Hi all,

I drive a’19 IS350 F Sport and when I take it for a fang on a winding road, I hate that the car automatically upshifts when near redline in manual mode, even without hitting the rev limiter, and it does it in every drive mode unless you have all the traction and stability controls off.

I’m wondering if anyone knows a way to stop the IS from doing this but still keeping traction and stability control on? Any button presses, fuse pulling, perhaps engine or transmission remaps or anything really.

Thanks all!

 

Stock, I don't think so, Have you tried using Sport+ mode as well?

Maybe with some modifications you could turn it off completely, though I am not well-versed in that.

 

why do you keep traction control on? Turn it off. It’s literally the first thing I do when I get in my car. A good driver doesn’t need those nannies on a car like a 350.
I have a stock 2015 350 AWD FS, it will not upshift in manual mode under any circumstance, I can bounce it off rev limiter all day (I don’t do that tho).

 

I'm pretty sure there was a production date in late 2014 where this changed.

 

Thanks for the response, yes I've tried in Sport+ mode, still upshifts. Only when it is in Sport+ AND I've held down the traction off button for a few seconds (so turning off both traction and stability control) when the car is at a stop, only then will it allow me to hit the rev limiter without upshifting i.e. true manual control of the gears. Frustrating because I would still like the safety nets in place but still have full control over the gears. I would be willing to make some mods, just not sure what mods to make

Cheers

 

Hi, unfortunately I don't necessarily class myself as that good, certainly not on the road and if the roads are slippery at all. My car is RWD, not AWD so there is the real issue of power oversteer in corners that I just don't want to take the risk with. The windy roads near my house are often 2nd/3rd gear corners so I find myself at or near the limiter in 2nd, so obviously its possible to get out of shape and in trouble if anything unexpected comes up mid-corner. I enjoy the balance of the car, not hanging the tail out so just want to drive near the limit without worrying about the car shifting up on me or spinning the car. Also the roads have a few bumps, not smooth so the softer suspension settings in Sport actually work better for me.

Cheers

 

That makes sense. Well, consider this - it is actually pretty uncommon these days to have an automatic-transmission-equipped car with the ability to hit the rev limiter without upshifting. I just traded in a VW GLI, and before that a GTI. Those have dual-clutch transmissions and are known for being enthusiast vehicles. No matter what I did, they would auto-upshift at the redline. I still think it's amazing Lexus gives the IS the ability to stay at the rev limiter at all.

in addition, I'd say that, unless you have cheap/old tires or wet conditions, it feels to me like I pretty much would have to force the issue of oversteer in my IS 350. Though, it's not even broken in... So I have not been willing to drive it like a maniac yet. Having said that, it won't oversteer nearly as much as something like a Mustang or even a Miata with the stock tires. Have you ever had an incident with yours?

 

It makes perfect sense the way it is I always thought. If you're on road conditions that you need Trac control on, then you're presumably in conditions you also don't need to be bouncing off the limiter. Unless you're doing donuts?

 

Hi,

Yes, in the wet oversteer is very easy to achieve, esp. near redline in 2nd. Regarding tyres, I've always put good ones on. I've got new Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric 5s on - 235/40 fronts and 265/35 rears, stock F Sport 18" rims. In the dry it's not so much of a problem. Actually the front end has loads of grip, even in the wet, it's more the rear end that is an issue for me. The other issue is the bumpy roads around my place mean that Sport+ can end up reducing traction mid-corner because of the lack of compliance, whereas in Sport mode it copes much better.

My guess is that they've set up the full-attack Sport+ with full traction/stability off for a smooth racetrack, not catering for windy/bumpy roads. I figure, if they can give you full manual control in Sport+ with all the safety nets off, they can give it to you in other modes as well. The car is so awesome otherwise, just this part is frustrating!

Thanks for your input.

 

Actually I've found the car auto-upshifts even up to 1000 rpm short of redline - say you are in manual mode and are on and off the throttle past 5000-5500 rpm, it will suddenly shift up to the next gear even if you don't actually make it to redline. And it's not predictable as to when it will upshift. I can totally understand it doing that if it is in auto mode and you temporarily force a downshift then go to redline, but I'm really not sure why it would do that in full 'manual' mode? And you only get full manual control in Sport+, not Sport, even with the traction/stability controls off.

Cheers

 

So before 2014 you could hit the limiter without it upshifting?

Cheers

 

In normal "D" drive, my 2016 IS did the same thing. It would upshift at 6200 or 6300 RPM. If I went into "M" manual shift mode, it would hold all the way till 6600 RPM.

I actually did get to experiment a little yesterday since the roads were quite wet here... And yes, I did feel a slight bit of oversteer when I really tried. The TC kicked in pretty early. Obviously I wasn't at full throttle because I am trying to be nice to the car until the break-in period passes.

Those are wider tires than stock (225/40R18 front, 255/35R18 rear), right? I wonder if they fit the wheels differently and influence the handling... Obviously, not all tires are made equally, but a 235 is going to be wider than a 225 no matter what.

The 235's in the front make a big difference even with the stock tires on the 2021. It feels super planted.

I think so, if TC was fully-off, though I could be wrong. The overall drivetrains in the ISes haven't changed a ton since 2006

 

when I'm in manual mode the car never shifts up unless I shift it

 

Same as above, when in Manual Mode car never shifts by itself. IS 200t 2016 Europe. And the nannies are ON.
This really sucks, to have the Manual mode but no full control.

Can you try to put it in Manual mode, (Sport and/or Sport+), and then do a couple of shifts with the lever before attempting to check for rev limiter? Maybe this would work like I've seen on other cars.

 

When I see post about shifting past redline on this 3.5 Motor I always wonder why?

At Redline with or without some bolt on mods at Tops the 3.5 starts losing hp and declines at 6300 - 6600 rpm's where it has reached it peak hp.

After this rpm it just steadily declines in hp. Even some Tunes shifting at 7300rpm are scary, to me anyway. Makes me wonder why someone would want to go to peak hp, keeping spinning to possibly over Rev beyond Cams breathing capability, and then shift when the car has declined in hp and still steadily declining in hp and making less hp? IDK, but maybe I don't understand the desire of this? Do this in a close Race and you will for sure lose and get beat.