shifting an automatic?

[corolla99]

is it bad to do this cause my friend does it on his car and he lets off the gas and stuff when he shifts but will this do anything after a while?

[k3rnel]

wtf....

[Auto_newb]

He probably means 1 of 2 things:

Tiptronic

The 1,2,3,D,N,R,P thing

[corolla99]

Originally Posted by Auto_newb

He probably means 1 of 2 things:

Tiptronic

The 1,2,3,D,N,R,P thing

ya like he has L,2,D,N,R,P

and he starts L and then once the rpms get high lets of the gas and shifts it up to 2 then same till he hits drive is that bad for the tranny or anythign

[MagicRat]

Its not bad for the trans so long as your buddy does not over rev the engine.
Letting off the gas while shifting, realistically is just playing around. It's not necessary, but will not harm anything.

[Auto_newb]

I have driven a tiptronic before, and when you tell it to shift, it will shift a few seconds later if you still have your foot on the throttle, for some reason it changes gears more faster if you let off the gas... I don't know the reason, the car was a mini cooper...

[Auto_newb]

One more thing, tell your friend that theres not much point in shifting in an automatic, because the car always starts in first gear anyway, then it goes to second and third, AUTOMATICALLY. The car will even shift at redline if he floors the throttle, and sometimes downshift for you.

[INF3RN0666]

LOL good last reply auto_newb, noone here realised that an automatic does all the shifting for people. Without you, we'd be lost!

I sometimes feel the need to shift my auto by itself but that's only because I drive an Eagle Vision which is probably bigger than most cars except for the super crown vic's. By "shifting", you avoid hitting really high RPM's when you want to "race" and you stay at a desired range. In addition, it will give a little extra boost to the car since it does not have to worry about when to shift. The only reason I say that is because my car has high mileage and obviously the sensors on it have gotten a bit "slow" over the years. If I shift the car on my own, I can get faster and smoother shifts out of the car that if it was to sense the speed and shift on its own.

[INF3RN0666]

Oh, BTW corolla99, I thought you were my friend for a second that was posting a question about me. My best friend has a corolla 89 (LOL, not a 99) and it's a standard manual. The other day, I was driving him around and did that shifting thing and he asked me why I do that. Then he was like "you really want a manual car, don't you?" Obviously, YEAH!!!! He's the one who taught me how to shift on a manual car. It's fun but I find to be a hassle. Even with an automatic, with my engine size, I can smoke pretty much most cars I see here in Ottawa. And for those ricers, well I just don't have the money to compete with their nos'ed mini 1.8 honda engines.

However, tell your friend that I don't suggest he releases the gas pedal when shifting because that will not speed up the shift. By releasing the gas pedal, he's making the engine's RPM go from 3000 to 1000 instantly, which will make his transmission do the same but on a higher scale. And doing so repeatedly will wear down sprokets (gears) in his transmission. They say to accelerate smoothly and release your foot off the gas pedal smoothly, no matter what. This follows that principle. It's like saying "you shouldn't rev your engine to 5000 RPM and engage your automatic transmission because it will wear it down after a while". The transmission was designed to shift at whatever RPM you throw at it as long as it's constant. Sudden changes in RPM are much worse than having it shift at 10000 RPM.

[burly]

On most new electronically controlled transmissions, you are not going to "beat" the transmission's automatic shift points by shifting it manually. The only way to make it shift quicker or accelerate faster is to change the computer's programmed shift points and change the line pressure, etc. I can think of 3 main reasons to shift an automatic manually.

1). Grade decent assist. When going down a long or steep grade, downshifting can help control your speed and save your brakes from overheating.

2). When a transmission has "2nd gear start" and you are on slipping terrain such as ice, and starting in 2nd gear will help you control the wheels and keep them from slipping.

3). If you are anticipating changes in the road ahead which no transmission can see. As in, a long grade that has your transmission downshifting/upshifting and repeating, or a twisty turny road that you are going to need to downshift to pull out of the turn, etc.

But as for pure straightline acceleration, most modern electronically controlled transmissions will not yield faster times by being manually shifted. Whats worse, you place some of your attention on shifting and not on the road and risk accidentally shifting into the wrong gear (e.g. neutral) and doing real damage or lossing control of the car.

[quaddriver]

Originally Posted by INF3RN0666

LOL good last reply auto_newb, noone here realised that an automatic does all the shifting for people. Without you, we'd be lost!

I sometimes feel the need to shift my auto by itself but that's only because I drive an Eagle Vision which is probably bigger than most cars except for the super crown vic's. By "shifting", you avoid hitting really high RPM's when you want to "race" and you stay at a desired range. In addition, it will give a little extra boost to the car since it does not have to worry about when to shift. The only reason I say that is because my car has high mileage and obviously the sensors on it have gotten a bit "slow" over the years. If I shift the car on my own, I can get faster and smoother shifts out of the car that if it was to sense the speed and shift on its own.

this is just a wee bit bizarre.

if your tranny is not an E-model, accumulators still accumulate and servos still have to fill. if you let off the gas near the shift point, you will actually LOWER line pressures and the actual 'gear change' or shift in the tranny will occur slower. on a tires tranny, you can actually catch it at a vulnerable point when you get back on the gas. the result is not optimal for the tranny.

if the tranny is an e-model, it makes no difference, the best shift program for acceleration is put it in D and floor it.

if you REALLY feel that your right arm has to be moving, buy a manual tranny next time, but although the teenage mind cant fathom it, its not 'cooler' to shift gears and use a clutch.

[INF3RN0666]

If they ever make good auto transmissions, there will be much fewer manual cars in the hands of teenagers. The problem with my auto is that it gets beat up much faster than a manual tranmission would (It's always engaged). Second of all, you can't start an auto at high RPM, which just kills a good start up. They should make transmissions disengage when the gas is realesed or something of the sort. I am just tired of replacing one transmission after another.

[Auto_newb]

You can start an auto at high RPMS, just powerbrake or get a high stall torque converter

[DJJC]

Originally Posted by quaddriver

...but although the teenage mind cant fathom it, its not 'cooler' to shift gears and use a clutch.

cmon! im not a teen, and i still enjoy shifting and being in control of one more factor in my car. i think its boring driving an automatic because i know im a better driver that one who lets technology make up for lazyness. its an art to master the operation of a fully manual gearbox, and it makes me proud that i can operate a device that requires a skill some dont have. i mean, who CANT operate an automatic gearbox...abart from handicapped people who are unable to drive, period.

in the end, if we take ALL the talent out of driving a car, who will want to do it? sightseers. i dont drive a car to look at the world, i drive a car because its fun and because it can take me places...nothing less.

[c32b1 NSX]

DJJC took the words right out of my mouth. and a lot more can be done with a manual gearbox than automatics and tiptronics. such techniques as heel and toe or engine braking cant be done. oh yeah, all the technology? itll only mean youl have to pay a whole lot more for repairs if anything in there gets damaged. enjoy.