3.3TT Downshifting with paddles

[eflyguy]

I rarely use them. If I'm in the hills where you'd think they'd be great, I'm already in sport mode and the A/T is almost always in the right gear. I have deliberately left it in auto thru very technical sections and never felt I needed to intervene.

At the strip, I also doubt I could do better.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Well it is just plain obvious to me that I am babying my car and driving it like my grandma would. I have probably revved the engine over 5000 twice in 9000 miles. Lol! I’ve just found that anytime I attempt to have any fun with it I’m speeding within seconds. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to aggressively pass someone and I look down and I’m doing 100 mph while it feels like I’m doing 70. It’s an amazing ride.

I had to reread this to make sure I didn't write it!

My wife has a bigger lead foot than I do. When she test drove a GT2, in the carpool lane, she punched it with a rolling start of c. 70 MPH. And when she looked down she was over 100 and rapidly going higher. She actually scared herself. I said, "80 feels like 50 or 60 in this car; it will catch you".

I use the paddles most of the time. But I let the engine downshift for itself most of the time. If I want more power in a corner, I will downshift. And when passing I will downshift as well, most of the time. I have the "T" shifter and keep it in manual gate (to the left) in Sport mode (most of the time).

 

[MerlintheMad]

I've actually just started to make an effort to use them recently after months of owning, 1st paddle shift car I've owned. My problem is that I drive in urban areas and tend to shuffle-steer, so when starting at a light and turning left or right, I'll be halfway through a turn and need to upshift, but the paddle is not under my hand, and I can't find it easily like i would a shifter. So I either need to go through the turn slowly or end up reving the hell out of it while going 18 mph.

I'd like to use them more, but changing the way I shift AND the way I steer feels pretty foreign to me, and I dont get much benefit besides feeling slightly more connected. I'm givign myself a few more days to see if i adapt.

I don't know what trim you have. But with the "T" shifter (GT and GT1) you can bump the shifter to upshift. That way you can steer with left hand and easily upshift at the same time. So, in situations like you describe where the wheel gets sawed this way and that a lot, a combo of paddles and using the shifter is handy. Eventually, you'll just get used to where the paddles are and use them more and the shifter less often.

 

[Manaz]

My current car (the Stinger hasn't arrived yet) has the paddles attached to the steering column. When I first got it, I thought "that's arse-about, my hands should basically never leave 3 and 9 o'clock, that's where the paddles should be", but I became accustomed to the column-mounted paddles, and as you've noted, it's now very easy to know (in relation to my body position) exactly where the paddles are, without having to think about it).

However, as much as there's a theory that we should never have our hands away from 3 and 9 o'clock, that's not reality on public roads. When I test drove the Stinger the first time, I struggled to reliably find the paddles when I wanted them - partly because of muscle memory in reaching for the position to the left and right of the steering column, and partly because I was, particularly at low speeds in tight corners with light and slow steering, forced to cross-over, and because I wasn't following strict motorsport behaviours (you only ever grab the wheel at 3 and 9 o'clock, even when crossing over) in my arm-crossing, missed the paddles a few times.

I'm hoping that I become more accustomed to the wheel-mounted paddles, and I suspect I will. But I do know that it will take a bit of time.

I've been focusing lately on better hand placement on the wheel - keeping the left hand at 9 o'clock on the wheel and the right hand at 3 o'clock (noting that those points turn with the wheel!). I found it pretty easy to get (back) into the right habit, so the wheel-mounted paddles shouldn't be an issue. Yay.

 

[GeoUTA]

I had to reread this to make sure I didn't write it!

My wife has a bigger lead foot than I do. When she test drove a GT2, in the carpool lane, she punched it with a rolling start of c. 70 MPH. And when she looked down she was over 100 and rapidly going higher. She actually scared herself. I said, "80 feels like 50 or 60 in this car; it will catch you".

I use the paddles most of the time. But I let the engine downshift for itself most of the time. If I want more power in a corner, I will downshift. And when passing I will downshift as well, most of the time. I have the "T" shifter and keep it in manual gate (to the left) in Sport mode (most of the time).

I’ve driven stick my whole life so using the paddles just doesn’t seem to have the same effect for me. Then again like I said I don’t drive particularly fast. When I do feel like punching it I just go. I feel like I don’t even need to downshift to get a burst of speed. In fact it almost feels like overkill.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I’ve driven stick my whole life so using the paddles just doesn’t seem to have the same effect for me. Then again like I said I don’t drive particularly fast. When I do feel like punching it I just go. I feel like I don’t even need to downshift to get a burst of speed. In fact it almost feels like overkill.

Others have said it: that's the beauty of this transmission, it "knows" how to downshift to the right gear all by itself.

 

[ZyroXZ2]

Geez, what kind of cars did y'all drive before that you accidentally go 100MPH?!

 

[MerlintheMad]

Not anything like this!

Geez, what kind of cars did y'all drive before that you accidentally go 100MPH?!

 

[Wilzer]

I've actually just started to make an effort to use them recently after months of owning, 1st paddle shift car I've owned. My problem is that I drive in urban areas and tend to shuffle-steer, so when starting at a light and turning left or right, I'll be halfway through a turn and need to upshift, but the paddle is not under my hand, and I can't find it easily like i would a shifter. So I either need to go through the turn slowly or end up reving the hell out of it while going 18 mph.

