The 1-2 rev flare has been a characteristic of the AA80E transmission starting with the 2007 LS 460. When the engine and trans are cold, the flare is very evident. When the vehicle is at normal operating temp the flare is non-existent. The shift flare is programmed by design to help smooth the 1-2 shift.

 

Drove an IS500 LE yesterday, the transmission felt much smoother and less aggressive in each mode vs. the 2020 GSF I've driven. Really find it hard to believe the transmission tuning in this car is not totally unique to the IS500.

 

I dispute that. For me it is quite clear that Sport and Sport + have very different maps in terms of shifting.
The car holds gears much longer in Sport + mode. Very easy to test and replicate.

 

Anyone know what is the recommended RPM / speed one should shift out of 1st gear in sports+ manual mode? I do not wan't to damage the tranny but would like to push it as well (safely).

 

Whenever you want before redline.

 

In manual mode mine automatically upshifts to second gear. If I try to do it manually it double shifts to third. So get used to not shifting from first to second the car will do it itself.

 

At redline it will upshift to second gear, but based on his question, he's probably not gonna be redlining it that much...

 

Makes sense then, I'd suppose like someone else mentioned anytime is good. If you are just wanting to hear the engine sound and not go redline I'd say around 6k?

 

Just don't drive around in low gears for long periods of time. Let the car warm up before you push it. Otherwise, you are good to do whatever you like.

 

Thank you! Did not know that and I will try it but not today (raining grrrrr). I have been driving manual transmission for more than 30yrs and 1st gear for me was just to get the car rolling out of a stop and then shift to 2nd gear, never pushed 1st out to near redline. I never had to replace a tranny on any of my previous cars (MB, Audi, Toyota) and I have never had to replace a clutch with less than 145k miles on it. I never push my car to break it but I am no slow driver either (3 speeding tickets in the last 2 years with a retainer lawyer to show up with me in court).

I never had to switch to manual mode on my Infiniti, I love the way it responds compared to the IS500. It has about 50 fewer horses but has 20+ more torque with AWD. That thing pins me to the seat when I gun it, the IS500 does not, thus I am experimenting with the manual transmission mode.
I have read a lot of comments online that the IS500 should be driven in manual mode to get the monster out of it, thus my original question regarding 1st gear safe limits.

Yes, this. I do like keeping my cars for more than 10yrs and avoiding large expensive repairs.

 

^^ dont forget about the pedal and that last little extra push that really opens up this beast. That will give the kick you might be craving

 

Put it in Sport S+ for most aggressive programming and drive it in manual mode. These transmissions can be a bit sluggish until they warm up. Remember that the transmission will shift faster and firmer the more aggressively you are on the throttle.

 

I have been experimenting with this for the last 2 weekends, originally it felt like I floored it but then like you said to push it some more and there it goes. Not sure what to feel about this, it's like CA and MA with their 10lb trigger pull law. Kind of safety for the stupidly impaired.

Thank you for the feedback and yes I usually wait 5-10min of normal driving to warm my transmission in any of our cars. Especially in the winter.

 

I have exact same problem! And i hope they don’t call this normal!! And it does this when it switches from 5th gear to the 3rd it skips the 4th gear

 

In my IS 350 I see something similar. When it shifts down from 3rd, it will skip over 2nd unless I manually shift down. I don't think it feels bad or is a problem.

If you're in Sport S/S+ it will hold gears longer. This is by design.