ARM350F

Essentially you want to pull the paddle at 6400 rpm during upshifts, during downshifts 2-4K rpms are ideal for the smoothest shifts anything below that and the car wants to lurch. Don't worry about downshifting to early as the car won't let you. Also the harder you press the paddle the faster the shift, LFA does the same thing.

bclexus

If you plan to upshift at redline you don't need to do anything - because the transmission will do it automatically.

ARM350F

Actually it shifts after redline, around 6500 rpm. Try it and you'll notice that it goes into the red a little if you don't shift.

bclexus

Reaching engine redline happens very quickly in the lower gears. I feel sure that what you are seeing from the tachometer (in upshifts of the lower gears) is the effect of a slight lack of [enough] needle dampening that causes the tachometer's needle to inaccurately swing slightly higher than redline, an effect that does not happen in upshifts of the higher gears because the needle's momentum is not moving as quickly and the needle dampening does a sufficient job of not overshooting. Besides, if the accuracy of the tachometer is +/- 1.5% the meter could give a 100 RPM error in reading at engine redline. Toyota/Lexus would not allow the transmission to shift after (or above) engine redline...

JDR76

Peak horsepower on the 2GR-FSE is 306 @ 6400 rpm, so I would have to believe the redline is 6400.

ARM350F

I did not know that, thanks for clearing it up.

2Squared

According to the product info sheet for the 2014 GS350 it's 6,600 rpm.

Note: link below will download the product info sheet (pdf)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...nWj0FtX36r4vTQ

bclexus

According to the product Info sheet for 2013 GS 350 the maximum redline is 6,500 RPM - 100 RPMs lower than what you found for the 2014 GS 350. Maybe the truth is that maximum redline is something just north of maximum horsepower, which is at 6,200 RPMs.

JDR76

I had not realized there were these minor engine differences in the 13 vs the 14 and 15:

2013
Peak Horsepower: 306 hp @ 6,200 rpm
Peak Torque: 274 lb.-ft. @ 3,600 rpm
Max Engine Speed: 6500 rpm

2014, 15
Peak Horsepower: 306 @ 6400 rpm
Peak Torque: 277 lb.-ft. @ 4,800 rpm
Max Engine Speed: 6600 rpm

bclexus

I seriously doubt that there is any difference.

JDR76

It seems clear that there are differences. I recall reading about some small changes to the 2GR-FSE when the 3IS debuted for MY 2014. It now seems clear that they carried those changes over to the 14 GS as well. I'll have to see what I can find.

jkeller

6 speed vs 8 speed tranny?

JDR76

Shouldn't be that as the 14 and 15 still offer the 6 speed in the AWD model.

jjscsix

Exactly the point. The more you use your starter the sooner it is eventually going to need to be replaced. Same with the transmission. Admittedly that may not happen in the life of our ownership, but it is going to put more wear on it.

I recently posted in a thread about the quality of Audi's versus Lexus that my sister recently spent $5,000 on a new transmission in a seven or eight (don't remember which) year old RX350. Someone responded that it could be her fault because of her driving, and I can assure you she does not shift it manually. But the point is that Lexus transmissions are not totally bulletproof.

I'm not suggesting you should stop doing it, just making a point regarding using the transmission to save the brakes. At some point in time it darn sure could cause it to give out sooner than if you did not use it to slow the car. Heat is the enemy of a transmission.

jjscsix

Actually very few cars redline at peak horsepower. Just because a car reaches peak power does not mean that is always the ideal time to shift. It depends upon what RPM it drops you back to at the shift and where that puts you in the power curve.