Say someone is egging you on at the red light. Would you use your shift paddles or just floor it? (is250 awd)

Missing my manual transmission so bad...

 

No reason to ever, ever use the shift paddles (or as Kurtz would say - top gear limiter paddles...) Basically the only thing the paddles allow u to do is downshift when you're in a higher gear - say, to slow yourself when going down a hill without braking.

 

I used the paddles on my IS recently on an Autocross course. As for straight line acceleration I would say no.

 

floor it in D. paddles are useless in drag racing

 

Fastest launch in a drag race is to set the ECT switch to normal (sport mode is slightly slower), then floor it in D.

 

sport mode is slower than normal??? sorry, new owner here. i haven't even used the sport or snow modes but figured they must work. guess not?

 

no paddles

 

Cool, no paddles normal mode. Thanks everyone! I always thought sport mode was better off the line.

 

Not better off the line but fun in normal driving

 

Depends on what purpose. In a straight line/drag race scenerio, that is correct. You will achieve better race results with ECT on Normal and in Full Automatic - "D" Mode. The reason being that car ECU will keep you in the powerband/range of the RPM longer or at least let you reach peak RPM for maximum HP. You end up with more usable power.

Just MASH on the gas go WOT with ECT on Normal and you should be fine.

In Sport/Power Mode, sure you will rev up to an Higher RPM, but it quickly shifts out of it before reaching peak HP or not holding it long enough. It's perfect for stop and go scenerio such as autocross events or track events.

 

Make sure to fully disable traction control too.

 

Carefully consider your competition, as well. The IS250 AWD is not going to blow the doors off many sedans.

 

Ironically enough, I find I use the shift paddles more in winter (or any particularly bad weather) for the engine braking benefit. They're a gimmick / selling "feature", novel for a few tries then it quickly wears off.