Sexis350

Wow. The car responds like a beast!
I thought the car was underpowered all this time but its simple not the case. I was just a terrible driver.

When i wanted to go fast before, i just floored it in D and it would only downshift like 2 gears.
I dropped the car and 2nd gear in manual mode at 40mph and the car took off like a rocket. Not to mention my engine was screaming!!

At first i thought the paddle shifters and manual mode were gimmicky and tacky. So i never used em.
Little did i realise, they actually function like a stick. You dont get the nice thrust of a stick but they do the same thing.
Definitely need to use shifters more. Especially when i want to unlock all highest powerbands of this car or need a ripe a$$ downshift.

Jbreezie

It was on sport mode right? haha

k3vn

I have to disagree. I'm coming from a very modified wrx so I'm a little biased, but the IS trans just feels unresponsive and slow, especially compared to the dual-clutch auto units in VW and BMW, etc... I'm hopeful Lexus will develop one of their own. Even Acura has one now (mated to a torque converter too), and it's very snappy.

FPerform

Agreed. I think the transmission is too sluggish and really it's what holds the car back. BMW's is so smooth it's ridiculous, can't comment on VW.

Spagolli94

The transmission is decent for a non-DCT. That said, it pales in comparison to the DCT.

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

You don't need to use paddle shifter just leave it in S/S+.

new2jdm

Can't wait for a supercharger for this car

Sexis350

Still doesnt compare. S+ and using paddles to downshift to lowest possible gear will throw you back in your seat.

ddvette9

Is the gearing actually affected in manual mode if you are in sport/eco/normal.

I thought sport/eco/normal only affect the gearing if you are in traditional driving mode.

I am pretty sure that if you put the car in manual mode and select eco, normal and sport, first gear to redline will feel the exact same in all three.

Am I incorrect?

dnasians

iTrader: (4)

you should try it and report back!

alpha12

Can you damage the tranny with paddle shifters? I've driven stick only on a couple of occasions but would like to try them out despite being extremely novice at when to shift.

LexSense

iTrader: (2)

Car won't let you downshift past a certain gear if it detects that the speed is too high for the next lowest gear.

It will also up-shift for you while in Manual mode (traction control engaged) when it's near redline.

So you should be relatively safe

Loe

Here is what I've found out..

If you quickly jam the throttle down, it'll downshift to the lowest gear. If you don't do it as quick, it'll downshift to the next possible lowest gear, and then downshift to the gear it was intended to directly after. The car doesn't want your foot to be lazy about it to extract maximum performance.