tuna piano

Hi all,

I'm a few weeks into owning a 2021 A Spec with AWD and really digging it so far.

I have a different take on the transmission's behavior to the paddle shifters: when driven like a manual--while not out for blood/showing off--the behavior is near impeccable.

Most of us have probably witnessed a number of journalists and youtube creators lamenting how the transmission doesn't truly have a manual mode because it will upshift instead of bouncing off the rev limiter, etc. I won't argue that it behaves this way at WOT (which I haven't tried), but I have two counterpoints:

• At WOT, the transmission's forced shift points are probably better (for outright acceleration) than what 99% of us could do with full manual control
• For a daily driver, the paddles are best used to stay within a certain rev range for getting proper response without having to go into kickdown, or for a bit of compression braking when appropriate

I just came back from a 25 mile pleasure drive, mostly on the expressway in Sport drive mode and the transmission on S. Not a single time was a gear change forced on me, other than first-to-second which I don't mind at all and will address a bit more below.

This included several miles semi-cruising between 55-70ish mph locked into 7th gear--no forced changes. I tested this for at least 4-5 miles at a time with a mix of steady cruising, mild acceleration, and coasting-in-gear, and it performed flawlessly. When I was coasting to an interchange or curved ramp, clicking down to 5 had the rpms in the 3-3.5k range, and moderate pressure on the accelerator would give a nice graceful, predictable, and immediate shove. Much better than flooring it and waiting an unpredictable amount of time before the car was unbalanced by a too-aggressive downshift that likely arrived too late for the moment.

This is how I drove my MT cars, and it is what I figure the paddles are for on a street driven car. Sometimes, restraint doesn't come naturally when driving an exciting car, but it sure can be rewarding and ultimately more productive. There is a time and place for point-and-shoot driving behavior, but I for one am glad this car isn't built around all-or-nothing driving.

As for the 1-2 auto upshift, I first experienced this with my 2001 CL Type S. After initially being puzzled by this, I eventually grew to understand how this is advantageous: winding out first gear on the street is unproductive unless you are really pushing it from a dig, in which case the shift will happen in a way commensurate with the amount of throttle you're feeding. It also really helps not to have to worry about clicking for 1-2 during stop and go traffic. Both of these are even more pronounced on a super-short first gear on a 10 speed transmission.

As far as why I said "nearly" impeccable, I can't say it's perfect because paddle-requested shifts are still not as crisp or quick as the DCT in the VW/Audi cars I've had. Having said that, the difference is noticeable but hardly bothersome.

Anyhow, these my two cents as a new owner--different from anything I've read or heard so far. Definitely open to discussion, and hoping some of you might try this and maybe increase your satisfaction with the car.

Thanks all

tuna piano

TL;DR

The paddle shifters on the 3rd gen RDX are:

• not useful for extracting maximum 10/10 acceleration from the car (true of most cars, incidentally)
• potentially very useful for preparing the car to give you anything between 3/10 and 9/10 when you need it, in a smoother fashion than flooring it/going into kick-down

Sorry about the rambling initial post.

Waetherman

I don’t do it often, but I really enjoy the paddle shifters on twisty roads. It may not be exactly like a manual, which I haven’t driven in years, but it’s close enough for most people most of the time, I’d wager. And knowing how and when to use them fixes the inherent problems of an (or maybe just this) automatic that some others complain about.

Funz51

I have touted using the paddles every chance I get.
Any way you look at it, you still have to prepare a MT before cornering and get it in proper gear, which takes about a second. (daily drove a MT vette for 20 years, also autocrossed it).
The paddles, the same way. Get in the gear you want before maneuvering/cornering takes the same amount of time, so knowing that, don't expect the instant shift, as we have all come accustomed to in this life of 'instant-response of everything'. The paddles do not replace the MT completely, and probably never will. MT's you can slip and cheat a little on, not the paddles. But you do have full control over the gear you are in, which is the point.
The designers of shift points do the best they can, but they cannot predict how you are taking the corner, and how you are going to handle the next set of events past the corner. The Paddles should always be used when driving like this.
The driver should have control of the vehicle, which means when driving aggressively, control of the gear.
For the 1-2 shift, I agree with Piano, 2nd is so low, don't worry about it. When are you taking a 2nd gear corner anyways?

Extra bonus, if you tap a paddle when wanting to 'get going' from a stop, I find that the 'throttle delay' is drastically reduced. Let me know what you think.
BTW, banging the rev-limiter is not smart. You are not driving within the power band if you are doing that. I have yet to test run a full on auto 0-60 comparison of the auto tranny and me shifting a bit earlier that red line. (I have a stage 2 Ktuner which would probably skew the results of the non-tuned engine anyway.)

tuna piano

Thanks for the input all. Agreed on all counts.

I definitely wouldn't consider the paddles a replacement for a manual, but wanted to give them fair due for being useful.

So many youtube reviewers seem to dismiss them because the car doesn't have a "true manual mode", but this sentiment seems to be based on the fact that if you are running at WOT the car will still upshift. It's amazing how many professional reviewers treat the throttle as an on/off switch, or assume that their viewers do the same.

I once asked a friend of mine if he ever drives his Q60 using the paddles, and he replied "no, I don't floor it very much." When I explained to him that I use the paddles to downshift on my car so that I can avoid flooring it when I just want a moderate push, it was a major light bulb.

dblwishbone

I had a BMW 4-series that did paddle shift changes just as fast as a double-clutch transmission (200ms), but I rarely had the urge to run in full manual mode. Most of the time the computer can do it better and faster than you can, and the RDX isn't exactly a track car. Paddles are mainly just for forcing a sudden gear change, i.e. on a hill.

tuna piano

I like the ZF transmission, and I definitely respect if that is how you choose to use shift paddles.

I submit that they can also be used to: pre-select a logical gear when anticipating the need for extra scoot (10th gear down to 8th or 7th with a few clicks), and applying that extra scoot by rolling onto the throttle without waking the baby or spilling the wife's latte.

If instead, I stab the throttle and rely on the TCU for this spontaneous scoot, the car may think it over for 0.9-2.7 seconds before kicking down 10-6 or 10-8-6, the interior is bathed in minor shocks and a cocktail of induction roar and synthesized growl, the baby cranks up, and the wife gives me the stink-eye. And I still miss my spot.

Anyhow, that is at least two different uses. Proof that the paddles aren't useless

Waetherman

Agreed. It’s mostly the predictive use of paddles that makes it useful. In straight line acceleration I’d wager the automatic is probably better at shifting than a human, but around corners where one needs to anticipate the best gear, the car can’t do that as well.