This is a question for those of you with automatic transmission with paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

I'm curious to know if you use them, how often you use them, and in what situations do you use them.

I have MINI with 6-speed manual and my wife just got a bimmer with steptronic controls on the steering wheel. It's has a 300hp engine so I can't imagine a situation where it would be more advantagous to use the paddle shifters rather than let the auto do its thing. Perhaps downshifting on a long downhill might be a situation, but I can't think of any other time. Sorry if it's a bit OT, but I figure those of you who have this might be able to shed some light on the matter.

 

I rented an '08 MCa in San Francisco two weeks ago to go tripping on CA Hwy1 (fantastic road! -- nothing like THAT back here in IL) ... I normally drive an '07 MCSm; it was nice to be able to use the paddles on the rental to knock-down a gear when climbing the hills on the PCH -- but the automatic transmission did a pretty good job on its own.

 

The paddle shifters are fun, but on the twisties, they tend to get into positions that aren't the easiest to utilize, so I wind up using the gear selector to tap up and down instead.

Everywhere else I'll generally leave the transmission in sport mode and it does a great job on its own.

 

1) Twisties
2) The Track

Whether I had 200HP, 300HP or 800HP... I'd want to use every bit of it available to me in those situations... and that means managing engine RPM more aggressively than the auto is going to to by itself...

 

I use mine to save even more gas. Since you can use them at anytime without having to have the gear selector in manual mode like most cars. I can shift before the auto would into a higher gear and save gas like the manual people do. Really nifty feature.

 

I don't have an auto, so I can't really comment. But I'd use them when I anticipating needing a different gear, the kind of places I'd be preemptively changing gear in the manual. An obvious example is when you see an overtaking opportunity approaching. You know you're going to want to floor it in a couple of seconds time, you can knock down a gear or 2 and get the engine started. So you're gear, revs, go rather than stomp, revs, gear, go.

In general I think I know better than a computer, because I can see what's coming.

 

i use it in my RDX when coming down the mountain instead of braking (usually when snowing). figure i'd keep power to the wheels. not sure if that is the correct way to do it though...maybe someone can tell me here.

 

I drive my MCS with paddle shifters all the time. That is the only way I can drive it. I had to get an automatic and it was too late to change the car to manual. Upshifting on the auto in sport mode without using the paddles is OK but downshifting is a whole different story.

 

Its funny this is the second car I've had them in, the one prior to (A3) I resisted and used the shifter to change gears, on the MCS I'm finding I use the paddles a lot more (I think the shifter is backwards, so it screws me up, and the paddles are better on the MCS). With that said I use them every time I'm not stuck in traffic or street driving.

 

I always use them to downshift coming up to a red light or when i go thru a yellow speedily (!) I downshift soon as I'm thru the intersection back down to the speed limit

 

Along with using them in manual I also use them to downshift at times around corners when in lazy full-auto mode.

 

I found them most useful during break-in to control RPM while allowing high torque to seat the piston rings to the cylinder walls.

To Vary engine speed and load with less mph variation and not exceed break-in RPM limitation required manual override of shifting.

 

I like to use the paddles to downshift when slowing or stopping, such as when on the exit ramp of the Interstate. They're also useful when using cruise control on a downgrade (the cruise control doesn't hold speed when gravity will cause you to speed up).

 

paddles = all the time. total, full control. Also I learned in evasive driving academy decades ago (when I was a bodyguard) that 8 and 4 are better positions to have yr. hands on the wheel, due to more efficient lock-to-lock steering. so how do I shift with the paddles with hands at 8 and 4? easy. I have long thumbs.

but at the track a couple weeks ago when I pulled a 14.48 @ 99mph standing quarter-mile (my average on three passes) I just let the car shift on its own in D (JCW kit remaps the shift points), Sport button on, DSC off. Left foot brake, rev to 2K, and let it fly...

 

I find it very helpful when slowing down with the anticipation of resuming speed. For instance, on the way to work, there is an off-ramp that is a gental downhill slope that ends with another gental uphill slope, essentially a long dip. I use the paddles when I'm dropping down into the bottom of the dip to avoid the jerk that the automatic does if it were to shift on it's own.

I usually drive without sport on to save gas when I'm driving to and from work, otherwise the sport button would take care of this.

 

I might add that JCW kit after reading this....

 

I prefer using the stick for shifting the auto myself. I never use the paddles, but I ought to practice more. It's a lot faster to downshift with the paddles, but I just find them uncomfortable.

 

No, it is not. In fact, that sudden burst of torque to the wheels can actually break you loose. You are much better steadily breaking, and slowly downshifting as your RPMs lag. Remember, with slippery situations, less power is better.

 

Engine braking in a standard car in the snow can be beneficial, because it gives less braking power than brakes (the braking is gentler) and a more gradual control of its application by rev-matching the downshift (no braking on the shift itself), then gently rolling off the gas. Even though it's only applied to the drive wheels, it can be beneficial in situations where applying the brake can be risky because the brake is harder to apply gently.

However, with an automatic, none of the benefits really apply, because in non-dual clutch transmissions the transmission doesn't rev-match. You have no control over the engine braking, really. Some automatic cars have "Winter" settings or settings that will not allow it to exceed a certain gear, though, which will allow you to use some engine braking by modulating the gas. If you're already moving and want to downshift while moving, then Pinky Demon is right--you shouldn't. The braking applied could destabilize the vehicle.

 

Use the paddles? All the time, the only way I drive it. Except, I'll use the floor lever from 1st to 2nd around a corner when starting up from a dead stop, but that's it. The paddles let you keep your hands where they should be, on the wheel. I'm trying to create a habit where I use the left paddle for upshifts, the right for downshifts. It helps me shift without thinking and concentrate more on the road. I come from manual cars, and letting the transmission shift for itself just seems alien to me. I need that control!

 

The same for me. When you slow down with the
anticipation of increasing speed or holding the same
speed. Basically, the commute traffic. It isn't stop and
go but it goes from 55 to 45 to 55 to 35 to 55 then
to 45, 35, and 45. I only drive when possible maybe
5-7 over anyway. But in the 35 areas The Man is
very serious about collecting his revenue. So I
just use the manual shift mode.

On the highway if I have a loaded up car, 4 people or stuff,
I usually end up flicking the downshift once to get up a hill,
even on the interstate.

 

did you drive an R56 auto or any good automatic cars on challenging mountain road? no control over the engine braking? I use these extra braking capability and control the engine rev on the mountain road, which allows me to brake later into the corner and ALWAYS stays in ideal rev range on the exit.

I know this might sound strange for manual guys, but it works.

 

Yes, I have. I've driven my dealership's loaner MCSa to university several times, and my university is... at the top of a mountain. While the Aisin is excellent at manual shifting, when you paddle down, you have no control over how quickly the gear is engaged and the downshift isn't rev-matched--which is probably okay for many situations, but not something you want to do in the snow.

 

No regrets at all, my friend. If U do just one caveat: dont be **** about yr. gas consumption or mileage. It's too much of a hoot to worry about little things like that!

and if MINI offered a JCW with a sweet 7-speed SMG, PDK, whatever dual-clutch automatic, Id be first in line to order...

 

I agree I wouldn't engine break with an automatic. Plus who in their right mind would engine break causing more wear on the engine when your brakes are free for 3/36