switching to tip-tronic

[Ragerunner]

hey guys, i was wondering if its ok to switch to tiptronic mode anytime while driving?

i've just heard from some ppl that switching while the car is moving isn't good for the gearbox or something? and that it's best to be done when the car is not moving. is there any truth in that? or can we switch to tip tronic as many times as we like whenever we like?

thanks

[r-r-redEuro]

i switch it to triptronic whenever especially if i need to overtake people on highways.
i dont see a problem in switching it while driving.
just make sure shift gears properly and dont red line it.
your car is still new wait til youve done about 10,000kms or something when the engine has matured.

[BiLL|z0r]

Any time is fine. I wouldn't do it as the box was about to change gears on it's on though (in D).

[LXRY]

Yep you can change anytime any situation but take r-r-redEuro's advice on the 10,000 klm mark for red lining....hehe....

[Ragerunner]

hehe thanks for the answers

i don't think i have red-lined my car yet. its on about 700km right now.

i've come close to red lining it. i think 6000 rpms in 2nd gear but i've never actually gone into the red line so hopefully it should be ok hehe.

but i found i often just switch to tiptronic just for fun for like 10 seconds then back to D. thats why i was getting worried if it was bad for the car hehe

[EuroDude]

High revving a new engine can help seat the piston rings better, resulting in longer engine life and better performance. Hitting VTEC once or twice a day is fine, I wouldnt redline it to the fuel cutoff point though, until 10,000.

[LXRY]

hehe thanks for the answers

i don't think i have red-lined my car yet. its on about 700km right now.

i've come close to red lining it. i think 6000 rpms in 2nd gear but i've never actually gone into the red line so hopefully it should be ok hehe.

but i found i often just switch to tiptronic just for fun for like 10 seconds then back to D. thats why i was getting worried if it was bad for the car hehe


Absolutely nothing to worry about with the trip tronic I use mine all the time, i use it like you would a manual.....gearing down more often when approaching light etc....was a bit funny at first but now i'm use to it.....takes a bit to get use to it at first ;)

[mmmsxc]

i use my trip tronic all the time. cant get enough of it. especially when im about to overtake someone. enjoy.

[aaronng]

The tiptronic is electronic, so you won't damage it by switching it from D while moving. If you do it when cruising, you'll notice that there is no mechanical change. If you have gone to 6000rpm already, nothing is stopping you from going to 7000rpm. Just be sensible and don't linger at that high RPM range for long since your engine is still new. But squirts up to redline are fine.

[ZYL11A]

The computer senses your driving style and adapts to it. Pretty simple, you drive like a granny, the car will go like a bag of sh*t.

I red-lined mine the moment I drove it out of the dealership and do so all the time since. Have had no problems at all and it seems as though it is rev-happy all the time. I guess its because it has adapted to my driving style but each to their own.

[EUR003act]

The computer senses your driving style and adapts to it. Pretty simple, you drive like a granny, the car will go like a bag of sh*t.

I red-lined mine the moment I drove it out of the dealership and do so all the time since. Have had no problems at all and it seems as though it is rev-happy all the time. I guess its because it has adapted to my driving style but each to their own.

redlining the car all the time wont make it adapt to the constant redlining... whether the engine is brand new, middle of its life, or 100,000kms, redlining it all the time will eventually do damage, if not breaking something, but definately wear alot of parts!

[yfin]

the auto is boring - you only get 1 gear to high cam or red line in before you reach 100km/ph

[r-r-redEuro]

=( its my mums fault, she wont let me buy auto because she said what if she needs the car.
and since i bought it til now she hasnt even touched it ><"

[whoops21]

=( its my mums fault, she wont let me buy auto because she said what if she needs the car.
and since i bought it til now she hasnt even touched it ><"

mate.. i feel your pain!.. i got the auto cuz my mum drives it as much as i do.

but hey! automatics have their advantages too.. autos hold their value in resale..

depends on personal preference.. but i have no regrets having an auto. :thumbsup:

[aaronng]

You can always laugh at us manual Euro drivers when we are stuck in traffic. :)

[Euro76]

You can always laugh at us manual Euro drivers when we are stuck in traffic. :)

But we're laughing at them for our manual Euro version for outperforming the auto Euro

No offence intended...just joking :D

[r-r-redEuro]

oh wells i can jsut VIP it out, cruise along not worrying about the clutch and shifting gears. lol
lazy mans driving = auto.

[SPQR]

But we're laughing at them for our manual Euro version for outperforming the auto Euro

No offence intended...just joking :D

I have owned manuals and autos. I like both but I think that in real world driving and driving in built-up areas, an auto version of the same car will outpace a manual. I'm and not saying they'll out-drag a manual because they won't but they will outpace a manual. It's probably why Police cars are autos.

I have test driven the new Legend twice in the last three weeks. I wish the auto Euro came with the same behind-the-steering-wheel paddle-shifters. They work a lot better than the transmission lever tiptronic function as you don't have to take your hand off the wheel. The Legend's SH-AWD is, to borrow an Americanism, "awesome". I hope the new Euro comes with that as well.

[aaronng]

Police cars are auto so that they can use the two-way while driving during an emergency. Also, it takes out one possible error factor during a chase.

