Automatic Sportshift Usage?

[Down2TheC]

Meh - just underwhelmed with its performance overall - especially the LAG issues with the sloppy tranny. The acceleration is okay - I can accept that but would like more. I just find I'm getting kinda bored with the performance issues.

Weird too, because I was never bored with my V6 Tundra and the only real performance mod I did to it was a TRD drop in filter and a Cold Air mod to the airbox. Everything else was about the suspension.

Unless I can do some radical upgrades to this car to improve its performance and keep my interest, I'm afraid I'm going to grow tired of it within the first two years.

If it's that huge of an issue for you (and I can see your point... the tranny really hides the engine) you could throw down the $$$ for some tranny work. cp-e tweaked my tranny for tighter shifts but reversed all but the 2-3 shift before giving her back. With a simple solenoid tweak they can make it shift fast instead of slooooow and smoooth. If cp-e could do it, then I'm sure there's a shop out there that would tighten things up for you. That would leave only the initial lag off the line.
(you can listen to my cp-e intake MP3 and hear that 3rd kicks in much faster than 2nd.)

[TW85]

How do you do that?

Slide the shifter over to sportshift mode. It automatically sets to have 4th gear be the highest gear the car will automatically shift into. When in sportshift mode, the car will act as an automatic up to the highest gear you have selected, so if you have second gear selected--"2" showing on the instrument cluster--the car will not shift any higher than second gear and your speed and RPMs will be limited to the maximum you can have in 2nd gear. For any gear you have selected, your rev limiter will eventually kick in as you continue to accelerate without upshifting because the car will not automatically upshift until you select a higher gear using the shifter (in sportshift mode).

[FLUXEMAG]

This is the sloppiest transmission I've ever driven (after the AT fluid leak). I use the sport mode just to punish it. I'm hoping I can kill it before 60k. It will shift in auto mode like this:

1 - 2 - 3 - 3.5 - 3 - 4 - 5

in this weird jerky up and down, double shift, about once per day. It drives me absolutely nuts and the dealer drove it 50 miles and said they couldn't replicate it so they won't do any work on the car. This is after I found a slow transmission oil leak.

[MikeATL]

I use the sport mode just to punish it. I'm hoping I can kill it before 60k.

I think you will find that no matter how much you punish it, it will die just after your warranty expires.

[PXLpainter]

Thank goodness I got the B2B Xtended Warr for 100K mi!

[FLUXEMAG]

I use the sport mode just to punish it. I'm hoping I can kill it before 60k.

I think you will find that no matter how much you punish it, it will die just after your warranty expires.

no doubt...

downshifting with a quiet motor and the TRD muffler makes me happy though.

[HID04V6]

I have never used the sport shift mode in my solara. I dont like the fact that it does not shift down when you bring the vehicle to a stop. (I'm not a down shifter). I did use it when I had my Celica- I'd let it rev up so that the lifters would kick in and give the car more power.

[Lucky]

So is it faster to put it in 5th and go or shift up as the rpm's go up?

[FLUXEMAG]

for a while i thought it was just a placebo stick, because the upshifts are not really related to what you're doing (just really delayed like old Porsche tiptronic). Downshifting works good.

[PXLpainter]

for a while i thought it was just a placebo stick, because the upshifts are not really related to what you're doing (just really delayed like old Porsche tiptronic). Downshifting works good.

Yes, downshifting works when you're within range - so does staying in like 2nd or 3rd in slow freeway traffic. I hate when you are in "D" (Dummy mode) and the car shifts through all 5 gears when you'e creeping along at 20mph. Wayyy too much gas/brake/gas/brake action for me. I'd rather let the engine do its job and compression slow me down so I don't perpetuate the brake light cycle in stop-n-slow traffic.