I have a 07 NBP with Navi. I usually dont use the SS but sometimes i want to have fun with the car but i dont really know how to shift, can anyone summarize how to use the SS? How to downshift etc? I tried searching, but none gave a satisfactory answer. sorry if this is a dumb question, but i really want to know. Thanks guys.

BTW been driving the car for couple months, and it is great . No regrets.

 

There is a lag that you have to compensate for and the only way to learn how is to practice. All you do is pop it into SS mode and start shifting, up or down. just remember or look to see what gear you're in. it will automatically shift you into 1st at a certain very low speed/at a stop. you can also start in 2nd if you want (useful in snow)

 

i understand practice makes perfect, and i do switch to SS sometimes to try. Is there anything i need to look out for when downshifting or slowing down, or cornering?

 

Downshift when you feel like the car is not peppy enough. If you're just slowing down to stop, like at a light, don't downshift, let the car do it -- a manual driver would just slow down in gear and then drop it to neutral.*

Generally speaking, gear selection is entirely up to how it feels and what you want the car to behave like. Looking for a more sedate ride? Stay higher up. Want more excitement? Lower.

One thing you can try to do is figure out when the automatic shifts normally... see if you can see where the car does it and use that as a starting point for what it should feel like.

--W

* Manual driver who have to pay for their clutch themselves, that is, but this is a topic for another day.

 

sry for the temp thread hijack but does anyone know if its bad to throw the car in neutral then back into gear without comin to a full stop

 

I see, and what gear do i stay at if i want to maintain an average speed like 60kph?

 

Why the hell would you do that in an AT? The transmission is set up to basically allow this already as part of its basic functionality. Do no ever take you car and drop it into neutral while still in motion in an AT.

 

Using the SS mode is much different that a normal manual in the fact that you don't shift up for 1st, down for 2nd, etc. In SS mode you bump it up every time to shift up. You bump it down when you down shift. It took me a little getting used to.

 

How come? I've done it before.....

 

I was taught to do that only when the cars goes out of control. you should try putting it into neutral to cut the power and stablize the car. Other than that, i dont see why we have to do that. Maybe when the car is stopped at a light, i know some people like putting it in neutral when waiting for the light to change.

 

I just read through this section of the manual last night. If you haven't already, give that a read. There are several conditions where the car will shift for you, and there's also limiters at low and high speeds (that is, you can't use a certain gear below a certain speed, and if you go too fast in a gear it will shift for you). It also downshifts for you as you slow down and come to a stop. I tried it the other day just to see - there was a delay to deal with. I actually didn't care for it too much, but I suppose under certain conditions it would be useful.

 

"D" would be appropriate based on this question.

However, 60kph is about 40mph here. Generally speaking the "proper" gear on the TSX is 4th which provides the best economy. The engine and gearing will tolerate anywhere from 2nd through 5th -- but each gear will give you different ride characteristics. It might even tolerate 1st but my car is still in the break-in and I'm not going to find out for you, tee hee.


--W

 

IMHO this is faulty. Move it to neutral only if the engine is racing uncontrollably, not if the car is out of control. Especially on a FWD car: you can often regain control in -some- situations by actually -applying- power.

 

FWIW the most common use I have for the SS mode is to downshift when approaching a known speed trap (nice straight, well paved road, 4 lanes, residential, posted 30 MPH).

 

Yicks.. I've been doing that a lot. I read in another thread about how to save gas, and it said to do that... I guess I won't be doing that anymore

 

for me, i'm mostly in ss when i'm entering a highway or passing on a lowly back road. it takes some getting used to, but you'll get the hang of it by watching the tach at first, and then you'll be able to shift seamlessly by simply the sound/feeling the engine gives off

 

That works if you drive a manual because you have the clutch to slip when you disengage and re-engage the drivetrain. In an automatic, dropping the car into neutral and then slipping it back into gear is a surefire way to fuck up your transmission.

 

Thanks for letting me know, I won't ever do that again..!!

 

On the other hand, putting it in neutral while waiting at a drive-up ATM or something is perfectly fine.

 

You might as well put it in park then.

 

Also, it's arguable the benefit of this is small, if any, in terms of fuel economy. There are a lot of safer ways to save gas that won't damage the transmission. Being light on the gas, not speeding, and use your instant MPG display to cruise between 40-60 MPG are all better ways. These things do a lot more than neutral ever will.

