Auto box -manual mode

[miro67]

A question or two for those with auto's.

Am thinking about buying a Mustang and I just took a convertible for a spin (all have the auto gearbox).

How do you select "manual shift" mode (i.e. gearbox will not automatically shift gears)?

Second question, is the rev matching on downshifts effective?

Third question, we did end up selecting Race mode which made the gear changes pretty poor -no apparent rev matching, quite jerky up and down the box? Is this what I should expect?

Any help appreciated.

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[mrkarlos]

I put mine into sport mode. Once you change gears with the paddles, it doesnt automatically change (apart from into 1st when stopping).

I havent experienced any issues with rev matching on mine.

 

[Mustang76]

A question or two for those with auto's.

Am thinking about buying a Mustang and I just took a convertible for a spin (all have the auto gearbox).

How do you select "manual shift" mode (i.e. gearbox will not automatically shift gears)?

Second question, is the rev matching on downshifts effective?

Third question, we did end up selecting Race mode which made the gear changes pretty poor -no apparent rev matching, quite jerky up and down the box? Is this what I should expect?

Any help appreciated.

you can either select manual mode by putting it into 'S" mode on the gear lever (just under "D").

you can also change gears at any time even in the other modes and it rev matches when you do it. if you have an upgraded exhaust it sound great.

i tend to leave it in sports + when i want this option and it tends to hold gears and change gears quiet aggressively. if i have it in normal driving mode (which lately i have in most of the time as a daily and only switch it to Sports + or "S" mode when i have open road or twisties.

As for jerky then if you want smooth then leave it in normal, it is a bit jerky as it just wants to open its legs and go for it.

 

[mrkarlos]

Hmmm, what's the difference Sports+ or "S" mode? Just realised I have no idea :headbonk:

 

[miro67]

So, if I merely pull the gear level down to "s", being the last selection on the gear lever, and then change gears once with the paddles, it will stay in full manual mode?

(BTW I didn't do this, I put it into "s" and it then changed gears automatically before I selected a gear with the paddles)

 

[Mustang76]

Hmmm, what's the difference Sports+ or "S" mode? Just realised I have no idea :headbonk:

Depending how long you have before it arrives i suggest looking at you tube. you will be an expert by the time it arrives.

"s" mode is on the gear leaver which i have only used a few times and if you put it in "D for drag" then select sports + in the mode selector toggles and it changes the mapping of the engine and steering wheel feel

 

[Flying Fiz]

The only time I ever have mine in drive ("D") is for the first 1 minute of driving each morning as the auto choke makes the throttle too twitchy going up a hill in my street. Then EVERYWHERE else I drive in the gear shift lever S mode and use the paddles. As people have said once in the sport shift mode once you have changed via a paddle it will not change gears for you unless the car comes to a stop and then it selects 1st.

Separate to this you have the toggles on the dash that allow normal, Sport & Sport+. Once you change the gear level to sport the car also adopts the sport driving mode, the throttle is more sensitive and the steering is firmer. If you then flick the Sports+ button the steering gets even firmer and the throttle more responsive.

If you have selected the S gear shift mode and don't hit the paddles it rev matches on downshift and sounds great if your driving aggressively.

In drive mode, it changes up too soon and is suitable only for grannies or severe traffic jams. if you use the paddle shifters in drive it holds that gear for a short time and then reverts to changing gears like a granny would. I think drive mode is purely for the purposes of getting a low mpg or litres per kilometers rating.

 

[miro67]

Fiz

thanks that is exactly the information I was after.

Finally, what is your overall impression of how good the box is when driven in manual mode? I.e are you happy with it

miro

 

[Flying Fiz]

Hi yes it is absolutely fine, having said that it isn't as sharp as a Porsche or BMW but you can't expect that for the price, but it is not too far short

Mine is a daily drive and the manual in stop start traffic in and out of the cbd every day just wound be a huge pain
Cheers
Phil

 

[Friend of Dorothy]

I just leave it in normal mode and drive and just push the loud pedal if I want to move briskly. The paddles still work in that mode, but only temporarily for a couple of seconds or so before the auto takes control again.

'S' and 'sport' mode are too aggresive around town for my liking.

I like 'sport' mode the electric steering has though. I just wish it could change the slow steering ratio.

 

[S550GTRed5]

My personal view coming from an manual background is that normal auto mode is not that great and the mapping is a bit dodgy and makes the car sound rubbish too. That could simply be the purest in me originally being a manual driver but unfortunately having dodgy legs I had to change over to an auto. One noticeable difference to me is the throttle response isn't all there.

