shift mode question

[shaftymcgee7]

hello this is my first thread here, was just curious about the shift mode feature on the 4runner and if anyone uses it regularly for around town driving and if they can get better mpg by controling the shifting themselves or if its the same or worse. i tried using it around town and didnt notice anything other than a little bit more control coming to a stop and having to use the brakes less. one thing i know for sure is its better for offroad in the little i have used it with 4 lo i was impressed , seems like with shift mode + 4 lo and atrac is awesome, i will say it is very usefull coming down steep hills to save your brakes and have more control.
srry if im asking noob question this is my first 4wd truck am used to driving my corolla
thanks for you help

 

[Intruder]

one thing i know for sure is its better for offroad in the little i have used it with 4 lo i was impressed , seems like with shift mode + 4 lo and atrac is awesome, i will say it is very usefull coming down steep hills to save your brakes and have more control.

This is exactly how I use it as well. In the winter engine braking when you're going downhill also keeps you from icing up the trail for everyone behind you. I've never had any real desire to use the sport shift around town though. This is the first vehicle I've owned that wasn't a stick so I'm enjoying taking a break from shifting. Having said that, I did use it a bit last winter when the roads were icy.

 

[shaftymcgee7]

i found that its harder to tell when to shift for me when using s-mode because the engine is so quiet so the few times i tried using it around town it was harder than just using auto, but was curious if your trying to come to fast stop would it be better to just use it to downshift, or just use the brakes? would this put extra strain on the tranny to do this often?

 

[Jtraskell]

I'm thinking you ought to change your screen name to "ShiftyMcGee......be safe.

 

[bofa]

I miss my 6MT. I was somewhat happy that the 4R has shift mode but in reality I never use in. The only time I have used it is on one of those loop on-ramps by our house where it can be tough to quickly match speed for highway merging. I imagine it could be useful in some towing situations too.

 

[shaftymcgee7]

you say you use it to help match highway speed on a on ramp?, i am a noob for stickshift since i never have owned one, would you want to keep it in a lower gear for more power to get to speed faster or what? forgive the noob question but the 4runner is night and day compared to the little rice rockets im used to driving but i do find i need to punch it more than id like to match others speed.

 

[bofa]

Yeah same here... it seems with the 4R you are either slow and steady or bury the pedal to unleash hell. The middle ground is hard to find, at least for me so far.

When I do use it it's more to control the shift points so I don't get a gutless bump to a higher gear. Nothing like the computer thinking you are just moseying along at 45 mph and it bumping you a gear when in reality you are limited by the curvature of the road and need to continue to accelerate a second later.

 

[reds10]

i use manual shift all the time when towing my boat. I love it.

locking in 4th gear while pulling my boat down the highway gives me great confidence that i have plenty of power and i'm not going to burn up the transmission upshifting, downshifting, upshifting, downshifting.

 

[Beakerbox]

you say you use it to help match highway speed on a on ramp?, i am a noob for stickshift since i never have owned one, would you want to keep it in a lower gear for more power to get to speed faster or what? forgive the noob question but the 4runner is night and day compared to the little rice rockets im used to driving but i do find i need to punch it more than id like to match others speed.

Peak power is around 5k rpm. So if yes if you want to accelerate quickly that's the place to be. Some folks like the manual mode to downshift when they want power. If you press the pedal down far enough in auto mode it will kick down for you and hold the gear till redline. Each to is own. imho the biggest advantage to manual mode is off roading or engine breaking. When automatic the engine breaking is almost non-existent.

 

[DannyLlama]

i have used it with 4 lo i was impressed , seems like with shift mode + 4 lo and atrac is awesome, i will say it is very usefull coming down steep hills to save your brakes and have more control.
srry if im asking noob question this is my first 4wd truck am used to driving my corolla
thanks for you help

I though Atrac only worked for under 25 mph, or else it shuts off.

 

[brockeverly]

I generally only use it when pulling my trailer. I do not have time for the transmission to decide it wants to downshift when going up the mountains with a load on, so I tell it what to do.

 

[shaftymcgee7]

srry if i said it wrong i only use shift mode with 4lo and atrac for offroad and the normal shift mode for coming down from steep descents where i want to control engine braking and save my brakes