How do you drive your AUTO?

[666DAN]

Ahhhh the steering wheel buttons Great for that casual down change while cruising along at 80...then pow! plant the foot in 2nd!!!

[4door_Sleeper]

Get a shift kit installed. When I have my foot down hard and the auto change gears its like beeing hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat. (but if I drive gentley the changes are much smoother.

Getting a PFC or SAFC will also help you get a smoother power curve without the drop in power at mid to 3/4 throttle.

Those who suggest getting a manual have obviously not driven a car with a good auto in it.

[LBR33]

I didnt think PFC's worked in a auto skyline

[NJR 34GTT]

They don't in 34s, not sure about 33s.

[Tigger]

Um... Whats a shift kit? How much do they go for?

cheers

[4door_Sleeper]

I have a PFC in my series 1 and it works fine. (Yes i have heard that it wont work but the reallity is that is is working fine)

I had a trans cooler and the shift kit installed by MV Automatics in Blackwood (Adelaide) for $600. I thini the costs were about $300 for the cooler to be installed and another $300 for the shift kit.

The shift kit made a big difference to the shift speed on my 33, with my foot to the floor gear changes are a bit like beeing hit in the head with a baseball bat. (I now chirp the tyres when it changes gear) yet when I drive around at a light throttle (in the city) the changes are a lot softer.

Hope this helps

[blind_elk]

I dono how the box is with the GTS25t but I wouldn't shift gears manually unless the box is designed to be driven like a manualised box...

Then what's the point of the other 3 or 4 gears on the selector guide if not to be selected.

Autos, IMHO, are a lazy driver's gearbox.

[666DAN]

Autos, IMHO, are a lazy driver's gearbox.

You sit in the shitty traffic I do for 2 hours an day and tell me that I'm lazy for having an auto....it's probably the only thing that has kept me sane and from hurting others!

[scags]

He All,

I just got my R34 about 2 months ago and it is Auto. I have come from a Manual only background. I went with an auto because I do drive in peak traffic and figured the tiptronic would cater for the 'fun factor' and, well, it's damn hard to find a quality R34 in Perth so when you find one it doesn't matter what transmission you have!

Anyway, I have to admit I am a bit dissapointed with the responsiveness of the tiptronic gear changes. I was hoping it would still feel like a manual gear change. If there is a way to make the auto transmission better I think I would go there.

I was considering changing the transmission to manual (don't really know whats involved here) but I'm not one of those "it has to be manual to be a sports car" people, so I would also be open to "improving" the auto to make it more responsive.

What 4door_sleeper has sounds fantastic - can you give us any more info?

As an aside, I will eventually be doing some ECU changes and I know the AT/MT has some impact on this.

Oh yeah - How do I drive my Auto? In traffic I leave it in auto; Otherwise I generally go to manual mode to shift down for corners and back to auto - I keep switching (Is this bad for it? ) I've tried to do a take off in manual mode, but I think the auto does it better

Cheers,

Jarred

[Abo Bob]

You just need practice man.

The people I bought the car from advised me to use the buttons from day one and the only time I have it in D is when I'm drinking beer while driving. Once you are comfortable with the buttons it's easy and also fun.

It can't do any damage changing manually.

I have put some Redline High Temp ATF in mine which has sharpened it up a little. I have found that no transmission people really want to touch it though .

On the upside, I thought it was broken but it fixed itself.

[NJR 34GTT]

Few questions myself about the manual shifting with the tiptronic:

1. How the hell do you use the thumb buttons when turning a corner? My thumbs just refuse to bend that way??? Or do you have to use the shifter.

2. Taking off. In auto it seems to do it very well. The only difference I would be able to note would be that in tiptronic you can rev it out a little further. Has anyone done a comparison to see which is faster?

3. Gremlin! I think I had an electrical gremlin one day on the way to work where the transmission cut out and it just free reved. Switching it off and then back on and it was fine. Has never occured since. This happened to anyone else?

[666DAN]

1. Yes corners can be a pain...that's when you dive for the gearstick

2. Yeah I've measured this....it's pretty hard to beat the ECU at shifting...I've never got a quicker time manual shifitng.

3. The only time I had anything bad with the trans..was when all of the shift solenoids burnt out and I was stuck in 3rd for 2 months!