I'd like to use them more, but changing the way I shift AND the way I steer feels pretty foreign to me, and I dont get much benefit besides feeling slightly more connected. I'm givign myself a few more days to see if i adapt.

If GT2 just reach over and pull the shift back Was happy when I figured that out

 

[Wilzer]

Geez, what kind of cars did y'all drive before that you accidentally go 100MPH?!

GT2, but same with Corvette, at least GT2 AWD doesn't break the tires loose accidentally

 

[Chucky]

Paddle extenders help a lot when shifting while turning; was one of the first upgrades I did. You can't pull from the tips but they add about 1.5" of grab room above and below the original shifters.


I use paddles about 50% when not on the interstate. In the city and around town I love finding the ideal throttle and shift point to produce that melodious whoosh, rumble and crackle from my Borla exhaust and Injen intakes which turns heads and puts a big grin on my face. She will do it in Sport mode but I can do it better myself.

 

[Thwack]

If GT2 just reach over and pull the shift back Was happy when I figured that out

Holy crap, really? that would be a game changer!

 

[GeoUTA]

Geez, what kind of cars did y'all drive before that you accidentally go 100MPH?!

I’ve had quick (not fast) cars for about 50% of my driving life. SAAB 900 Turbo, Acura Integra GSR and RSX Type S.

But now you have me intrigued as to the real question here. What cars have you had which make the Stinger GT acceleration seem “normal”?

 

[Wilzer]

Holy crap, really? that would be a game changer!

Yeah, I put in "1" often to take off, don't like the lag that sometimes occurs with tranny trying to figure if I am stopping or going, so if revving up still in "1" just pull back the shift stick and goes in "D" with programmed shifting without the lag since tranny knows I am accelerating.

 

[ZyroXZ2]

I’ve had quick (not fast) cars for about 50% of my driving life. SAAB 900 Turbo, Acura Integra GSR and RSX Type S.

But now you have me intrigued as to the real question here. What cars have you had which make the Stinger GT acceleration seem “normal”?

It's not the car, it's the tons of mods I always slap on my cars Both my previous cars had suspension mods up the ass which is why I still have a lot of work to do on the Stinger to "catch up", lol

Though, I did have two Grand Prixs: one was the 3800 Series II L67 which came with an Eaton roots blower and was fun as hell to mod (if the Series I in the Grand National is anything to go by for you). The other was the 5.3L V8 LS4, harder to mod, but since it was an LS engine, enough mods existed to also get some good power out of it before having to go serious (cams, stroker, etc.). I'm used to having traction issues and taking corners hard, so the Stinger feels soft to me

 

[MerlintheMad]

I'm used to having traction issues and taking corners hard, so the Stinger feels soft to me

I bet you burn through tires like a smoking demon!

 

[AV8R]

They look great but they are way too expensive to buy. $187 in Oz. Also there is the strain they put on original paddles, im not sure if i would do it.

 

[Geodude]

The Stinger is my first car w/ paddle shifters as well and I don't know how to drive manual either so I'm a big noob. So I'm not exactly sure when to shift. I was told that you're supposed to up/down shift during certain mph ranges such as for example, when you're at 10-15 then you're in 1st gear, then at 20-25mph, you need to shift to 2nd gear, then 30-35 mph, you need to shift to 3rd, and then 40-45mph into 4th gear, and 50-55mph into 5th, and 60-65mph into 6th, etc. But this car has 8 gears....the thing is when I put it into manual mode, and just doing regular city driving, it tells me that it's in 8th gear and I'm driving only like 30-40mph so that just really confuses me. Shouldn't 8th gear only be used during speeds up to 80mph+ ? I've watched vids on paddle shifting but nobody really goes into detail about which gear you should be in. My cousin says you can wait until around 3000 rpm before shifting for good midrange power. My bro in law tells me that you should always shift right before redline only. I'm so confused lol.

 

[cncBilly]

The Stinger is my first car w/ paddle shifters as well and I don't know how to drive manual either so I'm a big noob. So I'm not exactly sure when to shift. I was told that you're supposed to up/down shift during certain mph ranges such as for example, when you're at 10-15 then you're in 1st gear, then at 20-25mph, you need to shift to 2nd gear, then 30-35 mph, you need to shift to 3rd, and then 40-45mph into 4th gear, and 50-55mph into 5th, and 60-65mph into 6th, etc. But this car has 8 gears....the thing is when I put it into manual mode, and just doing regular city driving, it tells me that it's in 8th gear and I'm driving only like 30-40mph so that just really confuses me. Shouldn't 8th gear only be used during speeds up to 80mph+ ? I've watched vids on paddle shifting but nobody really goes into detail about which gear you should be in. My cousin says you can wait until around 3000 rpm before shifting for good midrange power. My bro in law tells me that you should always shift right before redline only. I'm so confused lol.

Use your ear

 

[eflyguy]

I'm so confused lol.

I strongly urge you to leave your car in auto and stay away from the paddles.

If you don't understand how cars deliver power, and when and why it can be advantageous to shift gears in either direction, then you're not going to get any benefit from it. If you would like to learn, sign up for a performance driving school, or find a friend who is actually knowledgable to teach you. This isn't something you learn from an internet post or a youtube video.

I would also avoid taking advice from your relatives. Both of their statements are ridiculous.