E-Shifting Tricks
02-08-04, 07:49 PM
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E-Shifting Tricks
Hello All,
So I know how to use E-Shift decently, but just wondering if some of you have some tips & tricks... In the manual it says to release the gas before shifting with E-Shift. Is this really true or am I misreading the manual? It seems like you would lose acceleration if you had to release the gas, press the shift button, and then gas again.
Also, I have noticed when in automatic and flooring the car sometimes it is delayed in response, it seems to not have a good power band in lower gears. When using E-Shift It feels like I can get more power out of the 2nd and 3rd gear with E-Shift. Anyone know, if in fact if the car does 0-60 faster in E-shift or if the optimal 0-60 is done vai the computer [ Automatic Transmission.] Thanks for the insight and comments.
So I know how to use E-Shift decently, but just wondering if some of you have some tips & tricks... In the manual it says to release the gas before shifting with E-Shift. Is this really true or am I misreading the manual? It seems like you would lose acceleration if you had to release the gas, press the shift button, and then gas again.
Also, I have noticed when in automatic and flooring the car sometimes it is delayed in response, it seems to not have a good power band in lower gears. When using E-Shift It feels like I can get more power out of the 2nd and 3rd gear with E-Shift. Anyone know, if in fact if the car does 0-60 faster in E-shift or if the optimal 0-60 is done vai the computer [ Automatic Transmission.] Thanks for the insight and comments.
02-08-04, 11:43 PM
#2
throw away the manual on this one 
i don't have e shift on my is3 (i have a 5 speed, even better, haha), but i have e shift on my gs4, so i can tell you about this. no need to let go of gas at all when you shift. just press the button and the computer will do the shop. if you get go of the gas and shift, you only makes it slower. it's not a manual after all where you need to let go of gas when you shift.
and no, the e shift doesnt' give you more power. i believe on the is3, coz' of the i6, the power band is towards the higher rpm. so i guess what you are trying to say is, using e shift, you can stay in lower gears and thus higher rpms, so you get more power. at 2000rpm i do feel that the car is a bit lack in power.
and the delay you talked about, i am not 100% sure. coz' i have manual transimission, i don't have much delays. i shift it and just punch and eveyrone just sucked into their seats
i don't have e shift on my is3 (i have a 5 speed, even better, haha), but i have e shift on my gs4, so i can tell you about this. no need to let go of gas at all when you shift. just press the button and the computer will do the shop. if you get go of the gas and shift, you only makes it slower. it's not a manual after all where you need to let go of gas when you shift. and no, the e shift doesnt' give you more power. i believe on the is3, coz' of the i6, the power band is towards the higher rpm. so i guess what you are trying to say is, using e shift, you can stay in lower gears and thus higher rpms, so you get more power. at 2000rpm i do feel that the car is a bit lack in power.
and the delay you talked about, i am not 100% sure. coz' i have manual transimission, i don't have much delays. i shift it and just punch and eveyrone just sucked into their seats
02-09-04, 07:57 PM
#3
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Re: E-Shifting Tricks
Is this really true or am I misreading the manual? It seems like you would lose acceleration if you had to release the gas, press the shift button, and then gas again.
The manual is somewhat misleading. Just keep your foot on the gas as you shift. Yes you are right, you will lose acceleration due to lag if you release the gas.
Also, I have noticed when in automatic and flooring the car sometimes it is delayed in response, it seems to not have a good power band in lower gears.
That's due to the throttle by wire system we have on the car. Your engine throttle is controlled by electronics rather than a conventional cable from the pedal to the throttle body. It's best to keep TRAC OFF and ECT PWR - ON to get the best acceleration results. Oh yes, turning off the A/C will help too.
With the ECT-i system our trannys run on, it's best to dive into the gas pedal gradually, not pedal to the metal asap.
When using E-Shift It feels like I can get more power out of the 2nd and 3rd gear with E-Shift. Anyone know, if in fact if the car does 0-60 faster in E-shift or if the optimal 0-60 is done vai the computer [ Automatic Transmission.] Thanks for the insight and comments.
The IS runs faster by itself rather than leaving it in E-Shift. The computer controlled tranny follows a quicker shift pattern on regular mode rather than the delayed output of the E-Shift engagement.
The manual is somewhat misleading. Just keep your foot on the gas as you shift. Yes you are right, you will lose acceleration due to lag if you release the gas.
Also, I have noticed when in automatic and flooring the car sometimes it is delayed in response, it seems to not have a good power band in lower gears.
That's due to the throttle by wire system we have on the car. Your engine throttle is controlled by electronics rather than a conventional cable from the pedal to the throttle body. It's best to keep TRAC OFF and ECT PWR - ON to get the best acceleration results. Oh yes, turning off the A/C will help too.
