i was wondering, is it bad to shift from drive to the tiptronic a lot. say your driving and traffic starts to slow down so instead of using the brakes you shift over to the tiptronic and downshift, then go back into drive. what do you guys think about the tipronic? do you guys use it often/

 

I don't do it often but i have done it. I don't like the feel of downshifting with it. I prefer the effects of upshifting ! Why don't you just use the brakes in the situation that you're describing ?

Bob

 

I'm sure there's some kind of detrimental effect if you do it too often... it's mechanical after all, so going back and forth between both "modes" probably causes issues in the long run.

Me personally, I tend to do just one or the other... either leave it in auto all the time or "shift" manually -- but even then only when I want the car to forget about where it's "best" to shift and push it a little. Although I find that even though there's no kick-down switch, if you hold your foot down the car will let the RPMs climb quite high before shifting.

I've never been a big fan of engine braking, and my guess is that an auto is even less suited for it, but that's another topic altogether...

 

i do it all the time. "switching, downshifting (engine braking)" figure it was designed to do so.

btw down shifting is far more fun then upshifting. 5th gear, down to 3rd = 100 mph in one tap and lots of RPM. then upshift.

 

i agree nismomax80, when your in 5th doin highway speeds then downshift to third, its a whole different car. the max with the touch of the gas jumps into action in third. very cool i think.

 

Well I think that's the whole point of the system... the car is rated at 265 @ 5800 RPM... letting the computer do its thing you'll rarely rev that high in anything but flat out acceleration. Leaving the car in 3rd or 4th at high RPM you can FEEL the car just flexing its muscle, and it's a whole other ride.

But I wouldn't use downshifting for engine braking too much like you said on the first post. I don't care if the system was designed for it, downshifting into 3500RPM instead of tapping on the brakes just sounds bad. Whatever wear & tear I save on the brakes is not gonna justify the price of straining the engine into the high RPM at lower gears all the time...

But that's just my opinion... I could be wrong.

 

I've actually asked the salesman and technicians at Nissan and they strongly urged against switching between tips and drive in the middle of driving. Doing this constantly is just asking for trouble out of your transmission, which I would like to keep trouble free for as long as possible .

Automatics, with or without tips, are not meant for engine braking, but it obviously can be done. I've done it a few times and found it to be a little unnerving to see the RPM's jump from ~3,000 to over ~5000 within a split second, but to spare pressing on the brakes for a slow decrease in speed I find it just fine to engine brake.

Revving the RPM's past redline isn't possible with tips because with the 5sp autos the gearbox will shift you to the next gear after a few seconds if you want to or not.

 

The place I use tips most is when I am beginning a long (many miles) steep downgrade with lots of curves with sharp dropoffs beside the road. I regularly encounter those conditions while driving in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains.

NC181 from the crest of the Blue Ridge at Jonas Ridge NC down to Morganton NC is a good example (called the 'winding stairs' road), as is NC226 from the crest of the Blue Ridge near Little Switzerland NC going down to Woodlawn NC (called '***'s Creek' road), and US221 going down from the crest of the Blue Ridge at Linville Falls NC toward Marion NC. Dozens of drivers/passengers (especially of big trucks) have lost their lives in 'runaways' on all these descents.

Used this way, tips uses engine compression/braking in a safe, gentle, useful, controllable manner.

 

Getting a new 04 SE this week.

First time having a tiptronic, what's the best way to upshift. Should I keep the throttle down and up shift or release the gas and shift?

 

You don't need to remove your foot of the gas to upshift (if you're thinking of manual tranny where you need to release the gas to engage the clutch). Just be aware that if you're increasing the RPM's at a rapid pace there will be a "lag time" between upshifts. Otherwise just keep your foot on the gas while upshifting, but don't jab at it while you're simultaneously shifting.

 

Brakes are designed to stop the car. They are alot cheaper to replace than a transmission. An auto tranny has alot more parts and pieces that a standard and are subject to more "wear & tear" than a stick. I'd use the brakes to stop, and the tip tronic to go FAST!

 

The only time i find the need to downshift manually instead of braking is when im going a little too fast and i see the highway partol. Braking normally will light you up like a xmas tree and its like basically saying "Here i am! give me my ticket." The manual downshift will reduce your speed without making you too obvious... other than that situation, i just brake normally. just my 2c

 

I often ponder if engine braking is bad. yes brakes are cheaper than trannies (have u seen our rotor prices though?) therefore I stopped in my old auto.

but our auto is Very Well designed to only shift when unharmful. you cannot redline (it up shifts for you) you cannot up shift too soon (it makes sure your RPM are high enough) and you cannot down shift too soon (it once again makes sure you don't redline)

when going down a long hill I like to keep it in lower gear instead of riding the brakes. old Autos were also designed for that (why it said D 2 1) And I like to be able to downshift with brakes for quick stops if needed.

but always using the engine to break, yes I see where that can cause extra wear. and I suspect switching back and for between modes a lot could be bad. (I do notice the RPM changes when switching auto to manual.)

The manual mode is designed to drive like a manual while protecting the engine/tranny.

I would like an official statement by NISSAN saying whether or not it should be used certain ways. There are no warnings in the manual that I saw, and when asking dealer, they didn't have anything to add.

 

Agree with NismoMax80's last post...

 

In reviewing my post earlier in this thread (November 8th), I may not have made myself totally clear.

My post could have been interpreted to mean I shifted into tips at each curve on the way down the mountain. I don't.

When using tips on very long, steep, curvy downgrades, I choose the gear I feel is best at the top of the mountain, and pretty much leave it in that gear all the way down. That uses engine compression most effectively, eliminates all tranny/differential shifting and jerking, avoids sudden RPM changes, prevents the tendency of the car to pick up great speed very quickly, and saves the brakes for use when stopping.