retiree

Anybody done it ? Are there kits out there t do it?

Raheel

Are u saying to put SS Mode AKA Tiptronic Transmission Controls By the steering Wheel? So when ur racing u can change Gears by hand?? Thats TITE, Y dont they do that Stock???

rayman009(2)

cause it's not a ferrari.

TLover8888

maybe this will be an option on the new 2004 TL

rominl

that's hella hard to do. just go get a gs400 or is300 :P

Raheel

The GS and IS HAVE THOSE? I dont think so, so what u saying!?

Raheel

Thats what im wondering.. This Tiptronic Transmissions are new so they will eventually develop.. And about the Ferraris dont they have AMG.. Some that shifts Gears faster than any Human Being can do in a matter of Milliseconds

WiLz

yah they do...there are + and - buttons on the steering wheel

fla-tls

I believe "tiptronic" is just the trademark for Porsche's auto/manual shifting. The term and technology have been around for years.

You're probably thinking of the technology coming into production cars from Formula 1. As far as I know - all transmissions in Formula 1 are auto - with paddle shifters on the steering wheel (there are exceptions to the "paddle shifting" - i.e. buttons, etc). This technology is not the same as "tiptronic."

The automotive technology in Formula 1 is absolutely amazing.

Edr0e

ITS CALLED PADDLE SHIFTER (tiptronic on the steering wheel)

They come in Lexus, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari.

Edr0e

Fla Tls put it down. I was too lazy to read the whole thread...

rominl

umm.... dude, go to lexus dealer and check out the cars..... they have it..... you shift down by pressing the botton on the front of the steering wheel and shift up by pressing the button on the back of the steering wheel.

gs430 doesnt have that anymore, probably coz' of emission problem....

but i bet everything single thing the gs400 and the is300 have them

rominl

HAHHAA, that's called SMG, not AMG. AMG is a sport diviosn of MB.

anyway, sport shift isn't some new technology anymore. my 98 gs400 has them and i am sure it's old news already.

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

thinking about it, when i had the steering wheel off to swap with a type-s wheel, i saw how all the wires were run, and it wouldent be all that hard to add an accessory to the steering wheel... or 2... like a "+" and "-" button... all you would have to do is rig them in to the SRS reel, through the steering column, and down to the shift gate... The shift gate when your in SS mode is nothing special... move knob up, pushes button, you can even hear the little "click" if your real quiet... I bet you coud add it no problem... well maby not NO problem, but it would be sweet as all hell if you got it to work... madd props to anyone that takes that venture on!!!!!

-me

rominl

it's defintely doable, just a matter of money. the ss is already there with all the buttons and stuff, it's just about ripping off the dash and put in the wiring. also need to rip the steering wheel apart to find the matching bottons, drill holes and whatever....

and definitley to get a new shift plate to hide out the + and - sign and also the space on the shift plate, otherwise it would not look good

WiLz

well you would still hafta find some way to put the auto shift into manual mode...like on the lexus i think u gotta push the shift knob into the M slot and then you use the steering wheel buttons to shift

Raheel

DAMN! THATS TITE! Just saw it on there website, THIS IS SO COOL, it talks about how its inspire from Formula 1..

http://www.lexus.com/showroom/model/...eos_large.html

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

Nah, keep the SS the way it is. You have to push the shifter over to SS mode anyway...

And it wouldent be all that expensive.

Just go get the + and - buttons from lexus, they are nice from the GS or IS. Thats the only real cost, that and wire. Everything else would be just time. lots and lots of time... I really REALLY want to do this now

JensH

Actually I would strongly advise against anyone attempting to "add" to the cable reel that controls the airbag for obvious safety reasons.However the manual shift controls in the center console are nothing more than three microswitches.You could if you were inclined to add an extra set of switches on the steering column to a set of buttons on the wheel .Just be very careful of the airbag wiring as it takes very little to detonate an airbag.It would sort of suck if you were cruising down the road and selected the next gear and it arrives along with big bang followed by an expensive repair tab.Jens

Raheel

BTW Its not + & - its up and down LOL

And its placed differently, Not the way you would think..
Its not
|UP |

|DOWN|

The Down is is behind the steering wheel where most radio controls are and the up is on the steering wheel.. so u use your thumb for up and index or other finger for down..

Its oddly placed if you ask me, but they say its Inspired by Formula 1..

rominl

nop, on my gs400 the down is on the face of the steering wheel and the up is at the back of the steering wheel.

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

Yah hes right, but the more i think about this the more i want to do it. Im going to goto Lexus and pick up the buttons monday i think. Little drill action, some creative work, disconnect the airbag...

With the shape of the TL steering wheel, i think id have to place the buttons a little differently... I was looking tonight, the best way to grab the steering wheel and all, i think id have to put both up and down on the back of the wheel. Up on one side, Down on the other.

Hell, this is gunna be fun.

