mplc

I have an AT and have searched the forum for post related to the AT and the use of the manual shifting. I read many informative post but still question the proper use of the manual shift.
Will someone please give me a quick lesson on the do's and don't s of operating in the manual mode.
I drove a manual shift for many years and I find myself having problems with the auto version.
I always left off of the gas before shifting, do I need to?
Does the AT shift into the next gear at some point around 7500 RPM?
What speed ranges for the gears are best for max power when downshifting?
Can I shift from auto to manual shift while moving????

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated!!!

chuck246

A) In Automatic mode the transmission will shift up/down as a function of throttle position. Light throttle = low RPM shift point, "Heavy" throttle = high RPM shift point.

B) In Manu-matic mode the transmission will only shift when next gear is selected. There is NO automatic upshift protection in any gear, only a warning buzzer near redline. However, there is downshift protection from 2nd to 1st gear. (I'm not sure about 3rd to 2nd gear.)

C) From Manu-matic mode, full automatic mode can be selected in any gear or speed, and vice-versa.

chuck246

A) In Automatic mode the transmission will shift up/down as a function of throttle position. Light throttle = low RPM shift point, "Heavy" throttle = high RPM shift point.

B) In Manu-matic mode the transmission will only shift when next gear is selected. There is NO automatic upshift protection in any gear, only a warning buzzer near redline. However, there is downshift protection from 2nd to 1st gear. (I'm not sure about 3rd to 2nd gear.)

C) From Manu-matic mode, full automatic mode can be selected in any gear or speed, and vice-versa.

D) I do not feel that there is any reason to "lift" between shifts. In all probability this will only confuse the software that controls the automatic transmission.

E) Do a search on the "base" engine horsepower versus torque curves, as a function of RPM. In addition, review the recommended shift points in the RX8 owner's manual. Use your own discretion.

stangmatt66

I also have an AT. I suggest reading the owners manual...There is a lot of information contained therein regarding at which speeds to shift into which gears. I don't have it only me at the moment so I can't site the pages, but I just read it yesterday. I beleive it was something like: 1->2 at 12mph, 2->3 at 25mph and 3->4 at 40mph. But you can shift at any speed you want.

Yes you can shift from auto to manu-matic at anytime, however if you are accelerating, be prepared to make the next gear change on your own--the car won't. I often switch between auto and manu- to see what gear the car is in cause it's just so damn smooth.

You do not need to let off the gas when shifting. This is not a manual transmission by any means. The manu-matic is an ordinary AT that lets you decide when to move to the next gear. It's just like moving the P-R-N-D-2-1 on a normal auto trans.

The car will not let you destroy the transmission by shifting into the wrong gear at the wrong time. Have fun with it and experiment all you want!!!

zoom44

redline, beep-shift, redline, beep-shift, continue until you are at or above the speed limit (whichever you prefer just dont send the speeding tickets to me)then shift into the highest gear possible for the best fuel economy. downshift 1 gear to pass, if you are still at like 4k rpm- downshift again to take the rpm up to like 6k than repeat the first steps as discussed above

mikeb

I've been using the paddle shifts alot lately and I like how it goes from 2nd to 1st automatically.
It takes time but you will get the hang of it