With the ECT-i system our trannys run on, it's best to dive into the gas pedal gradually, not pedal to the metal asap.When using E-Shift It feels like I can get more power out of the 2nd and 3rd gear with E-Shift. Anyone know, if in fact if the car does 0-60 faster in E-shift or if the optimal 0-60 is done vai the computer [ Automatic Transmission.] Thanks for the insight and comments.
The IS runs faster by itself rather than leaving it in E-Shift. The computer controlled tranny follows a quicker shift pattern on regular mode rather than the delayed output of the E-Shift engagement.
02-09-04, 09:16 PM
#4
actually i believe the is3 is driven by cable, at least partially. take off the engine cover and you can clearly see the throttle body cable there.
and drive by wire is actually more sensitive and faster response than driven by cable, if designed correctly. when i say that, i mean the current gs430, the sc430, they are designed wrong. response is so slow. but if you drive the new ls430, or say the m3, you will see the power of driven by wire. it's so instant, and so sensitive. a lot of people when they first get those european driven by wire cars, they had to adjust to their driving behavior
if you take off the engine cover, you will see that the cable has lag in it. you pull on it and you see some lag. if you tighten it up you will get a bit better response. this is even more noticeable on 5 speed manual coz' we are very sensitive to gas. no gas and the car doesn't move, unlike the auto
and drive by wire is actually more sensitive and faster response than driven by cable, if designed correctly. when i say that, i mean the current gs430, the sc430, they are designed wrong. response is so slow. but if you drive the new ls430, or say the m3, you will see the power of driven by wire. it's so instant, and so sensitive. a lot of people when they first get those european driven by wire cars, they had to adjust to their driving behavior
if you take off the engine cover, you will see that the cable has lag in it. you pull on it and you see some lag. if you tighten it up you will get a bit better response. this is even more noticeable on 5 speed manual coz' we are very sensitive to gas. no gas and the car doesn't move, unlike the auto
02-10-04, 11:51 AM
#5
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Reply to JustinK101
You didn't mention what year IS300 E-Shift you had. Some of them, including my car....mostly 2001's, I think, had an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) transmission update. Depending on the VIN, on some cars it was a reprogramming of the PROM; on others, it was a complete replacement of the unit. The problem was the low-speed throttle response which was sporadically going into Traction Control mode inadvertently, even with the T/C turned off. The update helped but did not completely cure the problem. The drive-by-wire system on the IS300 in general is not particularly linear in its response. Sometimes the response will be jerky; sometimes very smooth and slow. As Mercedes is finding out with its electronic brakes, this type of all-wire technology is still in its infancy and has not yet really been perfected. Have the Service Manager at your Lexus shop or someone at Lexus Customer assistance run a VIN check on your car and see if there are any factory updates.
02-11-04, 04:01 AM
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Re: Re: E-Shifting Tricks
Originally posted by flipside909
When using E-Shift It feels like I can get more power out of the 2nd and 3rd gear with E-Shift. Anyone know, if in fact if the car does 0-60 faster in E-shift or if the optimal 0-60 is done vai the computer [ Automatic Transmission.] Thanks for the insight and comments.
The IS runs faster by itself rather than leaving it in E-Shift. The computer controlled tranny follows a quicker shift pattern on regular mode rather than the delayed output of the E-Shift engagement.
When using E-Shift It feels like I can get more power out of the 2nd and 3rd gear with E-Shift. Anyone know, if in fact if the car does 0-60 faster in E-shift or if the optimal 0-60 is done vai the computer [ Automatic Transmission.] Thanks for the insight and comments.
The IS runs faster by itself rather than leaving it in E-Shift. The computer controlled tranny follows a quicker shift pattern on regular mode rather than the delayed output of the E-Shift engagement.
might sound surprising...but most people cannot outshift the shift pattern of the automatic. of course, when you know your own manual car really well, you do perfect shifts for each gear (maximizing power output and go up to next gear at the optimum timing and rev.) you should beat the automatic.
the deciding factor relies on the manual driver's ability and knowledge of shifting efficiently and quickly.
so in most cases, it is tough to beat a computer. we are only human.
so anyway, yeah, i agree, e-shift will not give you a faster 0-60 time. probably slow you down. you are adding not only the delayed output of the E-Shift engagement but also the human error of shifting too slow or fast on the e-shift itself.
