a big waste of time. I would love to know what they were thinking putting such a useless feature in the car.

 

I love the paddles, very useful when you need to get to places in a hurry

 

Can you explain that please?

 

For the most part the gear limiters are a waste of time.

There is one scenario where they are useful. Say you are waiting to take a 90 degree turn onto a busy road. Sometimes while rolling out and taking the turn simultaneously at low speed, the car will automatically shift from 1st gear to a higher gear too prematurely for my taste. As a result, once I am parallel to the road and ready to go WOT, upon WOT the car has to shift back from 2nd to 1st gear.

I find that to be slightly irritating. I wish the car would hold 1st gear through the turn. That's where the gear limiters come in. Simply limit the car to 1st gear through the turn, and the moment you go WOT press the "+" paddle 5 times as quickly as possible (while you are going WOT). Problem solved.

 

It's useful for the 09

 

Throwing the stick from S over to D seems faster than paddling up 5 times and does the same thing...

Personally the only use I find for em is driving through the mountains to save your brakes.

 

Not a bad idea, good call.

 

It helps that when I approach lights thats turning green I am downshifting into 3rd or 2nd so I can take off right away.

Also when I come into on ramps for highways I am in the optimum torque band by being in 2nd or 3rd again.

Also I can stay in low gear for a section of the road that will eventually open up etc.

Nothing I hate more than stepping on the gas then a slight delay followed by a down shift, then another once the computer figures out you really want to get it on.

 

Hey, as long as it works for you. I just wish it did more than just limit the gear.

 

I understand. I don't know what model year you have, but in mine i can just hold the upshift paddle and it returns to normal 6 if i didnt have the shifter in S mode.

 

I love using the paddles on the freeway while in D. The IS shifts into 6th gear so early that whenever you need to quickly pass someone I hate having to wait for it to downshift. I just hit the paddle twice to get into 4th and ounch it. Then manually work it back up to 6th. Makes the car a ton more fun to drive.

 

Regarding paddle shifters - I found that in my BMW and my first IS250AWD, they are designed to coast beautifully thereby increasing gas mileage just a little bit. But, because they coast so well, you end up needing brakes much sooner than you normally would. On my BMW (318XI), I had to put front brakes on at about 25,000 miles. On my first IS250, I used the paddles for downshifting routinely - just traded it in today for a 2010 model and the brakes were still fine and I had 36,000 miles on my 2006 (I know, I don't drive very far - I live 1.2 miles from the hospital where I practice).

Interesting that the manufacturers have figured out how to get a little better gas mileage, and get the owner to bring their car back sooner for a $500 brake job (if it's just the front).

I also find the paddles much, much easier to reach and to use than the shift lever.

 

Brakes are cheaper to replace than engines and transmissions, so constantly downshifting putting more wear and tear on both much more expensive parts to try and save your $65 brake pads doesn't seem like the best plan.

(and if you're spending $500 for front brakes I hope it includes lube)