After reading a couple of post regarding reseting the ECU I decided to do this today and try it out. I was in tiptronic mode and thought that the car would automatically shift up to 3 from 2 if I didnt shift before it hit redline but this was not the case. Instead my it sounded like the car kinda bogged out for a second. Whats up with that. Should it automatically shift up to 3, and whats with the bogging out?

 

It won't shift beyond the gear limit you set. If you're in M-2 for example, it will NOT shift to third (or fourth or fifth either).

As far as 'bogging out' that's called CUTTING OFF THE FUEL to stop you from destroying the engine.

 

Ive driven the IS and a 911 which auto shifted up before redline. Thought the GS would do the same.

 

Not much point in having a "manual" mode if the darn thing will upshift for you. [Don't get me started on the auto downshift or lack of first.] Are you sure you didn't drive those cars in full auto mode? Because that's what you are describing.

 

100% sure. I know the porche def does but the IS Im pretty sure of. Its been a while since Ive driven one.

 

Bit -

Maybe the GS is different, but on my LS even if you leave it in 2nd and push it it will shift into third by itself.

I found this out in the heat of the moment racing a V6 mustang one time. I forgot i had it in second and was up to like 95mph then I felt it shift into third but the shift **** was physically still in second!

 

But this is an LS and even though you were gate shifting the tranny is still designed to protect itself from the "lack of awareness" of the driver. The e-shift on the GS is designed to be more sporting and stays where it is told [as it should, IMO]. Again, don't get me going on the auto downshift. Many "sportier" cars stay in the gear that's selected to the point of bogging the engine -- just like a manual -- if you are going too slow for a selected gear.

 

I do not believe the GS tranny will OVERRIDE the e-shift or even gate shifter position setting. If you're in 2nd for example you can smash up against the rev limiter all day long and destroy both the engine and transmission.

 

Yes, this is my experience as well. Whether you e-shift or gate-shift the GS goes no higher than the specified gear. I was merely commenting on the experiences of Lvangundy and Jacko711 who have had other cars shift to the next higher gear.

 

Dont get me wrong....I was pleasantly surprised to see this.

Jackco

 

I just dropped my GS off for service and will be driving an IS for the next couple of days. I'll let rev and see what happens. Wow, after driving the GS the IS sure is toss-able and the steering is much lighter.

 

On the other hand, while in e-shift mode if you want the car to shift up at redline just hit the up button early. There is no need to try to time the upshift by watching the tach. As long as you're accelerating hard the tranny won't upshift when you hit the button early, it will upshift automatically when it nears redline and it will do it more consistently than most humans could, with the exception of maybe drag racers like Warren Johnson or Jeg Coughlin.

I e-shift down while braking into a turn so that I am in the right gear when accelerating out. Much better than letting the tranny decide when to down shift, which is usually halfway through the turn, which is too little, too late and can upset your traction as well. Also when driving aggresively through stop and go traffic, I leave it in 2nd or 3rd to allow for quick spurts of acceleration in and around cars. Gee I love pretending I have a Miata !

This is what I have found the Lexus e-shift to useful for. As long as you understand what it can and cannot do, you may find it useful. It's definitely not like your driving a clutchless paddle shifter Ferrari.

Redgs4, I understand your issue about it shifting down to 2nd when you wanted to stay in 3rd. I'm wondering if a Supra geared and TC modded car would differ as I have not experienced your problem, though maybe I need to drive as hard as you do on a given freeway onramp. You'll have to let me know what location you can get this to happen so I can try it.

Needless to say, with the current gas prices (over $2 in Nor Cal), I have not e-shifted much lately.

 

Really? A thirty cent (or whatever) increase in the price of a gallon of gas has influenced your driving that much? That amazes me. If you lived in England with gas at $5 a gallon, would you ride a bicycle?

 

Well if it were just the 30 cents thats one thing, but combined with the loss in gas milage due to aggressive e-shifting, I figure the cost per mile is costing me double. To your point it's not breaking the bank.

Yea, I rented a car in England and thought that my cost per mile wasn't too excessive, until I figured out that they go by Imperial gallons which is less volume than a US gallon !