For those of you that race (be it street or strip), do you use the manual shifting, or SS mode for the quickest times?

Is there a performance gain to be had from using the manual shift (holding it in first longer, while SS, of course, automatically does the 1-2 shift)?

 

Make sure to turn VSA off

 

from my experience at the strip, using SS is faster than either full auto or manual shifting, with manual being the slowest of them all. btw, if u floor it off the start, the ecu will hold u in 1st all the way to redline before going to 2nd in SS mode. just make sure u floored it, not just pressed the gas hard

 

I've done tests with all three modes and posted the results some months ago.

Bottom line was that manual mode is best for me. SS lack the full control that I demand. As a result I almost always drive in manual mode. About 85% of the time I would say. I do which the shift gate pattern was cleaner.

This may all be due to the fact that I was weened on driving a manual automatic. Which I drove for 8 years. And to boot I drove a manual car for the last 12 years.

Just for the heck of it I tried SS mode today and it reassured me that it's too slow and has limited funtion.

Please keep in mind that this may all be a personal preference. So get comfortable and use what works for you.

RUF

 

If you are on the highway, and someone comes up on you and wants to play, if you have it in D5 and floor it, the transmission will pick the right gear just as fast as someone can in SS mode, maybe faster. No need for SS on the freeway.
If you are on a rural highway with corners, SS is the way to go because you can pretty much just bounce back and forth from 2nd to 3rd; tap-tap. Get going in 3rd, corner comes up-downshift, engine brake, hit the gas exiting the corner, shift to 3rd...
Myself, I have slow corners on the way to my house, so I have it in 1,2, or D3. That way, those sharp corners I can shift into 1st. You can't do that with SS. Engine brake, then rocket out of the corner. Very fun.
I like having SS, and would of picked it over a 6-speed if there was an option. The ONLY reason I would want a 6-speed is if 4th was geared better. That way 5th and 6th could be overdrive. THAT would be fun. Four fun gears instead of just three. Then it would pull strong after 120mph.

 

i disagree about highway, when i'm on the highway, i dont upshift to 4th and 5th, i stay in 3rd if i'm moving in moderate trafic, so i'm in the powerband. if ur in full auto, u'd have to wait till it downshifted, probably twice, from 5 to 4 to 3 and thats about 1 to 2 seconds that u could already be flying

in terms of not pulling strong after 120, its actually not true, after 120 u do pull strong again, its the dip between going from 3rd at 110 to 4th, and waiting for the power band in 4th to creep up at just around 120 when u get the strong pull again that sux

but yeah, 4th gear is pretty bad because of this. new bmw 7 series will be the first auto to come standard with 6 speed... that thing will haul ass on the high end.

 

ZodiakTL, you have it in 3rd for normal highway driving?? Sh*tty gas mileage. I must of misunderstood you. I am saying if some fool comes up along side you and starts playing, when you are in D5, if you push it to the floor, it will drop to 2nd or 3rd, depending on how fast you are going at that time, in milliseconds, not 2-3 seconds. If you are in SS-5, and some fool comesup along side you, then YOU HAVE TO tap it down twice to get to 3rd. Lose a little more time that way.
Now, if you see the guy coming up and are ready for him, sure, shift to SS, or I can leave mine in the bracket, and go to D3, probably faster than SS. But, me being who I am, I would have it in SS. Then, bye-bye fool.

 

From a dead stop, it seems reasonable that manual shifting would hold an advantage over SS, because you can have direct control over the crucial 1-2 shift point (i'm talking quarter-mile runs here).

 

While were on the subject, have we ever got a definitive answer on VSA or no VSA when racing? From what I recall it was kind of along the same lines as this, personal preference???

 

Hmmm,

You guys that suggest that manual shifting mode vs. SS vs. full automatic exhibits differences on the track -- I'd agree, differences amounting to a few (at most) tenths of a seconds. But, c'mon... when you're racing someone on the streets, and since we have no control over the 1-2 shift .. you're NOT going to see any difference. If you DO, you must have very expensive instrumentation onboard that gives you the play by play per street race you encounter. Just floor it in auto to drag someone (usually these drag races don't ever see 3rd gear if there is moderate traffic), and save the SS for enjoying engine control in corners. The only time I use the manual shift is when I'm not sure if the guy next to me is gunna race, so I prevent the tranny from upshifting into 2 .. I leave it in 1st, get the car into the middle of the powerband, and if he goes, I go, but I go faster cuz I'm almost in VTEC in first gear .. and believe me, those wheels wanna come loose around 4700 rpm when ya floor it! I usually shift at 6800 rpm so I can catch 7100 rpm before bouncing off the rev limiter. I also noted that the 1->2 shift is slower than auto or SS when doing the manual method.

Brake into the turn, downshift to 2 at the apex and floor it.

Even brake-torquing isn't necessarily going to give you any advantage, it depends on how sticky the road is that day. If you're getting good traction outta the crap stock rubber, go for it. I know for a fact brake-torquing will significantly help launches once I get some serious rubber up front (i.e. potenzas, pilot sports...)

As far as VSA .. I don't like traction intervening a take-off, in any car, RWD, FWD .. I like the hearty squeals of the front tires at the prelude of a drag race -- it's part of the fun.

Regarding the "manual shift method..." .. Ruf, do you also downshift into first below 25mph (you suggested that you use this mode of driving almost exclusively) .. and if so... are you sure your tranny is going to see the same life expectancy as those of us who aren't using that method? Engine braking by dropping into first gear cannot be good for the automatic transmission, nor the engine/tranny mounts, but I stand to be corrected by someone w/ more knowledge about automotive technology than me.

Pete