Ruminations on SST Driving Habits
#31
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It's not so much a Sport vs Normal issue, as it is Manual vs Auto. If your daily commute requires you to sit in stop and go traffic (to and from work), I would suggest driving for 5-10 mins in Manual mode prior to getting into traffic. Every morning when I leave I skip my first freeway on ramp and go to the second one. This allows me to warm up the transmission nice and good by manually holding each gear to ~3k.
Conversely, there have been times when I was running late at work, and had to jump straight onto the freeway...right into nighttime rush hour traffic (I was taking night classes at that time, THANK GOD I'm done with those). The transmission really seemed to hate this, as I never got above 3rd, and after 15-20 mins shifting characteristics would really suffer. When I leave work now, I skip the on-ramp right outside my work (literally a stones throw away) and drive an extra mile. If the freeway is already going, it's not a big deal; this is mostly an issue for So-Cal'ers/DC'ers who sit in bad rush hour traffic.
Conversely, there have been times when I was running late at work, and had to jump straight onto the freeway...right into nighttime rush hour traffic (I was taking night classes at that time, THANK GOD I'm done with those). The transmission really seemed to hate this, as I never got above 3rd, and after 15-20 mins shifting characteristics would really suffer. When I leave work now, I skip the on-ramp right outside my work (literally a stones throw away) and drive an extra mile. If the freeway is already going, it's not a big deal; this is mostly an issue for So-Cal'ers/DC'ers who sit in bad rush hour traffic.
Last edited by sstevojr; Feb 6, 2012 at 12:37 PM.
#32
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I really hate the characteristics of the shifting when in traffic on auto/normal. It goes up and down so many times and once in a while you get those nasty clucks when going back into 1st gear.
I usually drive in auto/normal but when I'm doing lots of stop & go I put it in Manual/sport that way i can leave it in 1 gear. IMO this is MUCH less abusive than having the tranny go 1,2,3,2,3,2,1,2,3,1,2,3,2,1 in a matter of 50 feet lol
I usually drive in auto/normal but when I'm doing lots of stop & go I put it in Manual/sport that way i can leave it in 1 gear. IMO this is MUCH less abusive than having the tranny go 1,2,3,2,3,2,1,2,3,1,2,3,2,1 in a matter of 50 feet lol
#34
Whew that's a whole lot of back and forth info to run through, so what I'm getting the general feeling is for heavy traffic in the mornings (which I have) it is going to be best to keep her in manual mode for a few before jumping into traffic to maintain a healthy SST?
#35
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Seriously, treat this car as a manual.
I use Manual/Normal 99.9 % of the time.
My biggest grief is it will down shift in Manual from 4th down w/o interacting with the stick or paddles. You can control 4-1 with down shifting for it, before the TCU wants it too.
I use Auto/Sport when I do SCCA D-Stock SoloII (faster than me in Manual/Sport, Paddles attached to wheel, get it right!).
I've never had to "Cool-Down". I do get strange shifts. I chalk that up to crap software in the TCU when it encounters holes in the parameters set for all the input values.
Trans Heat is caused in a huge percentage by shifting, ether lightly or harshly. Going in and out of D and OD (3-4) in my long lost 93 Mustang would cause it to blow seals/rings all the time. Couldnt keep it cool enough.
I use Manual/Normal 99.9 % of the time.
My biggest grief is it will down shift in Manual from 4th down w/o interacting with the stick or paddles. You can control 4-1 with down shifting for it, before the TCU wants it too.
I use Auto/Sport when I do SCCA D-Stock SoloII (faster than me in Manual/Sport, Paddles attached to wheel, get it right!).
I've never had to "Cool-Down". I do get strange shifts. I chalk that up to crap software in the TCU when it encounters holes in the parameters set for all the input values.
Trans Heat is caused in a huge percentage by shifting, ether lightly or harshly. Going in and out of D and OD (3-4) in my long lost 93 Mustang would cause it to blow seals/rings all the time. Couldnt keep it cool enough.
Last edited by GAbOS; Feb 6, 2012 at 10:16 PM.
#36
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Seriously, treat this car as a manual.
I use Manual/Normal 99.9 % of the time.
My biggest grief is it will down shift in Manual from 4th down w/o interacting with the stick or paddles. You can control 4-1 with down shifting for it, before the TCU wants it too.
I use Auto/Sport when I do SCCA D-Stock SoloII (faster than me in Manual/Sport, Paddles attached to wheel, get it right!).
