Paddle Shifting Question
 

We got a very welcome and well deserved touch of spring weather here in PA yesterday and took my new Z out for a short ride. I tried paddle shifting for the first time. Very nice. It eliminates much of the incessant upshifting and downshifting the automatic does and enables me to accomplish the upshift or dowshift when I want. It's more like a manual in that I can "wind it out" just a little, even though I guess I'm losing out on that fuel efficiency calculated to be accomplished by the shift points built into the automatic transmission. I like them both at their respective appropriate times and circumstances. My question is, Must I take my foot off the gas when I paddle shift up, as I do with my 5 speed Miata or do I just keep my foort on the gas through the paddle shift change, as though it were the automatic tranny shifting as I accelerate up? Don't want to injure the car but taking my foot off the gas when I shift up makes for a little bit of a jerky ride?
Two nice things to report:
1) Bought my first tank of gas and each and everyone of the little red lights lites up.
2) Opened the hatch when I left and when I got home. It opened on the first try, as it almost always does---so far!
I love my little red Z!

Keep your foot down. :D

I don't take my foot off.

I havent really played with the paddles yet too much kind of waiting till the engine break in is done, but the dealer told me you dont need to take your foot off the gas when shifting. I bet the owner's manual might say something about this for a better answer.

Actually I looked and to my surprise it didn't seem to address the point---unless I overlooked it. But the responses indicate that you keep your food on the accelerator through the upshifts.

you can keep your foot on the gas while you upshift/downshift. the car is still ultimately an automatic so it'll handle all the shifting.

I use the manual mode all the time and always keep my foot on the gas when upshifting. Downshifting you would be decelerating or breaking so you would naturally be of the gas.

Not necessarily. You downshift to speed up too.

Yes, you do to.

:icon08:

:iagree:

Rofl, am I the only one who downshifts while mashing the gas to pass people? (Or get away from angry husbands?)

YES!!!!!
:bowrofl::roflpuke2::bowrofl:

:icon18: :roflpuke2:

There's no poon like "danger poon"

Your driving technique is reasonable if the Husbands chasing you down and is firing at you! :tup:

He's not chasing me to have a tickling contest, mate. The intentions are likely ill willed.

:iagree:

Depends, you do teach that type of class. :p

At your school? :D

My question about the paddles is "why have paddles at all"? Why don't these manual autos have regular manual stick shifts, just ones without a clutch pedal? It seems like it would be a more "natural" way to shift the car. Just doesn't seem like the steering stock paddles would feel right for shifting the tranny manually.

You can use the stick to shift if that's what you prefer.

Thanks for that info, rudi. Is it one of those plus/minus deals?

Yep it is.

if you want the shift gates, why wouldnt you just get a manual car? you think a car company is going to make an automatic/manumatic with a six (or in this case seven) gate shifter plus reverse, neutral, and drive? a waste of time in my opinion. majority of folks that purchase an auto wont be using the paddles all the time either, so its not worth the extra effort. i for one have the auto and i usually have it in auto mode, engaging the manual mode when i want to downshift to get some extra revs for passing.

you also have to remember, this is an automatic/manumatic, not a manual. even when you're "manually" shifting it, its not like a DSG/ DCT/PDK dual clutch transmission on a gtr or porsche. when you flip a paddle on the Z, the computer and torque converter is still doing all the work, hence the lag you feel.

I like the AT manual mode for maximum acceleration because I can go all the way to redline in each gear. I don't experience much lag between gears. If the lag in AT manual shifting were more than pushing in a clutch and shifting then the AT would not be faster than the manual.

With an AT you can totally concentrate on negotiating corners and curves using the paddles with both hands on the wheel or one hand on the wheel and a flick of the wrist on the shifter to run up or down through the gears.

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I know the 370Z does not shift as fast as a super car or Formula 1 but if a manual transmission is faster and is better for racing why did they build these with AT's, paddles and shift buttons?

It is hard to beat an AT ....... and I might add ..... my everyday driver is a supercharged Nissan Frontier with manual transmission, cold air intake and dual stainless exhaust system.

I was just going to say.... what lag? The automatic in manual mode is very fast. Sure you get lag in full auto mode, but not in manual mode. It's certainly faster than most people could do in a standard trns.

The paddle shifters are great. It's like I'm driving on my Xbox 360 and Forza!! Sweet. lol

the auto is fast in the manual mode...but i think its faster in a DCT/DSG dual clutch set up. i still notice a slight lag in the Z when im shifting in manual mode.

I have to be honest, I feel much less "lame" about owning an auto when I use the paddles. When I use the plus/minus stick, I feel like an absolute douche.

:bowrofl::roflpuke2: :tup:

i ran a 13.6 at the 1/4 mile track in full auto... and then they closed the track never got to try the paddle shifters... so sad.. it feelz so much faster with paddles

Nice run did you happen to get a time slip? gives me hope...

yea i did but im not sure where i put the slips XD

Cool, how were the conditions? and at what elevation was it at, and how much air we're you running?

perfect 75 degree night what do u mean how much air?

Sorry, I was talking about how much air we're your tires at? or the psi, were the tires inflated at the recommended psi 36 or did you drop the psi for a better bite?

did not change em any so i think they were at 35 psi

gotcha, hopefully next time you can get more runs in.. :tup:

if they re open the track :icon14:

Just curious...........Why did you not use the paddle shifters for that run?

wasnt sure how to use em at that point