shifting an automatic
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 17
From: OH, USA
Originally Posted by finger11
Originally Posted by Seanzer
If you're concerned about racing your auto, there's really no reason (at the moment) to upshift your AT, it'll shift at the right points for you better and faster than you can (usually). Downshifting however, is really convenient, especially on the freeway (which is how i got pulled over and got a speeding ticket). Your choices are to double tap on the gas pedal and hold it down far enough until it down shifts, or shift it yourself. I find shifting it down myself feels smoother and quicker. But that's just my opinion ;).
Sean
Sean
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 104
From: San Gabriel, CA
well here are my 2 cents.
I'm a UPS driver working for Sonic Air which is a subdivision of UPS. We deliver computer parts and so on with our own cars. I use my xA. I've had lots and lots of practice with my AT xA so i know a few things but i dont know how much help it can be with the tCs.
What ive found out.... going to L in normal driving isnt even worth it. I down shift a lot and my transmission is great @ 150,000k miles. I usually go to 2 when i slow down for turns right before gunning it for a little slide.
what ive come to realize a while back when i started driving autos is that you can control your shift times. you dont have to use the gears but the gas petal is more than enough.
you just need to know your car and how far you press down on the petal and under what conditions (uphill, downhill). I never floor my xA unless im already in 4th and im at 100mph already. I usually shift my xA @ 5000rpm so i press the gas down a little more than 1/2 way as the engine revs pretty fast then release my foot off the pedal like 1/2 an inch and it forces the tranny to shift.
Since its an automatic the pressure you use for the gas pedal is completely different from a 5spd MT. you press down too hard and it was downshift for you to get you to your desired speed and i dont always life that. So its all about control.
my 2 cents. =)
I'm a UPS driver working for Sonic Air which is a subdivision of UPS. We deliver computer parts and so on with our own cars. I use my xA. I've had lots and lots of practice with my AT xA so i know a few things but i dont know how much help it can be with the tCs.
What ive found out.... going to L in normal driving isnt even worth it. I down shift a lot and my transmission is great @ 150,000k miles. I usually go to 2 when i slow down for turns right before gunning it for a little slide.
what ive come to realize a while back when i started driving autos is that you can control your shift times. you dont have to use the gears but the gas petal is more than enough.
you just need to know your car and how far you press down on the petal and under what conditions (uphill, downhill). I never floor my xA unless im already in 4th and im at 100mph already. I usually shift my xA @ 5000rpm so i press the gas down a little more than 1/2 way as the engine revs pretty fast then release my foot off the pedal like 1/2 an inch and it forces the tranny to shift.
Since its an automatic the pressure you use for the gas pedal is completely different from a 5spd MT. you press down too hard and it was downshift for you to get you to your desired speed and i dont always life that. So its all about control.
my 2 cents. =)
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 63
Originally Posted by mfbenson
This thread should be locked already. Vastly more misinformation than information.
The tC does not have overdrive, and the original question was from a tC owner. The tC's automatic does not like to be manually downshifted for an engine braking effect. It will eventually downshift when you manually select a lower gear, but it waits until the car has already slowed down anyway for a smooth shift. So engine braking is not a very good option in the tC unless you are already at a stop and you want to use engine braking in 1st or 2nd to keep the car from going too fast down a steep hill or something. Even then, you're probably better off using the brakes and ABS. Last I checked brake pads were cheaper than transmissions... where do you want the wear and tear on your car to be?
A long time ago automatics were built with semi-manual valve shifters that would force the transmission into whatever gear you selected, regardless of your speed. That was a TRUE shiftable automatic - you could redline it just by droping a gear or two without even changing your speed. The tC has this drive by wire monkey business that keeps that from being much of an option.
Had I known its auto works this way I probably would have gotten a manual. This is my first automatic car I've had in years, my last was a 1973 mach 1 that had the semi-manual valve shifter I referenced above and in my ignorance I thought automatics still worked that way. What a disappointment.
The tC does not have overdrive, and the original question was from a tC owner. The tC's automatic does not like to be manually downshifted for an engine braking effect. It will eventually downshift when you manually select a lower gear, but it waits until the car has already slowed down anyway for a smooth shift. So engine braking is not a very good option in the tC unless you are already at a stop and you want to use engine braking in 1st or 2nd to keep the car from going too fast down a steep hill or something. Even then, you're probably better off using the brakes and ABS. Last I checked brake pads were cheaper than transmissions... where do you want the wear and tear on your car to be?
A long time ago automatics were built with semi-manual valve shifters that would force the transmission into whatever gear you selected, regardless of your speed. That was a TRUE shiftable automatic - you could redline it just by droping a gear or two without even changing your speed. The tC has this drive by wire monkey business that keeps that from being much of an option.
Had I known its auto works this way I probably would have gotten a manual. This is my first automatic car I've had in years, my last was a 1973 mach 1 that had the semi-manual valve shifter I referenced above and in my ignorance I thought automatics still worked that way. What a disappointment.
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 14,570
From: University Place, WA
One minor correction to a small part of this: Both the manual and automatic transmissions in the Scion tC are technically "overdrive" transmissions since the top gear ratios are less than 1:1.
Any time the output shaft of a transmission turns faster than the input shaft, that is "overdrive."
(Same applies to the xA/xB transmissions - all are overdrive.)
The rest of this I will leave alone, as the controller for the auto trans has a "mind of it's own" and it determines when the shifts happen depending on speed, throttle position, selector position, and current gear in use. There is fairly decent mapping of this in the Scion tC Repair manuals...
Any time the output shaft of a transmission turns faster than the input shaft, that is "overdrive."
(Same applies to the xA/xB transmissions - all are overdrive.)
The rest of this I will leave alone, as the controller for the auto trans has a "mind of it's own" and it determines when the shifts happen depending on speed, throttle position, selector position, and current gear in use. There is fairly decent mapping of this in the Scion tC Repair manuals...
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 684
From: Somewhere, USA
One minor correction to a small part of this: Both the manual and automatic transmissions in the Scion tC are technically "overdrive" transmissions since the top gear ratios are less than 1:1.
Really, in a lot of cars the "overdrive switch" doesn't even engage or disengage an actual overdrive, it just locks and unlocks the torque converter.
Admin Emeritus
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 14,570
From: University Place, WA
Interesting you mentioned 'lock-up.' The xA and xB automatic transmission vehicles have locking torque converters that lock up in both third and fourth...(speed specs in the service manuals).
I don't know about the tC's torque converter.
I don't know about the tC's torque converter.
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