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still trying to figure out gear paddles

34K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  DiscoDisco 
#1 ·
I think I have the car configured where I can play around with the gear paddles only in Sport mode.

When I'm messing around with the gear paddles, does this mean I've put the car in some sort of Manual mode, and that the gears won't auto shift until I get it out of "Manual" mode? If yes, then how do I go back to pure auto mode? I noticed that the car still seems to downshift if necessary even when I'm gear paddling . . .

I've never driven a stick or used manual before on any car so would loved to be clued in.
 
#2 ·
I've only used it for a few days before deciding that the s mode in auto is good enough for my needs. I have not successfully gotten it to go from manual mode back to auto without putting it back into D, then back into S again.

The car will auto downshift if the rev drops too low, it will also prevent you from going into too high a gear if the rev for the next gear is too low (less than 1.5k usually)
 
#6 ·
If you have paddles shift enabled for normal DRIVE mode, then you can over ride the transmission shifting at at time but it will revert back to normal auto shifting shifting shortly. It's a neat feature. I use it on road trips when I want to pass or when we are going up hills, on twisty roads or whenever I feel I need it. But I disable it when my wife drives it day to day so whe won't accidently shift it.
 
#9 ·
the point of gear paddles is still sorta lost on me. Is there really an advantage to be gained from using them? How would you use them to help pass someone. I would love understand how to use them better.

Also, I have never seen the "Gear Up" icon. Supposedly it appears when the computer detects that you are nearing the upper RPM limit for the current gear. Has anybody else seen it?
 
#12 ·
Thanks for your response. To be more specific, how would you quickly pass somebody? Do you "upshift" to get into higher gears more quickly? Sorry for all the noob questions.
Sorry for not responding earlier, I didn't see your post back.

To pass somebody more quickly, you do the opposite and shift to a lower gear.

As an experiment, when driving around 50-60 mph and in sport mode, if the car is not already in 9th gear, shift up to 9th gear and floor it and see how long it takes to get up to 70-80 mph. Once the turbos kick in, the resulting feel of accelerating will be, okay.

Now try it again, but shift or gear down one gear, 8th, then 7th, then 6th, etc, on each successive try to see the difference in acceleration.

As you get into the lower gears, like 4th gear, be prepared as this will result in a lot more engine noise and a significant kick in the butt in terms of acceleration.

As you mentioned being a bit of a noob, make sure you do this safely on dry roads with nobody around you.

If you are not sure how that works, just give it a try as you don't have to understand the mechanical reasons why it works, just that it does.

One footnote, the level of acceleration is a function of which gear you are in and speed you are travelling. If you are travelling at 10 mph, the acceleration in 4th gear would feel similar to trying to accelerate in 9th gear while travelling at 50 mph.

Hope this helps
 
#15 · (Edited)
HAYELL YA! Good for you! Im glad your getting it down.
I love using the paddles if I get into any very twisty roads. I downshift and use the engine breaking and I can control what gear I want for best acceleration out of a corner. Its so much more fun than just droning your way along.>:D
 
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