Folks,

I have tried using the manual shifting for the third time on my 35 sport.

I have noticed that many times when I am up-shifting 1-2-3, etc. the car does not shift with my movement. Sometimes there is a brief lag, but last night I noticed that there was a significant "void" between the time I shifted and when the tranny actually engaged. Is there something that I am doing wrong? Do I have to red-line before I can upshift.

Lastly, can this occur if when I am shifting, I let up on the gas petal a bit??

Opinions welcomed.....

This is exactly how the G35 and FX35 are... I hate it...

The 45 was golden when i drove it.. I might see if the dealer has ayn software reprograms

The tapshift on our grand prix (same idea) is just the way it should be, it cant be hard for infiniti to make it work like it should

I have no idea if the new M executes manual upshifts with the auto trans like the earlier M (which I have), but based on you description, I'd say so. I'm not saying this logic is the way it should be, but I can tell you what it is in reality. When you manually upshift the auto trans in these cars (presumably yours, as well), you are not giving the command to unconditionally upshift immediately, but rather giving permission for the trans to upshift whenever the ECM feels it is most optimal. The purpose of the manual shift in this case is more about holding a lower gear against what the trans might do in auto mode, versus having full and immediate manual control. Sometimes the upshift will occur immediately, other times it won't, and here's why.

If you upshift while your foot is deep into the throttle, and there are plenty of RPM's left for the engine to wind, the trans will wait to shift until it feels the engine has wound itself to the appropriate revs, just like it would in auto mode. This makes perfect sense, if you think about it. Why would you want a premature upshift under heavy acceleration?

On the other hand, if you are under moderate or no acceleration, or even under heavy acceleration with engine already wound up, and then give permission for an upshift, the trans will shift immediately, simply because it has no reason not to.

Similarly, if you downshift with too many RPMs on the tach, the trans will wait to downshift till it feels the RPMs have dropped sufficiently not to over-rev the engine, although the logic here is extremely conservative, IMO.

Again, I'm not trying to be an advocate for this shifting logic, mainly just trying to explain it. I do notice that the logic for the G35 is quite different than my for my M45. This is immediately apparent every time I get a service loaner to drive.

But fret not. Every review I've read on the new M cars absolutely raves about the near-perfect intuition of the auto trans in these cars. This is in stark contrast to the poor reviews of the auto trans in the earlier M cars like mine, criticism which was well deserved.

makes sense russ.....

However, this isnt the way it is in the new M... I even tried this and it responded to my requests regardless.. Often times I like to shift early under hard acceleration.

elwesso wrote:makes sense russ.....

However, this isnt the way it is in the new M... I even tried this and it responded to my requests regardless.. Often times I like to shift early under hard acceleration.

Well, it apears your shifting experience with the new M and Larry's are at odds then. Perhaps the new M35 (which Larry has) has different shifting behavior than the new M45 (which I believe you test drove)? I took a short test drive in a new M45 some time ago, but I really don't recall the manual shifting behavior of the car. I've never driven an M35.

Thanks guys. I am the first to admit that I may be prematurely shifting, especially under strong acceleration. But I have never noticed this much lag time in any car before. So I am either doing something wrong, or maybe my car has a little bug in it. It's like the tranny goes off line for a .5 to 1 second. When I take it in for the first oil change I will have them look at it.

Also your right, all the reviews make a point to say how well manual shifting works, etc. So that concerns me even more.

Otherwise, under normal diving conditions drive or reverse, it feels fine.

Happy Thanksgiving, Larry

Its possible that the M35 might be closer to the G35.... whatever the case is, id check it out..... The manual shift mode does no good, IMO, if you cant shift when you want.... i still prefer the gated shifter in my Q....

Id have the dealer see whats going on..

Yes, this sounds very like the differences I observed with my older M45 and a newer G35 transmission (both ostensibly the same unit) ... thread is around here somewhere.

Z