 

I use it when I'm on the highway that way you can downshift in to a lower gear and get a little better jump to get around somebody rather than the normal acceleration lag. But in my opinion its pretty easy to pick up, and pick up pretty fast. And once you get used to the sound of the engine/timing/feel, you wont even need to look at the tach. Good luck and have fun

 

Thats called a neutral slam correct? And it is not not not good for your transmission

 

When i go to a drive-thru, i just pop it into neutral and pull up the handbrake. or else the car seems to be struggling against the transmiision or something.....i donno....lol

 

good looks on that man
i would drop it into neutral since it would help me slow my speed down faster
now i know better

 

If you need to slow down faster, use the SS mode and downshift as you decrease your speed on the brakes. This will utilize engine braking which is more effective than putting the car in neutral.

 

^ good, USEFUL info

 

It is struggling against the brakes. I do this neutral-handbrake thing all the time though.

As to why not Park - because Park is through Reverse.

--W

 

^ And don't forget, you can "pretend" to be a Manual car when you roll back after you relase the handbrake! Hahahaa...

But I do that sometimes too when I am too lazy to put my foot on the brake or when I am doing something during a stop. Pop it in Neutral and handbrake.

 

I've shifted into neutral while the car was moving all my life, never had a problem. Almost all those instances were when I was descending a hill and didn't want the engine to do the braking for me (even in 5th gear). In those instances I usually shift into neutral to coast down a hill. At the end of the hill, when the car returns naturally to approx 60-65 mph I rev the engine (which is idling at 600rpm while in neutral) to around 2000rpm and then put it back in D. If I need to shift back to D at some higher speed I just rev the engine to the appropriate rpm for that speed (called "rev-matching").

Its not the same a neutral-drop or a neutral-slam. A neutral drop is when, at a standstill, you gun the engine to a high rpm in neutral and then drop it into gear to get the tires spinning. That is very bad for your transmission.

If you want to experiment with SS just watch what the automatic transmission does when in D. (i.e. watch for when, at what rpm, the tranny upshifts and downshifts) and initially, mimic that. Once you get the hang of it then experiment with how the car feels if you let it rev up higher or downshift sooner. In general, for economy driving, you want to upshift before 3000rpm and downshift before 1000 rpm. For performance driving the higher the rpm the more horsepower and the more engine-braking ability. Have fun.

 

Yeah, that's what I've been doing. So is it ok or not??

 

I don't know the inner workings of a transmission to tell you absolutely yes or no. I've been doing it and I've had 0 problems.

 

Thanks! Good to know! I was worried there for a sec

 

I've driven a manual for years, it's not the amazing display of testicular fortitude people make it out to be.

 

Why when you can go for the real deal? It's not like other cars where it's not offered, e.g. IS350.
I don't understand people that try to make their autos look like manuals by doing ^ and putting a shift boot over the gear shifter

 

I know...but people at my age (19-22), they think manual is the shit and AT sucks. MT > AT anyday even if it's a corolla against a mercedes. Man...kids these days. They think MT is all that...

 

Becuase maybe due to certain circumstances like family, parents, frequently talking on the phone during drive...and all that/

 

I always thought using SS affects milage even if you shift at the same rpm when it's in D. Somehow..SS jus uses more fuel....from what I heard. And, is there a difference in milage for shifting under 2k rpm and under 3k rpm?? I am still trying to test/expierment that theory.

 

Not true. The only difference is that, in SS, you pick the shift points instead of the transmission logic. If you were to mimic exactly what the AT logic did then your mileage would be identical.
Think of it this way. When accelerating, the more throttle you give it, the more fuel is burned. The higher the rpm, the more fuel is burned. If you are slowly getting up to speed then the best economy comes from being light on the throttle and upshifting sooner (say 2Krpm). The quicker you want to get away from a stop the more throttle (press down harder on the gas) you will give it. This will burn more fuel. And, to continue accelerating at a faster pace, you will not let up on the accelerator when the engine revs get to 2Krpm but will let it wind higher and higher(say 4Krpm). So, more throttle (more fuel) and higher rpms (more fuel) results in lower fuel economy.

 

^ so what you saying is... If I apply the same pressure on the gas pedal in two scenerios. One always upshift at 2k rpm and the other always upshift from 2.5-3k rpm. The 2k rpm scenerio will still safe more gas? Because I heard from rumor that if you rev below 3k rpm, the gas milage is always the same (waste the same amount of gas) whether you shift at 2k rpm, or 3k rpm.