When will people learn to drive manuals!!

[TW]Fox · 30 Jan 2006 at 19:33

Morba said:
in the 3 steptronics ive driven none have stepped up a gear in semi mode unless i have told it to.

I've only driven one but it did - it would shift up or down if you didn't.

Morba · 30 Jan 2006 at 19:35

[TW]Fox said:
I've only driven one but it did - it would shift up or down if you didn't.

shifting down they all do, its to stop it stalling when slowing down, but stepping up in semi mode ive never experienced (done a fair few miles in them aswell) :/

Morba · 30 Jan 2006 at 19:36

Malt_Vinegar said:
Even my 1992 5 series has a sports mode, and an ability to hold it in gears if required.

I have been known to hit the red-line on occaision

my e36 has sport mode but no way of locking it in gear, is yours semi auto?

Malt_Vinegar · 30 Jan 2006 at 19:42

Morba said:
my e36 has sport mode but no way of locking it in gear, is yours semi auto?

All you do is whack it in Sport mode, put it down to 2/3/4 and hit the kick down, and it wont change

Morba · 31 Jan 2006 at 00:08

ahh, thats cheating, can do that in all autos (atleast those with more than just 'drive'), thought you had something special for a minute

[TW]Fox · 31 Jan 2006 at 00:42

Morba said:
shifting down they all do, its to stop it stalling when slowing down, but stepping up in semi mode ive never experienced (done a fair few miles in them aswell) :/

This one definately shifted up if you didn't change yourself. I specifically tried it. It was a 2006 car.

rG-tom · 31 Jan 2006 at 00:51

i know in my parents 52 plate mercedes the automatic switches up if you don't in tiptronic mode

Tom.

Akira · 31 Jan 2006 at 02:09

Clarkey said:
in the context that they result in laggy changes and the majority of them will shift up if you hold it on the limiter, eliminating the whole 'manual' aspect of it.

As for my ststement being rubbish, thanks, added to ignore list...

The DSG has a laggy change..........mmmmmkay :confused:

Clarkey · 31 Jan 2006 at 02:13

no, because the DSG is not an autobox..

Akira · 31 Jan 2006 at 02:31

erm him said:
it might be good, but it isnt an auto. Tiptronic, steptronic and all that balls is just an auto with which you can override the gear selection, they are poor at best tbh in the context that they result in laggy changes

Make your mind up.

Che · 31 Jan 2006 at 02:45

Ukadder said:
Autos are fine for hilly areas (they are a lot better in some respects! Hill starts rule as does sitting in a traffic jam on a hill! (yes I do drive one, yes I did own a manual before))

Try going down a long hill constantly riding the brakes, it'll be fun

Clarkey · 31 Jan 2006 at 02:46

the whole point of that post was to distinguish between the 2 different types, maybe i wasnt too clear.

What I am saying is that DSG, SMG and the like are very good for sporty driving, because they are based on a manual gearbox with some fancy electronics.

Others such as 'tiptronic' are just a regular autobox (which are controlled by fancy electronics anyway) which allow you to decide which gear you want, these are not so good for the aforementioned 'sporty' driving, but will be supremely smooth when driving like a responsible person would

Clarkey · 31 Jan 2006 at 02:49

Che said:
Try going down a long hill constantly riding the brakes, it'll be fun

there are a lot of auto's on the roads and they dont seem to suffer any of the problems mentioned here with going up and dow hills, they cope just fine it seems. Besides, if you are that concerned about cooking the brakes then you can choose 1, 2, L, or whatever which will provide engine braking for such situations.

Che · 31 Jan 2006 at 02:56

Yeah but I can bet my last dollar that Australia, at least in some parts, is more hilly than Britain. My experience of this comes from being in holiday in Canada and America and going down a large mountain in our stupid automatic hire car. Isn't second gear a little low to drive a long way down a hill? You'd do about 15mph all the way.

Morba · 31 Jan 2006 at 08:28

if you dont need to be doing that low a speed then whats the problem?
just use your brake as and when needed to control the car.

it may be worth checking the gearing on the cars with only 1,2,L (plus r/d), its likely that its not the same as being in 2nd gear in a 5 speed manual ;]