FromTheOld

I haven't used it yet but I wonder, does anyone else use it "all the time" or almost all the time? Does anyone know if it'll damage the transmission more if you use it, but not due to over-revving, but due to engine braking constantly?

draxcaliber

sport shift mode is a joke. basically your asking the car to up or down shift, and the cars computer determines if it is safe to do so, and then does it, and if it isn't safe, then it doesn't do it.

honestly, they are a stupid feature no matter what, they aren't fun or satisfying. i've driven my mom's turbocharged subaru legacy 2.5 gt with auto-stick gear box, , my dad's porsche cayenne s with tiptronic gear box, and a rental audi a3 2.0T with s-tronic gear box, they are a total waste of technology.

i've used it in all of them, and they really aren't fun compared to a real manual transmission. they are just for posers who aren't cordinated enough to operate a real one. in all the times i've driven a car that has it, i play with it for like 5 minutes, and then put it in D and never use it again.

anyway to answer your question more directly, no, it can't hurt your car at all. basically if you try to downshift too much, it will just ignore you and stay in the appropriate gear, as for engine braking, engine braking is not bad for your car, and actually, engine braking is good for braking in your car for conditioning the piston rings by having them pulled the other way so they settle better. i engine brake all the time with my manual transmission, saves gas and brakes doing so.

ShaffNasty

I have it and use it rarely when i need to pass someone quickly in 3rd... other then that it is not like a manual as stated above...

draxcaliber

yeah, of all the cars i talked about in my previous post, the only one i actually liked was the audi a3 2.0T with the s-tronic gear box. because while it has man-u-matic shiffing to the left of D, it also S mode selectible, and in S-mode, which i think is sport mode. sport mode would make it hold gears until redline for best throttle/acceleration response, while D would upshift ASAP for best mpg, which would cause a delay in acceleration when you floor it and it picks a gear. same problem i have with the subaru and porsche, i mean, the porshe would be in 6th gear going 35 mph, and have absolutely no throttle response until i punched it.

ShaffNasty

From what i have heard BMW has the sport mode too... It seems to hold gears till close to redline before shifting...

buickid

I use it quite often. Its not my car, so I didn't have the choice of a manual, so don't hate on me for that. When going into the mountains for some... spirited driving... its quite useful. Going into the turns, I drop it down into 2nd to slow down, drop it down to 1st halfway through the turn (going about 15MPH now), and voila, no waiting for the trans to downshift.
The transmission likes to hold the highest gear it can (fuel economy) so by bringing it down with the shifter, you don't have to wait for the throttle kickdown and resulting lag while the transmission is down shifting.
So it is good for something...

SiZzOuRcE

I only use mine when I tend to get 'spirited' with the car. I know from experience with it, that if I want it to shift lower than it normally would, it will stay in the current gear til it wants to shift.

Ive learned, however, the RPMs in which it shifts, so I always stay in that certain gear and max it out then shift it. That way I am getting the full benefit of the shift.

Either way, when I am racing someone, I always leave it in D. The car knows how to shift better than you, so don't bother trying to beat it. Unless your juicing (which you might want to hold a gear longer than the computer would), the sportshift is useless.

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

The vast majority of my driving is city or freeway commuting, which I find the SportShift quite useless for.

I will say that it comes in very handy if I happen to spot somebody of the legal persuasion sitting on the side of a freeway on-ramp waiting for speeders to go by on the freeway below. If I happen to be going a "little" faster than the speed limit, I will simply bump the gear selector from Drive over to SportShift and it will automatically downshift to 3rd and start engine braking... since no brake lights come on, I always get left alone. Mind you, this is useless if you are blasting by at an excessive rate of speed.

DJ_FroZone

iTrader: (2)

*raises hand

I like my s-shift. most ppl haven't seen it where im from and i think its kinda fun. true manual would be dope but i do WAY to many things when i drive. change from a full suit to street clothes and back on a parkway?? in maunal? id stall so much and in snow? on my hills? id be screwed. i really like manual. but the s-shift gets me close. IT SHOULD BE A CHEESING 5 spd. but w/e work with wat u got. saves me some gas though i never drive in D ever. eva eva. eva eva EVA eva.

my .02

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

That's because you have Hello Kitty to shift for you!

cobb

love it and havdriven mostly stick shifts includng my xa. Its nice to engne brake for merging so instead of gassing then braking, regassng waiting for the tranny to select the right gear, you can just push and release the gas to speed up or slow down. Second when you engine brake you may see the fuel economy meter read 90mpg, this means the njectors are off, so no gas is being used or brake pad material. So, free ac, electricty and saves wear on the brakes pushing your engine over with energy used to get it moving in the first place.

Lastly, ts nice to hold a car n a certan gear for beter performance in varous weather condtions. Most autos you get to subject a gear from the lne up. So if you take a regular car and take it out of od, you have 3 gears the car selects from, if you shift it in 2nd, you got first and 2nd, this lets you pick 2nd and drive off from a dead stop,3rd or 4th.

Ths could be great for snow, mud or ice assuming the traction control does not work well or sucks.

DREWxB08

iTrader: (1)

Have it, Like it, Love it, Use it when i wanna have a little fun and act like im banging thru the gears!!!!! Flash backs from when i had My civic Hatch with K seris Swop.

CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

It's 2:30 in the morning Drew, don't you ever sleep?

DREWxB08

iTrader: (1)

Yes Sir when im realie tired and keep my eyes open to read the post's on scionlife LOL , on my way to hit the sack, def going to be a long day tomorrow!!!! you also get some sleep there buddy!


Night Night

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CIONIDE

iTrader: (1)

It's only 11:45pm here in Cali, I'm watching ScionLife, Jay Leno & Letterman... I'm a multi-tasking mad man!

2007_wichitaSCION

why not just buy the manual... i do a lot of stuff when i drive also.. the way i see it, you buy a stick or an auto.. dont mix the two to give some lousy wanna be stick driver some ***** behind the wheel lol

im not hatin though ;) some people are just not made to let the gas off push the clutch then shift ... rinse and repeat lol

buickid

Hate to burst your bubble... but...
When you select a gear from the S mode, its actually working just like a regular auto. So if you pick 3, the trans will start in 1st, then shift to 2nd and third. It won't allow you to start off in 2nd or 3rd.
It really is just like a regular automatic. Manumatic just makes it easier to select gears with a front-back motion, rather then having to pull the column shift up and down

FromTheOld

Well from the time I've had this car, the "Sport-shift" IS pretty much like the standard old automatics where it had D/2/L and overdrive. But I think it has some advantages over the traditional column one. It's dummy-proof (doesn't let you over-rev it) and it has SOME uses (which are similar to thet old ones), such as letting you keep revs high, and staying in one gear (assuming your RPMs aren't too low or it'll downshift for you) and it has an engine brake.

cobb

Thats funny, mines stays in the gear selected. Doesnt really matter since it has the traction control as that is where the real benefit comes from by putting it in a lower gear for snow, ice or mud.

I too like the dummy feature so if someone drive my car and decides to put it in the wrong gear it wont blow anything.

I was in a wheelchair for 9 years and it can be painful with a leg with multiple fractures somedays to constantly work the clutch. Thats the only reason I went for the xb from the xa. I drive like 300 miles a week and some days with the weather its very painful to operate the petals and footwork like the flintstones til I hit the open road.

FromTheOld

What do you mean? I meant if your RPMs are low and you step on the pedal a bit, it'll most likely downshift for you. It always happens to me, and it's a little annoying.