[80057]

i was switching triptonic since new, few few hundred k's were easy then i would take a long drive let the engine warm up (about 15-20 mins) then use triptonic and let the car use the rev range, my old man (retired mechanic) said high revs is better for engine sealing and other bits and pieces, the most important thing is let the engine have ample tim to warm up first. the electronic switch thingy aaron said must be true, i have been switching to and throw everyday with no issues, when the m4 is a parking lane its in auto, when it starts moving its in manual. i went through 2 clutches in my old corolla on the m4 in just over a year, so auto for me.

[Entity]

just be careful with it, the tiptronic is still electronically overriden by the car's own ecu.

sometimes you will be going up a hill, in auto mode in 3rd and you wanna go down to 2nd, but just as u tap it over to tiptronic the car chucks it into 2nd automatically, and when you tap WAM you're in first and redlining it.. LOL not fun.

just make sure u read the number on the dashboard before u tap it too many times.

[badthing]

sometimes you will be going up a hill, in auto mode in 3rd and you wanna go down to 2nd, but just as u tap it over to tiptronic the car chucks it into 2nd automatically, and when you tap WAM you're in first and redlining it.. LOL not fun.

The ECU won't let the driver shift down into redline. If the driver is going slow enough uphill for the ECU to auto-shift into 2nd the revs won't be high enough to redline even if you shift into 1st.

[aaronng]

just be careful with it, the tiptronic is still electronically overriden by the car's own ecu.

sometimes you will be going up a hill, in auto mode in 3rd and you wanna go down to 2nd, but just as u tap it over to tiptronic the car chucks it into 2nd automatically, and when you tap WAM you're in first and redlining it.. LOL not fun.

just make sure u read the number on the dashboard before u tap it too many times.
That's because at the very moment you put it into tiptronic mode, the gearbox was already starting to downshift into 2nd. Next time you go up that hill, shift into tiptronic slightly earlier and you'll find it in 3rd gear instead.

[yfin]

I have owned manuals and autos. I like both but I think that in real world driving and driving in built-up areas, an auto version of the same car will outpace a manual. I'm and not saying they'll out-drag a manual because they won't but they will outpace a manual. It's probably why Police cars are autos.

Some autos are better than others - but if we are talking about the auto Euro vs the 6mt manual there is no contest. If the 6mt driver knows how to drive it will rape the auto around town. Auto has only 1 opportunity for high cam to 100kph and that makes a big difference to the power band. It is afterall a 4 cyl na with not a lot of torque so gearing hurts the auto.

[BiLL|z0r]

I'll have to take a ride with 1 of you 6mt people 1 day or curcuit drag 5at vs 6mt stock vs stock as I still can't imagine such huge gains of the 6mt over the 5at. Even my almost stock 5at can keep up with more powerful (yet heavier) 4 and 6cyl cars. Almost not talking to 160km'hr here but to the speed limit of the area (of course :) ).

[80057]

just be careful with it, the tiptronic is still electronically overriden by the car's own ecu.

sometimes you will be going up a hill, in auto mode in 3rd and you wanna go down to 2nd, but just as u tap it over to tiptronic the car chucks it into 2nd automatically, and when you tap WAM you're in first and redlining it.. LOL not fun.

just make sure u read the number on the dashboard before u tap it too many times. i dont change it into manual when i realise it i dont have enough torque, i will normally think hill coming, or slow arse car ahead, put it into manual just before the hill etc. but first few weeks i did have to get use to knowing what gear its in. instead of knowing from the position of gear lever in a manual.


I'll have to take a ride with 1 of you 6mt people 1 day or curcuit drag 5at vs 6mt stock vs stock as I still can't imagine such huge gains of the 6mt over the 5at. Even my almost stock 5at can keep up with more powerful (yet heavier) 4 and 6cyl cars. Almost not talking to 160km'hr here but to the speed limit of the area (of course :) ).

im interested in this aswell, i do think man would have an advantage but i dont know how much, most 6 speed boxes have 6 as a kind of overdrive which is rarely used, (correct me if im wrong) do you 6spd guys use the 6th gear very often? that being said even 5th in the auto is alittle long i think.

[aaronng]

im interested in this aswell, i do think man would have an advantage but i dont know how much, most 6 speed boxes have 6 as a kind of overdrive which is rarely used, (correct me if im wrong) do you 6spd guys use the 6th gear very often? that being said even 5th in the auto is alittle long i think.
It doesn't matter if 6th gear is an overdrive. An overdrive is just a gear ratio that is less than 1:1. So the manual can consider both 5th and 6th as overdrives, while the autos have both 4th and 5th as overdrives.

What matters are two things, the gear ratios and the slightly higher power loss in an auto because of the torque convertor.

Manual Auto
Ratio 1 3.533:1 2.651:1
Ratio 2 1.880:1 1.516:1
Ratio 3 1.354:1 1.081:1
Ratio 4 1.027:1 0.772:1
Ratio 5 0.825:1 0.566:1
Ratio 6 0.659:1 n/a
Reverse 3.583:1 2.00:1
Final drive ratio 4.388:1 4.437:1

Since the final drive ratios are similar (0.05 difference), we can concentrate on the actual gear ratios. As you can see, the manual has shorter ratios all the way to the 5th gear. If you notice, the ratios of 4th gear for the manual and 3rd gear for the auto, they are similar and therefore through the loss of the torque convertor, the manual in 4th gear will still accelerate harder than the auto in 3rd.

So you can also say that what you feel in the auto's 4th gear is what manual owners feel if they had a gear in between 5th and 6th gear.