as some have mentioned. ECT PWR is no good in traffic. Makes the car too jumpy

 

I personally keep that off, since I noticed that I use more of the power band of the IS in Normal mode (which means I can go faster and make good use of the torque). People that don't see any change in MPG between Normal mode and PWR mode have more than likely reconditioned their throttle input with their foot to the pedal to account for the "increased responsiveness" that they perceive.

From what I recall reading the forum threads, the IS transmission is off of a Toyota Tacoma. Which leads me to think that the "quick shifting" is nothing more than a placebo, a perception of what we think should happen.

 

um, I'm not sure if anyone mentioned quick shifting. Anyways, I used the power mode a few times, it does just what everyone says, it stays in lower gear longer so the RPM is higher (keeps around 5000RPM), so the engine is louder. I assume this uses more gas, but never really check since I don't use it that often.

One other thing that I notice that's not engine related is that the gas pedal is easier to press.

 

The 6-Speed Manual is. Not the automatic. Tacoma isn't even offered in a 6A

 

Most of my driving is highway. If I do take the "city" route to work, I don't hit more than five lights. Really not an issue for me but I suppose everyone's situation is different.

 

I've started calling it the "As**ole Button".. because its perfect for when I feel like driving like one.

 

Well said, and quite appropriate indeed.

 

I'm not talking about slamming the brakes on, just having to make an unanticipated stop, the multiple downshifts brings the speed down faster than with out the multiple downshifts. I drive in commute traffic and have noticed this often. The same principle as downshifting with a manual as opposed to just pushing in the clutch when making a quick reduction of speed. The transmission is not doing this to help me stop better but in anticipation of acceleration it is putting the transmission in a lower gear for quicker response.

 

Ah, thank you for pointing that out.

I'm always learning something new everyday though these threads.

 

Actually, it is not just perception, read the description someone posted earlier, it clearly states it will actually down shift sooner (not faster) if you press the accelerator.

Basically, on normal mode it would take longer for the car to down shift gears and actually get some power going than it does on PWR, when it is ready to down shift almost immediately.

I would assume that trying to get speed from 30mph on 5th gear would not only take longer but also waste more gas than going from 30 to say.. 60 on 3rd or even 4th gear. Does this make any sense? Anyone that has ever driven a manual transmission long enough should understand...

Also, I've been using it for a few months and have not noticed a difference in MPG, I still get the same average per tank of about 27mpg as I did before I even knew this existed.

 

You're correct, the reason why I say that it's a perception is that people that assume that downshifting sooner is their explanation of why it shifts "faster" instead of what you just clarified, "sooner."

I remember a thread not to long ago where Kurtz argued with fellowed members on the PWR button and what it exactly did.

 

I'm a DD and in 'commuting' traffic 2x daily. The first 6 months I didn't use the PWR setting.
Once I turned it on I did like the accelerator responsiveness when commuting.

If I had a 350 then I probably wouldn't need the PWR setting. But with my 250 AWD, in traffic situations, it felt sluggish without it.

I didn't notice any real change in MPG.

 

Brake pads are much cheaper than transmissions though... (there's some more reasons not to downshift for braking as well as far as engine wear- but this is discussed in more detail on another thread about why you shouldn't use S mode to brake the car).


My point was whatever 'amount' of braking you experience with a combo of the brake pedal and downshifting, you can get that same amount of braking by just using the brake pedal alone but pushing it down a bit further.