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02-15-04, 02:03 PM
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Re: Re: Re: E-Shifting Tricks
Originally posted by darden
and actually, if you take two identical cars, one with auto, one with manual, usually the auto tranny one will beat the manual from 0-60.
might sound surprising...but most people cannot outshift the shift pattern of the automatic. of course, when you know your own manual car really well, you do perfect shifts for each gear (maximizing power output and go up to next gear at the optimum timing and rev.) you should beat the automatic.
the deciding factor relies on the manual driver's ability and knowledge of shifting efficiently and quickly.
so in most cases, it is tough to beat a computer. we are only human.
so anyway, yeah, i agree, e-shift will not give you a faster 0-60 time. probably slow you down. you are adding not only the delayed output of the E-Shift engagement but also the human error of shifting too slow or fast on the e-shift itself.
and actually, if you take two identical cars, one with auto, one with manual, usually the auto tranny one will beat the manual from 0-60.
might sound surprising...but most people cannot outshift the shift pattern of the automatic. of course, when you know your own manual car really well, you do perfect shifts for each gear (maximizing power output and go up to next gear at the optimum timing and rev.) you should beat the automatic.
the deciding factor relies on the manual driver's ability and knowledge of shifting efficiently and quickly.
so in most cases, it is tough to beat a computer. we are only human.
so anyway, yeah, i agree, e-shift will not give you a faster 0-60 time. probably slow you down. you are adding not only the delayed output of the E-Shift engagement but also the human error of shifting too slow or fast on the e-shift itself.
02-15-04, 02:21 PM
#10
Lexus Connoisseur
Re: Re: Re: E-Shifting Tricks
and actually, if you take two identical cars, one with auto, one with manual, usually the auto tranny one will beat the manual from 0-60.
That's totally false. Like aformentioned, E-Shift is not a real sequential transmission. Just a computer controller to shift gears. It does not have an electronic clutch like a real sequential. Yes an auto tranny may be more consistent...but it will never have the power efficiency of a manual...aka driveline loss.
might sound surprising...but most people cannot outshift the shift pattern of the automatic. of course, when you know your own manual car really well, you do perfect shifts for each gear (maximizing power output and go up to next gear at the optimum timing and rev.) you should beat the automatic.
True...it's consistent...but it will not out do a skilled driver and near or perfect reaction times for a manual version. Simply because of an auto tranny's driveline loss.
An effcient auto tranny yields about a 15-20% driveline loss from actual flywheel horsepower where as some manuals only yield a 5 to 15% loss depending on gearing efficiency.
That's totally false. Like aformentioned, E-Shift is not a real sequential transmission. Just a computer controller to shift gears. It does not have an electronic clutch like a real sequential. Yes an auto tranny may be more consistent...but it will never have the power efficiency of a manual...aka driveline loss.
might sound surprising...but most people cannot outshift the shift pattern of the automatic. of course, when you know your own manual car really well, you do perfect shifts for each gear (maximizing power output and go up to next gear at the optimum timing and rev.) you should beat the automatic.
True...it's consistent...but it will not out do a skilled driver and near or perfect reaction times for a manual version. Simply because of an auto tranny's driveline loss.
An effcient auto tranny yields about a 15-20% driveline loss from actual flywheel horsepower where as some manuals only yield a 5 to 15% loss depending on gearing efficiency.
Last edited by flipside909; 02-15-04 at 02:23 PM.
02-17-04, 08:42 AM
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guys, i think you misunderstood what i meant.
for a skilled manual driver, the manual will certainly beat the auto every time. that's no doubt.
however, i was saying that many manual drivers do not know how to drive a manual shift correctly thus not able to beat a driver in a automatic who simply has to press the gas pedal and go.
in an extreme example, take a manual corvette versus a automatic is300.
if the manual covervette's driver shifts at 2500 RPM at each gear...the automatic is300 will smoke the vette easily.
that's all i was trying to say...the manual shift driver must know how to drive the manul car correctly to get the most out of it. while the automatic driver does not have to think and move except press the gas pedal.
i said "and actually, if you take two identical cars, one with auto, one with manual, usually the auto tranny one will beat the manual from 0-60."
that statement was not meant to say that the auto has more power than the manual. it is meant to compare the two drivers.
in most cases the manual will have more power, thus more acceleration, than a brother automatic model. however, if the driver of the manual shifts too early or too late, the driver of the automaic will smoke the manual driver...
sorry, was comparing drivers instead of the cars.
for a skilled manual driver, the manual will certainly beat the auto every time. that's no doubt.
however, i was saying that many manual drivers do not know how to drive a manual shift correctly thus not able to beat a driver in a automatic who simply has to press the gas pedal and go.
in an extreme example, take a manual corvette versus a automatic is300.
if the manual covervette's driver shifts at 2500 RPM at each gear...the automatic is300 will smoke the vette easily.
that's all i was trying to say...the manual shift driver must know how to drive the manul car correctly to get the most out of it. while the automatic driver does not have to think and move except press the gas pedal.
i said "and actually, if you take two identical cars, one with auto, one with manual, usually the auto tranny one will beat the manual from 0-60."
that statement was not meant to say that the auto has more power than the manual. it is meant to compare the two drivers.
in most cases the manual will have more power, thus more acceleration, than a brother automatic model. however, if the driver of the manual shifts too early or too late, the driver of the automaic will smoke the manual driver...
sorry, was comparing drivers instead of the cars.
