manual gear change

[Fireblade1]

i thought id try manual mode on my gs450 anyone ever use it i cant see the point every gear is the same it pulls away in 6th just the same as 1st

[Upex]

I think that having it in say 4, will mean as speeds get up to 5th and 6th territory, it'll not change up (that is increase gearing to keep revs lower).

I'm making this up though, never tried it, but as there are no gears, the most it could do is alter revs, ie like the auto gear lever numbers, used for depending long hills etc, stops car running away with you.

Perhaps it's in the manual, might have a look as want to know what shift lock button does as well lol

[Fireblade1]

1 hour ago, Upex said:

I think that having it in say 4, will mean as speeds get up to 5th and 6th territory, it'll not change up (that is increase gearing to keep revs lower).

I'm making this up though, never tried it, but as there are no gears, the most it could do is alter revs, ie like the auto gear lever numbers, used for depending long hills etc, stops car running away with you.

Perhaps it's in the manual, might have a look as want to know what shift lock button does as well lol

i think i found out what the shift lock does it allows you to put the car in neutral with out starting it so you can move the car if you broke down lost keys etc.

[Hangie]

That car got a cvt gearbox so there are no gears how we would normally understand it.

manual option is not for changing the gears but to apply fixed amount of "engine breaking". That is why you won't see any difference in the acceleration. You will have exactly same effect as pressing the breake pedal. Case is by using gearbox option you won't use conventional brakes at all.

 

[Z28DUNC]

Try using the the gear selector coming down a steep hill. Really does make a difference. I've only started using it in this way on the last couple of bigger journeys in the car, was quite surprised by how much it slows the car down in 4th or 3rd.

[Upex]

So manual means can use gearing to control revs thus braking, good to know, thanks all.

[NemesisUK]

Manual also means one can increase the revs in preparation of an overtake, 'kickdown' in a normal autobox..

Engine breaking is effective but in the hybrid one should use the 'brakes' as all one is doing is recharging the Battery, via regenerative braking. Not like a normal car where one could experience brake fade on a long downhill, so one would shift down to use the engine to slow.

[Hangie]

You are almost correct. There is no rev change while breaking with the gearbox manual option. Breaking is done by electric motor which is charging the Battery. On "gear 5" it charging it a little bit, 4 is more and so one where "gear" is max charge.

saying that there is no point to use that option for overtaking as there is no rev change.

diference may occurs when Battery is fully charged maybe then some conventional engine breaking I cheapening but I never tested it.

above are also my observations from Gs450h I doubt it is difrent in other Lexus hybrids but I'm not sure.

[NemesisUK]

From observing the rev counter when in the transmission is in S mode there is a change in revs when selecting a lower or higher 'gear'. I'm assuming that the ratio of input from the electric motor is altered, invoking a change in engine revs. 

Whether it's all just electronic trickery or not putting the gear selector into S mode then downshifting using the paddles gives a rise in revs and a much more urgent response to the throttle.

Also noted, with the selector in S mode the transmission will hold the engine at high revs and not automatically change 'gear', unlike when in normal mode and S mode set with the drive mode selector. It's a very good imitation of a clutchless manual transmission.

Coming from the AMG Speedshift auto box i was a little concerned the eCVT would be rather soul-less, rubber band like but I'm very impressed in how the different modes operate, uber smooth urban cruiser or involving, snappy A/B road Sportster 

[Hangie]

Point is you got RC which is more on the sport side than gs so maybe there are some nice extra features :) in gs we don't even got the rev counter.

Maybe in the current gs generation it also looks different but I would need to wait 2 more years for face lift models drop to the 20-30k area :)

[Northern_Si]

 

On 16/04/2017 at 0:51 PM, Hangie said:

Point is you got RC which is more on the sport side than gs so maybe there are some nice extra features :) in gs we don't even got the rev counter.

Maybe in the current gs generation it also looks different but I would need to wait 2 more years for face lift models drop to the 20-30k area :)

In the current GS we do get a rev counter when we switch to Sports mode. Still trying to work out the purpose of manual mode and have never noticed the 6 step programmed gear thing. Saying that, it goes like stink in auto mode. I do use the paddles for engine braking as it allows me to control my speed down hills. 

[Ala Larj]

And you can set it so that the rev counter shows all the time even in Eco and normal modes which is what I've done. It can be changed by using the button thingy on the steering wheel and selecting rev counter. The one thing I can find on the GS is for a light ring to come on at a predetermined speed, or revs, which was useful on my old IS.