I've never had to "Cool-Down". I do get strange shifts. I chalk that up to crap software in the TCU when it encounters holes in the parameters set for all the input values.
Trans Heat is caused in a huge percentage by shifting, ether lightly or harshly. Going in and out of D and OD (3-4) in my long lost 93 Mustang would cause it to blow seals/rings all the time. Couldnt keep it cool enough.
I use Manual/Normal 99.9 % of the time.
My biggest grief is it will down shift in Manual from 4th down w/o interacting with the stick or paddles. You can control 4-1 with down shifting for it, before the TCU wants it too.
I use Auto/Sport when I do SCCA D-Stock SoloII (faster than me in Manual/Sport, Paddles attached to wheel, get it right!).
I've never had to "Cool-Down". I do get strange shifts. I chalk that up to crap software in the TCU when it encounters holes in the parameters set for all the input values.
Trans Heat is caused in a huge percentage by shifting, ether lightly or harshly. Going in and out of D and OD (3-4) in my long lost 93 Mustang would cause it to blow seals/rings all the time. Couldnt keep it cool enough.
true that, 99% im in manual mode too and i treat it like a manual.
Also are you saying that if you are in 4th gear and start braking it will go down to 1 when you stop?
#37
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When I'm in manual mode (which is always), it downshifts on decel once it reaches a speed where it would be unreasonable to expect the SST to be in the higher gear.
That's if I don't downshift myself, which I usually do. Personally, I don't follow the whole mantra that "brake pads are cheaper than transmissions" - because:
Rich
That's if I don't downshift myself, which I usually do. Personally, I don't follow the whole mantra that "brake pads are cheaper than transmissions" - because:
- Mine aren't. Just kidding. Almost... My pad choice (Pagid Blue) costs a bomb. $450 a pair.
- I always want to be in a useful gear, with quick torque available if I need it. I don't want to finding myself in 3rd at 1250rpm when an out-of-control bus full of nuns comes flying across the intersection (or is that a bus full of out-of-control nuns? I guess one is marginally more dangerous than the other - just not sure which).
- I just lurve that SST throttle-blip downshift. A life spent avoiding that "to save transmission and engine wear" is a life wasted!
Rich
#38
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^^ I've managed to get my SST in normal/auto mode downshifting when i normally would.
So instead of coasting in 5th or 6th at 1000rpm and kicking down when you pick up the throttle, it will downchange into 3rd or 4th , keeping rpm around 2000-2500. sort of like a pseudo-Sport mode.
I went backwards through a myriad of changes i have made trying to identify what "did it". and came to the conclusion that it was a few tables together that seem to control it. Which is completely unhelpful i know
All purely academic though, as i always drive using the paddles.
So instead of coasting in 5th or 6th at 1000rpm and kicking down when you pick up the throttle, it will downchange into 3rd or 4th , keeping rpm around 2000-2500. sort of like a pseudo-Sport mode.
I went backwards through a myriad of changes i have made trying to identify what "did it". and came to the conclusion that it was a few tables together that seem to control it. Which is completely unhelpful i know
All purely academic though, as i always drive using the paddles.
#39
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Nice. I had the opposite problem - I had to go and UNDO the kickdown in normal/auto during coast-down. It cropped up as an unintended consequence of some unrelated SST changes during razorlab's base map development work.
It wasn't useful like yours, though - it resulted in horrid lurching as you slowed the car up - the clutch engaged with poor rev-matching 3/2/1. That was just ugly.
That particular artifact went unnoticed for 4-5 months in the tune (v26 beta), because nobody ever drove in auto mode!
Rich
PS. I do think it's funny you'd go to all that trouble when you're a 100% paddle-shift driver.
It wasn't useful like yours, though - it resulted in horrid lurching as you slowed the car up - the clutch engaged with poor rev-matching 3/2/1. That was just ugly.
That particular artifact went unnoticed for 4-5 months in the tune (v26 beta), because nobody ever drove in auto mode!
Rich
PS. I do think it's funny you'd go to all that trouble when you're a 100% paddle-shift driver.
#40
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Oh it wasn't intentional Rich
just a byproduct of me getting the thing to behave while being punished.
after getting it to a point i was happy with it, i thought i had better try the auto modes to make sure they all still worked
just a byproduct of me getting the thing to behave while being punished.
after getting it to a point i was happy with it, i thought i had better try the auto modes to make sure they all still worked