Hey, now i know it may have already been answered, but i read everything about it and i really feel that i need more precise information... please.

So i have a 2005 nissan 350z roadster. Automatic transmission with tiptronic.

When do i upshift? When do i downshift? Do i even have to downshift? At how many RPMs do i upshift?

What else do i need to know?

Please help me, and be simple with your answers, i am 19 years old, i am a beginner, so i want to understand everything lol .
Thanks so much!

 

I also have an auto and always drive it in semi.
As far as to when to up/downshift, it just depends on what kind of driving you're doing...
If you're simply driving down the street, I would say upshift at 3.5rpms. You don't need to downshift, but you can.

 

so all i gotta do is upshift everytime it reaches around 3.5 RPM???

never downshift i dont want 2 right? Well howcome that in my 350z manual that came with the car, it says to keep it at gear 5 when i am driving normally, and then it tells me to put it at 2 in a certain situation, at 3 in an other situation, etc ? Why? Do i have to follow that or do i simply just always upshift at 3.5 RPM?

and secondly, how bout when i reach the highest gear, am i not suppose to downshift to go back down? Please let me know

 

Eh... I'm sure there's other peeps that can explain it in better terms that I can.
Don't worry about downshifting. I would say the only time I downshift is when I pass someone on the highway.

I would say drive in in (D) first, and listen to when your car shifts by itself. You can try to mimic that once you move are comfortable. It's not hard at all, you may be overthinking it.

 

You don't have a Titptronic. Porsches have Tiptronics. You have an automatic transmission.

 

whatever its called...

its automatic and you can switch it to the + / - column... Im not here for the terms buddy, im here for help

 

I guess it's called semi auto

 

jesus dude maybe you should just leave it in drive

just driving normal, gas efficient? leave it in drive, or shift before 3k. spirited driving? you sound like you should avoid that until you learn how cars operate. shift a few hundred rpms before redline if you are driving it hard - give it a little room to shift, it's not instantaneous.

try to avoid downshifting, especially going from 3rd to 2nd and 2nd to 1st, it's hard on the transmission. save it for passing cars and being on the track. don't be an idiot and try to downshift when you're already high up in the rpms. recipe for disaster.

 

Don't forget to take your foot off the gas before shifting so everyone thinks you have a manual.

phreak (does this)

 

I believe the correct term is called "manumatic transmission" i could be wrong though.

Anyways i have it as well, and i usually drive with it in D, unless im in a mood where i want to really feel the power of the car.

I usually shift up around 3,000 -4,000 rpms. And when i know theres lots of lights or stops coming up ahead, i rarely go past 3rd. But on open highway, you should be in 5th.

Downshifting..if you really want to do it you can, i dont think its neccessary, if you are in 2nd or 3rd, you will have enough power to pass a car. And if your in 4th or 5th..i think your going fast enough that you wouldnt need to pass a car. But if you want to you can. Just be careful though, if you downshift too low and gas too hard, you will definitely hit the rev limiter.

But i do use it to engine brake all the time.

And as other people have said, just drive in D and try to learn to see how your tranny shifts normally and then try to copy it to get the hang of it. Also, this may seem stupid, but mess around with video games, they will teach you a lot.

 

ok well lets say im on the highway ... i just keep it at 5 ? even if im on the highway for 20 minutes? No need to shift?

 

Great advice.



I LOL'd

 

i call it "manual" mode... i have paddle shifters installed as well and only drive it in this mode... you dont HAVE to upshift right at 3.5K... you can do it sooner or later... at the track im usually at redline before i upshift... and you dont have to downshift if you dont want to, it will do it automatically for you when coming to a stop... i downshift all the time though (especially at the track), for example if i want to be in lower gear when im slowing down for a corner and then i want to be in the higher rpm range when im accelerating out... (hope that made some sense)

just play around with it and get comfortable... i really dont think you can do anything wrong where you can damage anything...

 

lmao phreak

 

couldn't be further from the truth. very expensive mindset to take on.

 

lol me too

 

The computer is programmed to do keep you in the appropriate gear at the appropriate time, it does its job better than you could do it's job so it's best to just leave it in D. If you're on a track maybe you'd want to use the semi-auto to keep it in a low gear around a corner or something.

 

it depends on your speed... on freeway im usually at 70-85 mph and im at 5th... when youre in traffic just leave it in D.

 

hi, what you do is..... say you heading onto the freeway and wanna speed up so you move it into trip tronic mode and accelerate (give it gas) you only have up to 5 gears or times you can move up (deppends on your driving style for rps) i like to wait till like 4rmp and hear some engine noise and move it to next gear until you want the speed you want and say if you want to stop or brake suddenly you can use your gears to stop by useing your - and move down your gears then brake. Another good example say your a street driving and dont want to miss the street you want to go to so you use your - to lower speed in the tight turn you make (i like doing this because you dont need to brake). Its fairly easy i like to turn off the traction control for more speed... and use the function when im board with the automatic is good because its clutchless and it wont stall on me when i change gears.
....fyi triptronic used on vw and certain models i had a passat with it. and for bmw its called steptronic and Nissans calls it semi-automatic i think. All is the same but i guess each model registered there names to use.

 

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