paddle shifters

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I've had my Impreza for almost 2 years and have never attempted to use the paddle shifters. Am l missing out on one of life's greatest joys or should l just keep on doing without them? The salesperson explained how to use them during delivery, but l dismissed it as a gimmick.
 
The paddle shifters on my FXT are way too slow for sporty driving in manual mode, in my opinion...I will stab at the downshift paddle in "auto" mode to get the tranny to respond a little faster when I really get on it on the highway or for a merge, though. I have found through my own driver error that stabbing at that paddle just before taking off from a stop will really bog you down...

I do genuinely love the paddle shifters in manual mode for really tough winter conditions, though. Nothing like using engine braking when going down steep, slippery hills to make me feel safer, and they are handy for keeping the car from shifting up too soon when climbing those hills, too. The slow response times don't matter when I'm crawling along in snow or on ice.
 
On my Lexus, they are collecting dust. Computer control is just faster.
 
I will say that mine were so small that they were not very practical for even my limited use...I bought adhesive extenders on eBay. I was going to go with ones that used small set screws to hold them in place, but it seemed like people had more trouble with those than with ones that used really good 3M adhesive (not at all what I would have expected).
 
On some sporty cars you can save hundredth's of a second on a shift on your commute to work. And the paddle system can instantly lighten your pocket books if something goes wrong. On a car like a 911 you didn't know you needed to shift so fast until these things came along. The guy you're racing toward that off ramp on your way to your next speeding ticket in the lane next to you won't know what hit him when you shift gears like a real race car driver.
 
Originally Posted By: BigD1
On my Lexus, they are collecting dust. Computer control is just faster.


I've found that to frequently be the case. My Infiniti is available with paddle shifters, but i don't see the point. In sport mode the 7 speed automatic uses various sensors and gyroscopes to influence shifting behavior. As a brake hard into the corner, the car selects the appropriate gear and downshifts so i'm right in the powerband as i exit the corner. It even gives a little throttle blip while it does it to simulate a heel-toe downshift on a manual. Nice touch. If your Lexus has the ZF 8 speed it's probably even better.

On most cars with paddle shifters, however, they are attached to a transmission that is too slow and cumbersome to make them matter. My father's last lincoln was like that. Gobs of power from the ecoboost that the computer was constantly trying to restrain to achieve ideal EPA numbers and a 6 speed automatic programmed to granny-shift into andf hold the highest gear possible for the same reason. If you floored it from a stop and hit the paddle shifter right after you took off, you would be lucky to shift into second before you banged off the rev limiter.
 
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Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I wouldn't pay extra for them OR a big red "START" button.


I agree about the paddle shifters. Don't see the point. There's no feel like an actual clutch.

But I love my push button start. I'm never going back to a key.
 
Originally Posted By: Joe1
I've had my Impreza for almost 2 years and have never attempted to use the paddle shifters. Am l missing out on one of life's greatest joys

Why not just play around with them and see for yourself?

Paddle shifter implementations vary greatly from one car to another. In some cars they are responsive, in others they are not. Sometimes I use them in wife's Q5 to downshift a couple of gears when in D or S mode when I'm getting ready to accelerate quickly. They are quite responsive, but after all, it's still just a heavy SUV. Typically, for more spirited driving, the S mode alone does pretty well without a need to fiddle with paddle shifters.

On the other hand, I test drove the new Fusion Sport with the 2.7 turbo and 6-speed trans. Paddle shifters in that car were a disaster.
 
Paddle shifting is only useful in canoes when you shift the paddle from left to right.

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Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I wouldn't pay extra for them OR a big red "START" button.


I agree about the paddle shifters. Don't see the point. There's no feel like an actual clutch.

But I love my push button start. I'm never going back to a key.


Agreed on the keyless ignition. I'm never going back to digging my keys out. I grab the door handle, the car opens, i push the button and it starts. It doesn't matter if they're in my pocket, gym bag or with me while passed out in the passenger seat while someone else drives. Also, since they're in my hand less, it has drastically reduced my tendency to misplace them.

Probably even better for women who leave their keys in their purse along with a million other items.
 
My Camaro has them and I think I tried them once but I realized I need a clutch to shift. The paddle shifters feel like a toy. Never liked them.
 
I think they're rather silly. I expect drivers that use them to also make vocal motor noises as they drive.
 
My 2 Series has paddle shifters, but the ZF 8HP45 is so good I never feel need to use them. At my last HPDE I just put the transmission in Sport and the car in Sport+; there were only two spots on the track where I might have chosen a different gear than the one the transmission selected- and in any case it was good enough to minimize the number of point-bys I had to give to other instructors.
I will say that the transmission responds to the shift paddles with essentially no delay. I may try them this summer when I go to the strip and see if manual mode can eke out a quicker ET.
 
Originally Posted By: MarcS
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I wouldn't pay extra for them OR a big red "START" button.


I agree about the paddle shifters. Don't see the point. There's no feel like an actual clutch.

But I love my push button start. I'm never going back to a key.


Agreed on the keyless ignition. I'm never going back to digging my keys out. I grab the door handle, the car opens, i push the button and it starts. It doesn't matter if they're in my pocket, gym bag or with me while passed out in the passenger seat while someone else drives. Also, since they're in my hand less, it has drastically reduced my tendency to misplace them.

Probably even better for women who leave their keys in their purse along with a million other items.


+1

Start button is awesome. I do have to hold the brake pedal down while pressing the button before my Lexus will start.
 
Originally Posted By: BigD1
Originally Posted By: MarcS
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I wouldn't pay extra for them OR a big red "START" button.


I agree about the paddle shifters. Don't see the point. There's no feel like an actual clutch.

But I love my push button start. I'm never going back to a key.


Agreed on the keyless ignition. I'm never going back to digging my keys out. I grab the door handle, the car opens, i push the button and it starts. It doesn't matter if they're in my pocket, gym bag or with me while passed out in the passenger seat while someone else drives. Also, since they're in my hand less, it has drastically reduced my tendency to misplace them.

Probably even better for women who leave their keys in their purse along with a million other items.


+1

Start button is awesome. I do have to hold the brake pedal down while pressing the button before my Lexus will start.


Have them on the Mercedes too. Keyless go is great, holding down the break pedal to start might be standard, have to do that on the Mercedes also. Mine also has paddle shifters, never use them. I think it was a gimmick that didn't really catch on, but they're still out there.
 
Wifey's explorer has them and I use them occasionally. Probably more so to downshift for engine braking.... but they would not exactly be missed if they were removed.
 
The only way I can stop my Altima from slowing down (down shifting) as I go down a hill with my foot off the gas is by using the paddle shifters. Sometimes I just want to coast. That is the only time that I use them.
 
I have never had them in a car I owned but I have driven a few rentals with paddle shifters. My take is they are slow and gimmicky. Anyone who really knows how to drive a manual knows that the true art and magic of manually selecting the gears lies in manipulating the clutch, not the gear selector.
 
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I'm convinced basically nobody actually uses them
smile.gif


The only time when they'd be useful is in DCT's, which basically REQUIRE using paddles. This is a major reason why Ford's Focus and Fiesta DCT's are such a disaster--no paddles!
 
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