Shifting ?

[SmartDigger]

Do you have to use the paddles when you shift manualy? When I test drove the car I used ( and liked) the paddles but can you shift using the center stick in manual mode ?

[SmartCard]

Sure can.....you can use both!!

[donnah]

Hi
Can someone give me a step by step use using the manuel shift drive?
I had a very short lesson with salesman and there was not a lot in the book. I have never driven a maneul shift car except for a couple of times.
Just not familiar with how it should react.

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by donnah

Hi
Can someone give me a step by step use using the manuel shift drive?
I had a very short lesson with salesman and there was not a lot in the book. I have never driven a maneul shift car except for a couple of times.
Just not familiar with how it should react.

Shift out of.......1st gear into 2nd @ 10mph
Shift out of.......2nd gear into 3rd @ 20mph
Shift out of.......3rd gear into 4th @ 30 mph
Shift out of ......4th gear into 5th @ 40 mph

After break-in of approx 1000 miles, use any mode you prefer.

This is my own method of break-in and driving and not anything official by any means...to each his own.

Important things to remember during break -in....Don't *lug* the engine (make it groan by driving it in too high a gear for the road speed)
and don't rev engine beyond 4000 rpm. After that....drive it anyway you want.

John

[donnah]

Thanks John
When you are in manuel and are slowing down like for a stop light
Does it automatically shift down? Or do you need to down shift and is that true for coming down a mountain grade as well
Can you change from auto to manuel while moving
Donnah

[smart1190]

donnah,
The car will automatically downshift when slowing and you can change from manual to automatic at any time.

[tivoboy]

the car will downshift, in that it moves from a higher gear to a lower but WAAY later than one would do it if one was to use the transmission to affect any amount of braking. Which, I don't really recommend, but normally ones does downshift upon deceleration.

That being said, I would NOT affect this during the break-in period at all as it could lead to higher revs and more strain on the engine and transmission. Not sure what a brake-job on this vehicle is going to cost, but it is most likely LESS than the clutch or transmission mechanism.

[jonnysan]

Originally Posted by donnah

Thanks John
When you are in manuel and are slowing down like for a stop light
Does it automatically shift down? Or do you need to down shift and is that true for coming down a mountain grade as well
Can you change from auto to manuel while moving
Donnah

you will see that it is very user friendly, Donna. It automatically shifts down whether you are in the manual or auto mode. You can change from manual to auto mode anytime you want. If you want to use engine braking while descending a slope, simply shift into manual mode and shift down to the next lower gear. The only caution here is NOT TO SHIFT DOWN INTO TOO LOW A GEAR RELATIVE TO THE GROUND SPEED YOU ARE AT WHEN YOU WANT TO SHIFT. For the safety of the transmission and more importantly the engine, never shift down to a gear too low or overreving the engine may occur. This table probably is clearer...

When traveling at 50-70 mph, OK to shift down to 4th.
When traveling at 30-50mph, OK to shift down to 3rd.
I would not shift down any further than 3rd at any time unless you are sliding thru a stop sign illegally at, say, 20mph and want alittle extra boost on the accel...then 2nd would be OK there.
Hope that helps and again, this is my style of driving. Others may have different speeds at which they want to shift, especially if they have tachometers to monitor engine rpms.

John

[donnah]

Thanks so much, guys for the driving lesson.
Donna;)

[Westfield 11]

I used to lift my foot from the gas pedal as it shifted to "help" it out, but now I find that it shifts better if I just keep my foot steady on the pedal. It seems to make the 1-2 shift in D a lot faster if I don't confuse it too.

Remember that the acellerator is not connected to the engine as in most older cars, this is "drive-by-wire" and the pedal is connected to a computer that controls the throttle the shifter and the clutch. I find that if I think of the gas pedal as a speed control and just let the car figure how to match things up it shifts faster and smoother. It seems to work in manual and auto mode for me although it may be because of the way the computer has learned my driving style. How adaptave are these computers anyway?