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

Wait a sec... Thanks to a friend, just got an idea..

I could live without volume control on the steering wheel. Im going to put a KVT-911 in it next week anyway... Thoes wires are already ran through the SRS reel, then you have an Up, and a Down button, which used to be volume control, but would now control my tranny... HHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

rominl

hahhaa, just make sure you press the right button and not going to 4th when you wanna do 2nd

rominl

now that's a much better idea

ShaguraTL

Ferrari's paddle shifting transmission is a full fledged manual transmission. Both the clutch and shift linkage are computer controlled. Ferrari is the only production vehicle (to my knowledge) that uses a manual with a computer controlled clutch and linkage. This is Ferrari's version of an automatic transmission. They also offer a true manual where you shift it like you normally would but they do not offer paddles for that tranny.

Ferrari, BMW, Benz, and a couple others now offer SMT (Sequential Manual Transmission). This is different from a manual in that it has no clutch at all. The internals are arranged in such a way that you simply move the shift linkage fore and aft to downshift or upshift, respectively. It's not like our "sport shift" where you press up once and it up shifts, then do it again to upshift again. SMT's *HAVE* to show you the gear your in since it's very hard to tell what gear your in based on shift knob position. Move the shift knob back one notch to go to 2nd gear, move it back a little further for 3rd, etc.



Formula 1 cars use SMT for their transmissions. They've adapted a paddle shifter for SMT's. FIA WRC cars are starting to use SMT as well. I really wish Acura at least got the direction right for our "sport shift". On race cars that use this form of shifting, fore and aft are downshifting and upshifting, respectively. On our TL/CL's it's the opposite. Of course it's quite easy to open up the center console and change that.

Raheel

LOL, I looked it up on the site and didnt rmr the right way so I assumed Down would be behind.. Sorry

Crod818

Was Honda the originator of the "sport-shift" transmission? I know in 96 or 97 it was introduced on the NSX and the controls are on the steering wheel...well, the steering column rather! There's a little stick in front of the windshield wiper controls that moves up or down...you can guess how it works!! After the NSX it was introduced into the TL's or the Preludes I don't quite remember which came first...

WiLz

thats actually how the paddle shift works...one side is shift up, one side is shift down

retiree

My initial question started a good debate !!! I like it

ShaguraTL

Actually, Porsche was the first in the world to have "sport shift" they developed it and implemented it in the 911 back in the late 60's/early 70's IIRC. It was a good attempt and revolutionary for the time. It had it's problems and was expensive and complex to make. With all those factors, it took a VERY long time for this "tip-tronic/sport shift" technology to reach other auto manufacturers and get into the hands of more affordable cars.

ZodiakTL

i think that technically u can go even further back, on the US cars of the 40's and 50's there was an option that allowed u to switch gears by pushing buttons on the dashboard, but it wasnt up and down, instead it was one buttong for 1st and another for 2nd. they had 2 speed cars back then

Raheel

2 Speed? I wonder how a 2 Speed Manual is?

JensH

Actually Alfa Romeo uses the full manual trans clutch identical to the Ferrari system in some of it's cars as well.If you can live without the volume controls you can easily use those switches or at least the wiring to control the trans.If you are really interested send me a pm and I will have a peek meantime at the wiring involved.Jens

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

Yah but putting paddles on the sides of my steering wheels is going to be a hell of alot harder than adding buttons or ganking the volume control.

Does anyone have the helms electrical section so i can find these damn wires???

-me

UA5-TL

The Automatic Celica GT-S' have the paddle shifting as well

VeeDubDude

here's a couple of random thoughts . . . .

if the steering wheel from the new Accord fits, you would have a direct swap that would have stereo and cruise controls on it and even a woodgrain option - though i'm sure the wiring would have to be re-worked. if the steering wheels are pre-made to accept the "voice control" buttons (like being pre-wired for a CD changer), maybe you could add these and use them for the +/- buttons for the shifter. you would have a finished product rather than trying to custom build something from scratch.

also, the Euro market Honda Jazz offers steering wheel tranny controls for its "7 step CVT". not sure if it comes with cruise controls or not. this might be an option.

maybe aftermarket companies offering steering wheels would have a plug and play model with provisions for the extra buttons?

BTW, the A4 offers steering wheel controls for the tranny, too.

Darkshear

iTrader: (1)

Yah but in the end i would rather use the stock steering wheel, cause its nice, and its cheaper than buying another wheel. I have my old wheel before i did the Type-S swap laying around so im going to do the trial run on that one i think...

Strannik

Darkshear,

You've got a great idea about those buttons, but it seems that you will not have to do anything with the steering wheel, but rather with wiring, which is somwhere under the dash. So it doesn't matter which wheel you use (TL-P or Type-S).

And Jens offered to look up the wiring - I would take him up on that.

GL!

Raheel

You Sure? I went to the Audi Site and all I could find was this: