I've never tried using it. And the manual isn't really clear on the directions.

So exactly how do I use it?

Would I have to let go of the gas when shifting gears? or does it not matter.
When should shift gears up/down?

I've also heard that using it can mess up the transmission? Is that true?

01' 3.2tl

Thanks!

 

1- You don't need to let go of the gas...

2- don't let the car redline you can feel with it needs to either go up or down a gear.

3 - it hasn't been proven to affect the transmission.

 

Don't stress over this. The TL has made sport shift idiot proof so if you don't upshift or downshift in time it will shift for you. Just put the stick over there and play around. You will figure it out in no time and you can't hurt the car.

Have fun.

 

what happens when ur crusing and then u throw its into SS and drop to third gear and gun it?! (assuming your cruising in 4th). it gives you a burst of pick up and be4 u redline bring it back to 4th....is this bad?!

 

Just don't switch it over to SS while it's switching gears. I forgot the reasoning, but I remember someone posting that here. For the first 1000 miles or so, I drove in D4 or D5. Now I drive in SS all the time. It's an OK feature and gives you a little more control. I will cruise in 4th or 5th (40-50mph) and bring it down to 3rd and punch it every now and again. The car moves to 80 pretty nicely.

 

69ssrscam , the car will not UPshift for you in SportShift (Not Tiptronic, which is VW/Porsche/Audi) mode, unless it's from 1st to 2nd gear. The other upshifts need to be manual or it will bounce off the rev limiter. The car will, however automatically downshift in case you forget.

 

I'm still a newbie in SS mode but basically..drive like you always do until around 3-4k rpm and shift up to normal shift pace...go up to redline and shift up whenever you race. Just like fast-tl, when starting from a stop, almost instantly it shifts to 2nd gear..but the rest your on your own..it's actually quite fun..but i stopped doing this because i heard it was bad for the car if you don't know how to shift it and stuff..

 

You can't go wrong with the S/S since it simply limits you from upshifting to the next higher gear. It's sequential so you won't accidentally go to lower gear that the engine can't handle for that speed (I think the computer governs this too). It's like the WRC rally cars that have a manual tranny with a sequential shifter and that big red LED gear indicator. It gives you a wee bit of a feel when you do hard cornering and holding the gear and accelerate thru the turn doing a pseudo heel and toe. But still, nothing beats a clutch. I still miss stomping on that left pedal.

 

Can you switch to sport shift while your driving in the automatic mode?
Like if I'm going 45mph in auto and switch to ss, would it automatically go into the 4th or 5th gear?

Is switching back and fourth ok or is that bad for the tranny?

 

Switching at *any* point is fine, as the car will remain in whatever gear it was already in before the switch to s/s. The car will not allow you to upshift if the gear choice would make the engine lug, and it won't let you downshift if the gear choice would make the engine overrev. In the latter scenario you'll see the improper gear flash a couple times (If I'm in 5, then bump it down to 4 at 80mph, then bump it down to 3, "3" will flash to indicate too low a gear, and the car will remain in 4). In other words, the tranny has brains, and will not allow s/s mode to intentionally grenade anything. This doesn't mean you can't pull the lever through the shift gate and reach 1st at 100mph.