[Abo Bob]

1. You do get used to it. It's not a problem after a while.

2. I'm going to a drag day soon so I will test properly.

3. My ECU stopped dropping the timing on changes but it is a modified ECU so that might be the issue. It fixed itself now.

[knore]

Best way to use the skyline auto for straight line speed/rolling/sweeping corners, is to just have power on, overdrive on, and a few seconds before u want to go, take your foot off the throttle completely, wait a second or two then punch it to the floor, which drops back a gear and kicks in power. Alot of the time if youve already got the throttle down say 40% while next to someone then floor it, it will only stay in that gear and seriously disadvantage you

for cicuit or hard cornering, use power and have OD off, and if need be select 2nd

i wouldnt recommend excessive periods of full throttle etc with the auto unless u have recently changed the fluid and have a good transmission cooler because they do get hot

[4door_Sleeper]

The guys at MV automatics claim that they have seen many automatics with their shift kit and trans cooler cope with 300KW (for the long haul not just a month or two). For the guys with manuals, lets see you do this without going through a few heavy duty clutches, and/or rebuilding the box. IMHO the auto is every bit as strong as a manual, and a dam site cheeper to rebuild/repair in the long run.

[knore]

Yeh true that, a good condition second hand autobox is alot cheaper than a descent manual clutch

why cant MV be in Brisbane

[Nizmo]

Mine has a flat spot ...... accelerates and hits that flat spot but its because it gets hot and needs an FMIC (which i have - just dont have piping yet)

I drive mine when im feeling rich and dont mind guzzling thru fuel with power button on .... and when im dragging - power button on - overdrive off.

[krawler]

3000rpm stall + fully manualised + shift kit = win auto

Downside? Having only 3 gears Stupid trimatic.

Second downside? Not in a skyline.

Upside? RB powered

(NB - isnt the fastest skyline in australia an R33 GTST with a trimatic + 4000rpm stall auto? ... hmmsers)

[Tigger]

Nizmo:

Thats exactly what i think is happening to my car too. There is a bad flat spot and i think its the intercooler's fault. The car goes like a Zyrtec when i first start up but after the engine heats up it beings to get sluggish...

I need a new cooler

[Yotis]

Abit late.. but thought I'd drop my 2c worth..

1. The thumbs button is both sides so u can either use left or right button to shift and Abo is correct u get used to it for a while. Especially if you like to drive on twisty mountains.

2. On straight or taking off I found the auto shifting (puttin in drive) must more efficient, for some reason when I use the triptronic I do find it rev abit futher however at the expense of hittin the rev limiter all the time (n loose some power when it shifts). Could just be the way I shift tho. But the normal auto shifting is quiet efficient.

3. transmission cut out n free rev? That dont sound too good, did you have your transmission checked out?

Someone mentioned about shift kits before, I have test driven a 34 with a shift kit and its absolutely annoying. I tried to drive it both in troptronic shift mode and normal auto mode and cannot really explain it but every upshift is shifting hard even when I try to drive it slow.. Enough to say tat I didnt buy tat car. Mayb I need to test drive a few more cars with shift kits.

I'm with sweetr33 about manual shifting is ok, tho on the 34 dont drive with triptronic then suddenly shift to full auto. The transmission will allow it, but its not a good feeling at all.. N dont ask me why I did it.

If your car has some mods (ie. FMIC) I would suggest a data streaming and also ECU reset at the same time. People might not agree but it made a hell of an impression on my car after it was reset. The car seems to boost alot faster ( the stock boost gauge still shows the boost level before reset) for some reason and for some reason feels a lot more efficient to drive.. This is the proper ECU reset tho, none of the disconnect battery things....

Few questions myself about the manual shifting with the tiptronic:

1. How the hell do you use the thumb buttons when turning a corner? My thumbs just refuse to bend that way??? Or do you have to use the shifter.

2. Taking off. In auto it seems to do it very well. The only difference I would be able to note would be that in tiptronic you can rev it out a little further. Has anyone done a comparison to see which is faster?

3. Gremlin! I think I had an electrical gremlin one day on the way to work where the transmission cut out and it just free reved. Switching it off and then back on and it was fine. Has never occured since. This happened to anyone else?