So you have a number of options outside of auto :

1. Straight into sport mode, it changes up much later and has the rev matching on downshift. I feel this is a bit all over the place and in certain instances it's not really required

2. Sport mode with paddles (my preferred mode) however you've got to learn when to change up and down also although you can leave it to change down itself I think this is much better than the rev matching but only really let it take control from say 3rd or 2nd gear on the way down. I like to have control when changing down from 6th through 3rd however you've got to learn your revs to ensure the change is smooth.

Get it wrong and you'll hear a slight clunk, so over time this will likely have a impact on reliability. However I've heard autos do have some softening to compensate somewhat, perhaps this a fail safe to prevent damage. Remember it's mechanical component and not a computer game. Plus at this price point I wouldn't have thought it would be that advanced like some other manufacturers. Like I said though if you've learnt how to drive manual boxes properly this is a very nice and rewarding when you get it right.

3. Sport+ mode - never really used this to be honest
4. Sport+ mode with paddles a bit more lively but not particularly that much better in my eyes, perhaps this was an entry level track mode not sure?

5. Then there's track mode not used this yet

Hope this helps just some of my personal views

 

[OHHHSTANG]

My personal view coming from an manual background is that normal auto mode is not that great and the mapping is a bit dodgy and makes the car sound rubbish too. That could simply be the purest in me originally being a manual driver but unfortunately having dodgy legs I had to change over to an auto. One noticeable difference to me is the throttle response isn't all there.

So you have a number of options outside of auto :

1. Straight into sport mode, it changes up much later and has the rev matching on downshift. I feel this is a bit all over the place and in certain instances it's not really required

2. Sport mode with paddles (my preferred mode) however you've got to learn when to change up and down also although you can leave it to change down itself I think this is much better than the rev matching but only really let it take control from say 3rd or 2nd gear on the way down. I like to have control when changing down from 6th through 3rd however you've got to learn your revs to ensure the change is smooth.

Get it wrong and you'll hear a slight clunk, so over time this will likely have a impact on reliability. However I've heard autos do have some softening to compensate somewhat, perhaps this a fail safe to prevent damage. Remember it's mechanical component and not a computer game. Plus at this price point I wouldn't have thought it would be that advanced like some other manufacturers. Like I said though if you've learnt how to drive manual boxes properly this is a very nice and rewarding when you get it right.

3. Sport+ mode - never really used this to be honest
4. Sport+ mode with paddles a bit more lively but not particularly that much better in my eyes, perhaps this was an entry level track mode not sure?

5. Then there's track mode not used this yet

Hope this helps just some of my personal views

Hey mate, how do you select track mode? Ps. Nice write up, very interesting info...

 

[S550GTRed5]

No worries mate

Forgot to mention yeah so that's via the "mode" silver toggle switch. You can switch between normal, sports+ and track.

Another note is While on the road you can change out of auto into sports using the gear stick and then flick the + paddle to resume manual control however for obvious safety reasons and so you don't break anything do this when the gearbox is unloaded so to speak, say when your at the lights or better still before You start your journey.

One thing you'll noticed is if you flick into sports and flick the + paddle at standstill it jumps into 2nd gear. You can go back to first from there.

 

[miro67]

Ok one final clarification point, particularly aimed at s550GTred5 and flying Fiz (or anyone else who knows). When in "S" mode and driving manually via the paddles does the box rev match on down shifts? (reading both the detailed posts above it is clear that it rev matches on downshifts in "S" and auto mode, but not so clear what the answer is for "S" and manual mode).

thanks

 

[S550GTRed5]

Ok one final clarification point, particularly aimed at s550GTred5 and flying Fiz (or anyone else who knows). When in "S" mode and driving manually via the paddles does the box rev match on down shifts? (reading both the detailed posts above it is clear that it rev matches on downshifts in "S" and auto mode, but not so clear what the answer is for "S" and manual mode).

thanks

Good question not really tried it since I'm only letting it take control on downshifts in the lower gears say 3rd to 1st in sport/sport+ with paddles. but going of the normal behaviour of sport mode on its own no not really. That's up to user input, however if your not in the right zone then it basically won't let you change up and the gear number basically flashes.

Rev matching to my knowledge is only really on the downshifts think blipping the throttle on the down shifts in the sweet spot. You can however replicate this behaviour to some degree with the paddles so it's not really needed if that makes sense.

If your coming from a higher end car then auto gearbox perhaps isn't as intuitive . Generally speaking gearboxes are one of the most expensive pieces of the car to develop.

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