The CM is the first car I have owned with paddle shifters. My CM is an automatic. What's the best way to use the paddles (driving situation) and are there any recommended resources online for learning how to use them well?

 

1.)Push center shift lever left to engage driver control (versus temporary)
2.)press sport button
3.)apply right foot pressure to gas peddle
4.)pull paddle towards you when car appraoches 5-6k rpm
5.)repeat steps until reached desired speed, 6th gear, or pulled over.

Okay, that was the smart *** side of me.

The automatic in psuedo manual won't let you do anything stupid like shift and over rev the engine / stall the car by not down shifting so really it is all about how much you can get out of the engine.

Find a nice quiet spot with long stretches and get a feel for the car's powerband. This is the range within the RPMs were the car acclerates with force. At one point the car will rev higher but not feel like it is accelerating any more. Shift up.

By keeping the car within the power band you will have maximum acceleration. To do so you need to shift the car so that the gears leverage available torque.

For me, I like to keep the car between 3k rpm and 5.5k rpm. You can go a little higher or lower if you wish, this isn't ment to be an exact posting of how to do it.

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Now if smooth driving is your goal, I found that you should downshift when the revs approach 1.5k - but do NOT shift into first gear unless you are coming to a complete stop. Second gear provides alot of pull even down to 5 miles an hour, so you can make a lot of corners or rolling stops in second gear. For upshifts, say 4k rpm.

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To get better, just listen to your car. KNow what sound the engine makes at those rpms, eventually you will not have to look at the rev counter and you will just be shifting naturally just by the way your car "talks" to you.

These are just some of the things my father taught me when driving a manual that apply to paddle shifting as well. Of course where to shift depends on the car, the terrain your on, etc...

Now remember, the car won't let you do anything stupid. So keep your eyes on the road and the cars ahead of you. Don't be looking down at the tachometer when rolling up to a stop light and cars in front of you. Until you get comfortable, the car will down shift for you.

Just two cents for a Wednesday morning. Happy motoring!

 

The paddle shifters work in automatic mode also. I use them to gear down when traffic is slowing down ahead of me, without putting it in manual mode. Just push on the paddle and it goes down a gear, the gear is indicated on the tach, just like when it is in manual mode.

Dave

 

I'm a diehard manual driver who currently has to deal with an IS300 rental with a paddle automatic. I've found that the paddles only prevent upshifting and the car will still downshift otherwise.(If you leave it in 6th, it basically acts like an automatic normally would.) Now, even as a diehard manual user, I've found that I can trust the computer to do the upshifts on a straight so I just leave it in 6th unless I'm coming up on a turn. In that case I'll downshift on the approach and hold a gear through the corner but once I've exited the corner I'll go right back to 6th and let the computer do it's thing. I also occasionally downshift in traffic when I expect to need power soon to blow by someone slow. :P

 

I use them to quickly drop gears for passing when not in sport mode. The fact it drops back into auto without having to do anything (after about 10 seconds) is the way it should be. I rarely ever use the full manual mode because of that. Click and go..

 

True, you can still use them while in automatic mode, but eventually the computer takes over again. If you need to pass a slow vehicle then a quick downshift works nicely without having to switch back and forth.

Just a note, you can shift the can from psuedo manual / full automatic while the car is in motion

 

In my kayak I have a blade on each end so I don't have to shift. In the MINI I have a clutch pedal and no paddle.

Bill

 

As a person who loves manual clutches but had to buy an automatic, I've been experimenting with the paddles for a while now, basically trying to see what combination of sport/non-sport/manual shifting delivers a good mixture of gas mileage plus fun.

I've not quite come to a conclusion yet on mileage, but I have developed a number of thoughts about use of the paddles:

1) They can shift really quickly, using exactly the same technique you would with a manual clutch - that is roughly matching engine speed to the target zone you want to shift to. In practical terms, that means let up on the gas slightly before an upshift, and increase it slightly for a downshift. Then you avoid a jarring transition and if shifts more quickly instead of fighting. If you do it just right it ALMOST feels like you have lifted off the clutch before adjusting engine speed...

2) I think Sport mode lets you into higher RPM's before it forces a shift - but also may allow lower RPM's too, which is great... (not sure about this yet).

3) One use of the manual mode I really like is to keep the car in 6th (or whatever is highest possible) gear in traffic. Left to it's own devices, an automatic might easily shift into 5th gear at the drop of a hat if you are just trying to go a bit faster for a moment. But if you aren't really needing to speed up in a hurry, that's a waste of gas... in moderate traffic where you just aren't going to be rocketing forward anyway, I keep the car in as high a gear as the car will allow and keep acceleration very moderate (to be honest in a manual I think I'd have it in sixth at far lower speeds than the limiter will allow for).

4) You can always of course leave it in automatic instead if you just need a break or want to talk to someone. But that raises a point I've always felt was a good thing about about manuals ,it's less easy to be a distracted driver because you have to come back to making sure you are in the right gear... it grounds you and makes you pay more attention to driving at periodic intervals, whereas driving on automatic makes it much easier to just zone out. I dislike using cruise control for the same reason, though I still use it sometimes... so using the paddle shifters more often may make you more attentive. It certainly will make your passengers take notice while you are learning.

5) Speaking of cruise control, I like to use manual shifting with that for the same reason I mentioned before - you can leave it in sixth and it will be more efficient about using that gear only to keep within range.

6) Paddle shifting to low gears does seem to be able to act as a good engine brake on downhill slopes.

7) If you really have trouble with shifting smoothly from a dead start, just switch it to automatic until it gets going a bit and switch it back. That may also be the most efficient way to accelerate, not sure yet...

8) If you know the line of traffic you are stopped in is going to be slow to get going (read: every line I've ever been behind at a stoplight), you can go from a dead stop in M2 which will again be more efficient but accelerate more slowly. It always shifts down all the way to M1 for you on a stop so you have to adjust it back up if you want that.