I'm going off topic here but I really wish the TL (or most cars in general) revved quicker and used a traditional cable throttle instead of DBW. IMO it makes it much easier to pop off clean quick shifts and seamless rev matched downshifts. I hate cars that hang the throttle between shifts or are so slow to rev that you have to slow your downshifts down and wait for the engine to spin up. When I drove the TL-S and was ragging on it I remember having to floor it to properly rev match downshifts in a timely manner.

 

That's my deal driving newer cars period. DBW. I hate it. I taught myself on older cars with a cable for the gas and one for the clutch. Way more smoother. I've only driven newer automatic cars with DBW and it's atleast a second before the car actually starts to slow down when you let off the gas. Very weird for me at first. Starting was tricky in some of the cars because of the delay and I'd jam the pedal down flyin through the intersection scaring myself. LOL Hopefully driving a manual will make it more pleasurable to drive.

BTW quick question: in a manual i was taught to leave it in first when parking. When i was reading my drivers book 7 yrs ago studying for my liscense it said to use the opposite gear depending on the way the car is parked. For instance say the car is facing downhill, the book said to put the car in reverse, opposite if it was parked uphill.

I've read that doing that could cause the timing to slip by forcing the motor to move in reverse and if your facing downhill 1st it is and uphill reverse it is. Any thoughts on this? Didn't mean to jack this thread, but I figured it could help me AND the OP since he's just starting out.

Knowledge is power! Haha

 

Heh, no worries on thread hijacking. This is a stick shift compendium of knowledge for me! Even though I live in the texas plains it cant hurt to know these kinds of things.

 

huh i've seen that method once on youtube (putting it in R or 1st depending if you're on an incline/decline).

I've just been putting it in 1st regardless and pulling the parking brake without much thought. Just a low gear was the requirement I've learned.

Havent had any issues..but then again I dont park on inclines and declines regularly. Maybe someone else can chime in. Either way, the engine has huge mechanical advantage over the wheels in 1st or R. I would think most of the weight is sitting on the transmission and not the motor itself.

 

My 05 TL's throttle seems to rev plenty fast for downshifts, hell of a lot better than many crappy cable-throttle manual cars I've driven.
I do enjoy the increased throttle response when the engine is still cold though. (not that I drive the least bit aggressively until it's fully warm)
Maybe a lightweight flywheel could mimic this effect on downshifts, but all the time.

I will wholeheartedly agree though that it takes way too long for the engine speed to fall on upshifts.
I'm always slightly annoyed when I get off the line sort of quick from a stop light in first, clutch in around 3500rpm, then make the slowest gearchange ever while all the soccer moms catch up and pass me
On the other hand, turn on the ac on a hot day, and RPM's fall 2x faster. If I forget to adjust my shift timing this makes for an unpleasant surprise when I release the clutch a few hundred RPM's late.

I have heard a few places the thing about putting it in R on an uphill or 1st on a downhill, to ensure the engine does not run backward. On the other hand, I have a friend with a 1970's beetle who will always put the car in 1st on an uphill and R on a downhill, because he is scared gravity might bumpstart his engine and the car will run away.
I agree with you about the mechanical advantage of the engine though, so I don't think either of these theories have too much merit. If your car is left in gear with the parking brake set, the chances of it moving are probably infinitesimal.

 

Running it backwards won't hurt anything...

 

Woops, not entirely sure how to post multiple quotes.

And that's good to know that the 'engine running backwards' theory is just complete BS.

 

The DBW is just one of the reasons for it revving slowly but as you noticed, it revs much quicker when cold. Having a car that does exactly what you tell it to without asking for the ECU's approval and corresponding adjustments makes for a much better driving experience. I like knowing the car is going to do what I tell it to do consistently. That includes the other electronics like stability and traction control. I don't need or want the car thinking for me, it just screws everything up whether it's drifting, racing, or trying to have quick but smooth shifts in daily driving.

 

It took me 3 years to figure it out lol. It's the button next to the "quote" button. Just hit it on the posts you want to quote and then hit reply.