02-17-04, 08:50 AM
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just to add...
i think most of us on club lexus know how to drive a manual shift correctly...
however, i have many friends who have been driving manuals for years who do not know how to drive manuals correctly.
one of my friends holds down the CLUTCH and uses the brake pedal to SLOW DOWN to go around corners and make turns. he does it ALL THE TIME. the concept of downshifting does not seems to exist in his mind.
trust me, i want to correct him so many times...but i don't want to be a backseat driver nor offend him. maybe i should tell him next time. hehe.
another frind of mine has a M-Roadster. his brother has a Audi TT. that family does not know how to drive manuals. they shift up way too early. the brother is the worst. he shifts before 3000 rpm even when he's trying to "GUN IT". hehe.
i think they are afraid to hurt the car or something.
those cars are built to be driven...it is a sad sight to witness.
i think most of us on club lexus know how to drive a manual shift correctly...
however, i have many friends who have been driving manuals for years who do not know how to drive manuals correctly.
one of my friends holds down the CLUTCH and uses the brake pedal to SLOW DOWN to go around corners and make turns. he does it ALL THE TIME. the concept of downshifting does not seems to exist in his mind.
trust me, i want to correct him so many times...but i don't want to be a backseat driver nor offend him. maybe i should tell him next time. hehe.
another frind of mine has a M-Roadster. his brother has a Audi TT. that family does not know how to drive manuals. they shift up way too early. the brother is the worst. he shifts before 3000 rpm even when he's trying to "GUN IT". hehe.
i think they are afraid to hurt the car or something.
those cars are built to be driven...it is a sad sight to witness.
02-17-04, 09:59 AM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Quicker to 60?
All other things equal (engine, final-drive ratio, weight, etc.....) a manual, properly shifted, will usually beat an automatic or manumatic to 60 MPH due to greater transmission efficiency. Exceptions are the CVT's (Continuously Variable Transmissions), which combine the best of both worlds.....automatic convienence and manual efficiency, but to date they have been used mostly with smaller engines because the drive belts couldn't take high torque. Audi is starting to phase them in with V6'es now...perhaps Lexus will follow later.
02-17-04, 10:10 AM
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i believe that nissan murano's VQ has CVT tranny too. i think the only auto tranny that can out run the manual tranny is BMW's SMG technology assuming with same driver.
02-17-04, 01:06 PM
#15
Originally posted by darden
guys, i think you misunderstood what i meant.
for a skilled manual driver, the manual will certainly beat the auto every time. that's no doubt.
however, i was saying that many manual drivers do not know how to drive a manual shift correctly thus not able to beat a driver in a automatic who simply has to press the gas pedal and go.
in an extreme example, take a manual corvette versus a automatic is300.
if the manual covervette's driver shifts at 2500 RPM at each gear...the automatic is300 will smoke the vette easily.
that's all i was trying to say...the manual shift driver must know how to drive the manul car correctly to get the most out of it. while the automatic driver does not have to think and move except press the gas pedal.
i said "and actually, if you take two identical cars, one with auto, one with manual, usually the auto tranny one will beat the manual from 0-60."
that statement was not meant to say that the auto has more power than the manual. it is meant to compare the two drivers.
in most cases the manual will have more power, thus more acceleration, than a brother automatic model. however, if the driver of the manual shifts too early or too late, the driver of the automaic will smoke the manual driver...
sorry, was comparing drivers instead of the cars.
guys, i think you misunderstood what i meant.
for a skilled manual driver, the manual will certainly beat the auto every time. that's no doubt.
however, i was saying that many manual drivers do not know how to drive a manual shift correctly thus not able to beat a driver in a automatic who simply has to press the gas pedal and go.
in an extreme example, take a manual corvette versus a automatic is300.
if the manual covervette's driver shifts at 2500 RPM at each gear...the automatic is300 will smoke the vette easily.
that's all i was trying to say...the manual shift driver must know how to drive the manul car correctly to get the most out of it. while the automatic driver does not have to think and move except press the gas pedal.
i said "and actually, if you take two identical cars, one with auto, one with manual, usually the auto tranny one will beat the manual from 0-60."
that statement was not meant to say that the auto has more power than the manual. it is meant to compare the two drivers.
in most cases the manual will have more power, thus more acceleration, than a brother automatic model. however, if the driver of the manual shifts too early or too late, the driver of the automaic will smoke the manual driver...
sorry, was comparing drivers instead of the cars.
j/k... but yeah i know what you talking about